The Fort Frances Lakers led 2-0 and 3-1 over the course of their regular season finale on Saturday against the Thunder Bay North Stars, and while they’d go on to fall behind 4-3 in the third period, a late goal by Carter Deschamps tied the game up and got them to overtime.
With head coach Tyler Miller out of town, it was Assistant Coach and General Manager Luke Judson and Assistant Coach Cody Mosbeck behind the bench for the Lakers.
Gunnar Simon and Tie Schumacher scored to put the Lakers up 2-0 in the first, but Thunder Bay would score before the end of the period to cut the lead in half.
Jack Wood put one away around the midpoint of the second for a 3-1 lead, but the North Stars again cut into the lead.
The Lakers struggled on the penalty kill with three of Thunder Bay’s four goals coming with a Laker in the penalty box.
Just two minutes after the North Stars scored their second goal of the third period to take the lead, Carter Deschamps tied it back up at four a piece, which was how the game ended after a seven minute four on four overtime which the SIJHL has trialed this year. But there won’t be any ties in the playoffs, with five on five overtime to end games that are tied after 60 minutes.
After the game Judson said that while a win might have been better, he felt the ability to come back after losing a lead showed the team they can compete with the best.
“Some really positive things happened, I think it’s no secret that we’ve struggled in the second half but it’s good to end with a strong game,” Judson said.
“Obviously we’d want a win but ultimately I think we showed a lot of good things and if it’s Thunder Bay, I think we feel really good about playing them.”
Some teams had games to play on Saturday, but the Lakers were left to watch to find out their first round opponent, having been awarded a 1-0 forfeit win in their final scheduled game after the Kenora Islanders pulled the plug on their season at the end of January.
It will indeed be Thunder Bay that the Lakers face this Friday, March 21, 2025, when the SIJHL’s Bill Salonen Cup Playoffs begin. Reached Tuesday, head coach Miller believes they can make a series against the third-seeded North Stars.
“I watched the game,” Miller said.
“I thought there were a lot of positives. I mean, the second half wasn’t our strongest, we’re fighting through things, and some guys are just battling and battling and you’ve just got to battle through those hard times, and hopefully the good times come.”
Judson says he and Mosbeck discussed the fight the team put up to tie the final regular season game in the locker room postgame.
“When we talk about the boys showing good things, they kept their composure, they stuck together on the bench,” Judson said.
“Ultimately that’s what we’re gonna need in a playoff series.”
Miller says that the playoffs are like a brand new season and they have a chance to prove themselves.
“It’s a new season,” Miller said.
“Every time you get into playoffs, you want to battle and compete, but we’re paying attention to detail aon our games against Thunder Bay, we know what the scores were, we know who played in net, we know what our power play was doing, what their power play was doing, their penalty kill, things like that. So this week Luke and the boys went over it and just hammered at it creating a good environment going into the playoffs.”
Miller says the team will look to its veterans as they go into the playoffs.
“It’s a privilege to feel pressure,” Miller said.
“It means guys are relying on you and for us, it’s our big guys. We need (Brady) Krentz going, we need (Jack) Wood going, (Gavin) Simon on the back end, (Evan) Kabel, (Nolan) Barker. It’s our guys who are 19 and 20 year olds that are going to lead the way for us.”
Miller is keeping the starting goalie a secret until Thursday, when the coaching staff will let the starter know.
Other first round series in the SIJHL playoffs include the Iron Wood Lumberjacks vs. The Kam River Fighting Walleye and the Sioux Lookout Bombers against the Red Lake Miners. The Dryden Ice Dogs have a bye to the second round by virtue of finishing at the top of the regular season standings.
The best of seven series will kick off Friday in Thunder Bay at the Fort William Gardens, followed by game two on Saturday. The series shifts back to Fort Frances for games three and four on Tuesday, March 25, and Wednesday, March 26, at 7:15 at Ice For Kids Arena.
