Dryden returns to .500 level
They braved a winter-like blizzard that extended from northwestern Ontario into northern Minnesota and returned home with two wins. A weekend road sweep of the Thief River Falls Norskies now has the Dryden Ice Dogs on an even keel in the Superior International Jr. Hockey League.
The pair of victories over Thief River Falls, by 7-2 and 4-2 scores, has improved Dryden’s record to 8-8-1 and kept the Ice Dogs in fourth place in the SIJHL standings.
Dryden has played its past four games on the road and still has four more successive away tilts into the United States — two in Wisconsin against the Lumberjacks and another two in Thief River Falls — to close out a grueling month of November.
With the wicked weather that went with the weekend travel, Ice Dogs general manager and coach Kurt Walsten told Hockey News North that “it wasn’t easy but we took care of business … I am glad that it’s over with.”
Dryden made the trip into Thief River Falls without its scoring leader Maxime Collette and big minutes defenseman Max Rath and still managed to leave northern Minnesota with two big wins.
“We were on the road in bad weather, we had a couple of early mornings and long days and we were shorthanded but we got the four points,” summed up Walsten.
Three players netted two goals apiece in Dryden’s weekend sweep — Rachonne Henry, Brady Frattinger and Tristan Takats.
Once November is over, the Ice Dogs will close out the 2021 portion of the regular season schedule with five games in December — three at home and two in Fort Frances against the Lakers.