As the last winter storm (we hope) hits Northeastern Minnesota this week, the Fort Francis Lakers hits the Northeastern Minnesota town of Hoyt Lakes to play the Minnesota Iron Rangers.  Tonight and Thursday night in the Hoyt Lakes arena, the two teams play their third and fourth games of the SIJHL championship series.

The two teams are deadlocked 1-1 in the best of seven game series for the Superior International Junior Hockey League’s Bill Salonen Cup.  The Cup is awarded to the winner of the SIJHL’s playoffs.  With it goes the ticket to play for the cup that goes to the winner of Central Canada Junior A Championships. That Championship series will be a four team series played April 29-May 3 in Wellington ON.  At the championship series, the SIJHL winner will be joined by the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League winner, the Ontario Junior Hockey League winner, and the host Wellington Dukes.   

The two teams split their first two games played at Fort Frances’ Ice for Kids arena last week.  The Lakers won the opening game 1-0 in double overtime.  The Iron Rangers won the second game 3-2.  Fort Francis is currently the #2 ranked junior A hockey team in Canada (the Rangers are ranked #46) and are the favorites to advance.  For his performance in the opening two games of the series, Iron Ranger goalie, Alex Reichle, Wildwood MO, was awarded SIJHL’s Pizza Hut player of the week award.  Reichle started both games at Fort Frances for the Rangers and stopped 77 of 80 Laker shots on the net.

Fort Frances, the regular season champions, made the playoff finals by sweeping English River in four straight games the first week in April.  The Iron Rangers beat #30 ranked Thunder Bay in their semifinal series 4 games to 2.  The Rangers won the series with a 3-2 win over Thunder Bay in Game 6 played at Hoyt Lakes 10 days ago.

The Iron Rangers’ scoring in the playoffs has been balanced.  Evan Erickson/Woodbury MN, Thomas Fazio/Mequon WI, A. J. Rupert/North Oaks MN, Sam Mancini/Bloomington IL, Matt O’Dea/Chicago IL, and Jay Routheau/Green Bay WI have scored 3 or more goals in the playoffs.  Mancini with five goals leads the team in goals scored and Erickson with 11 points leads the team in points.  Regular season team leaders (Trevor Hoth/Sloughton WI (58 points/35 goals/54 games), Jason Reynolds/ De Pere WI (55 points/22 goals/53 games, and Jonathon Losurdo/Elmhurst IL (51 points/21 goals/51 games) have contributed to the overall scoring playoffs.

At goal, the 6’3”, 210lb, Reichle has posted a 6-1 playoff record giving up an average of 2.4 goals a game while stopping 94% of the shots on goal.  Backing Reichle, is 6’6” Erick Majerie/Cottage Grove MN.  Majerie split time with Reichle in regular season play and has posted a 3-2 record (2.8 goals per game, 89% stops) in the playoffs.

O’Dea has proven to be a high scoring defenseman this season for the Junior A Rangers.  The Rangers’ have been going with five defensemen in the playoffs.  Joining O’Dea are T. J. Samec (former St. Thomas Academy star), 6’5” Austin Frank/De Forest WI, Tyler Tuneberg/Woodbury MN, and Noah Anderson/Groveland NY.  Samec has been a pleasant surprise for the Rangers in the playoffs and regular season.  The team has posted a 13-6 regular season record since Samec was acquired in early January from Winkler (Manitoba Junior Hockey League).  Add the post season play to regular season and the team has gone 22-9 since the former St. Thomas Academy star joined the team.

The Minnesota Iron Rangers are owned by people who live in Hoyt Lakes.  They bought the team after the team played part of the 2012-2013 season in the Hoyt Lakes arena.  The town council and other residents has supported the team turning the team into a “family affair”.

The energy behind the team is the coach Chris Walby/Lodi WI.  Walby encouraged the local people to buy the team and has produced a winner this season.  Beating Fort Frances may not seem a big deal to most, but to Walby and their East Range supporters, it is.  Most of the Iron Rangers’ support comes from the east end of the iron range.  Even though the Hoyt Lakes arena is centrally located to both areas, the team has not caught on with hockey fans in the Hibbing/Eveleth/Virginia area or along Lake Superior shore.

In this corner of YHH it is a big deal for Minnesota Hockey and continues to showcase hockey in this state.  It would be to see the Bill Salonen Cup sitting in the Hoyt Lakes’ arena this summer.  It would be nicer to see the Dudley-Hewitt Cup also sitting there; but it would be best if the RBC Royal Bank Cup signifying the #1 Junior A team in Canadian was sitting in the Hoyt Lakes arena for a year.

Is that too big a dream?  If Rangers can beat the #2 ranked Canadian Junior A team, Fort Frances, this week; then why not?