Miners help Norsemen end winless streak...

Norsemen snap losing streak, defeat Miners 5-2.

CANADIAN PRESS (Minneapolis, MN)

The Minnesota Norsemen picked up a sorely needed win in their first game back after Christmas.
Led by Anders Lee’s hat trick, the Minnesota Norsemen ended a two-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Sudbury Miners on Tuesday night.

Bryan Little also scored a pair of goals for the Norsemen, which currently hold the last playoff spot in the Canosa Conference after last night’s contest, three points ahead of the Sanibel Islanders.

Goaltender Pekka Rinne made 17 saves in the Norsemen net to notch his 20th victory of the season.

“We played hard. It's a good two points for us, the 27-year- old Lee said. "I felt pretty good throughout the entire game."

Tobias Reider and Marcus Foligno scored for the Miners, who were down 2-0 and 3-1 during the game. Goalie Ryan Miller, making his second Miners start, made 26 saves in the loss. “We were behind it. When you get down two, you have a problem," Miners coach Derek Sutton said. "We
weren't good enough to win."

The Miners did get a bit of a scare in the game when winger Anthony Duclair limped off the ice after blocking a shot with his foot early in the first period, but Miners coach Derek Sutton said post-game that it doesn't appear to be an injury that could cost his player a significant amount of time off the ice.

"The doctors have X-rayed it and it came back negative," Sutton said. "His foot is a little sore obviously from blocking it, but he's in good spirits. Looks like he is day-to- day.”

This re-building year, which has included a lot of losing, is starting to wear on some of the Miner players. “We are not one of the top teams," Miners forward Vincent Trocheck said. "We are one of those teams that have to battle really hard, so we need our best effort every night to have a chance to win. We came a little short here against a really skilled team. The good thing is we never gave up and we worked really hard, but at some point we need results. A loss is a loss, no matter how hard you work."

MINERS NUGGETS

- The Miners continue to struggle offensively. Going into last night’s game, they currently sit dead last in goals scored.

- The Miners will try to snap a two-game losing streak, when they return home on Thursday night to take on the Las Vegas Aces. Game time at the Vale Centre is 7:30pm.