Falls Broncos trim hockey series in half Fort Frances refs ‘brutal’

A decades-old hockey rivalry has gone on the chopping block because of concerns over fair play and officiating.
Gordy Dault, principal/activity director of Falls High School across the river, confirmed that next year’s Broncos hockey schedule will see the traditional home-and-away series between the Falls and Muskies reduced to just one game each for both the boys’ and girls’ squads.
“There is a reluctance on our coaches’ part to play in Fort Frances due to the difficulties we perceive in the sportsmanship and the level of officiating,” said Dault, who confirmed the girls’ game would be in the Falls but was uncertain as to where the boys’ game would be played.
“There’s too much chippy play for some reason. People end up getting hurt,” he added. “To be blunt, the officiating at our games in Fort Frances is just brutal.
“We won’t send teams over there to get hurt because the officials won’t make the calls they need to call. You can’t let the game go like that,” he charged.
The animosity between the two schools’ hockey programs peaked Jan. 17 during the Muskie girls’ 3-1 victory over the Falls at the ’52 Canadians Arena.
With the black-and-gold leading 1-0 after the first period, Muskie captain Tara Lloyd was handed a roughing major and a game misconduct early in the second.
The Broncos called time-out after failing to capitalize on the extended power play, and promptly were assessed four penalties in the next two-and-a-half minutes of action.
The final infraction saw Brittany Corrin drill Muskie assistant captain Stephanie Strachan with an elbow to the head that knocked Strachan unconscious and forced her from the game with a concussion.
As the game wore on, three Bronco players also had to leave the game after clashes along the boards with the Muskies, although no penalties were handed out in those incidents.
Muskie girls’ head coach Jim McMahon called on the Broncos to take a closer look in the mirror before criticizing others too harshly.
“If they’re judging that on our last game we played them, if there was any poor sportsmanship, then it was their team that showed the poor sportsmanship,” he remarked.
“We want to play them, but we’re not going to kiss their butts,” he stressed. “It was a hard-fought game on both sides. To whine about it to the extent they are, maybe they should go stick to baseball.”
McMahon alleged the Broncos’ reaction stemmed from what he believes was a case of the Falls not handling their loss well.
“They came in at the time, I think, ranked No. 10 in the state, and it was a slap in the head to them to be beat by a team they thought they should walk all over,” he charged.
“I told [FFHS athletic director] Greg Ste. Croix to tell them to bring their refs over if they want to. I’ve got no problem with that.
“I think that by not allowing the kids to play, the only people that lose is the team themselves,” McMahon added. “The tradition of this rivalry was in place for a long time, and will be here well after I’m gone.”
Muskie boys’ head coach Shane Bliss was taken aback by accusations of devious tactics on his squad’s part.
“I thought our games with them were very clean,” said Bliss. “The [major] penalty Nathan Miller took in the game here was a dumb penalty, but not a dirty one.
“I think [the Falls’ player] took a dive, personally.
“If he thinks we didn’t play clean, I’d like [Dault] to go over the game sheet with me,” Bliss added. “This kind of blows me away. They should look at the reffing in their league games and how one-sided it is for them.
“This shocks me.”
Fort High principal Ian Simpson said he hoped the lines of communication between the two schools could be opened. And Simpson added if Ste. Croix was unable to negotiate a resolution, then he would step in himself to try and remedy the situation.
“If there’s issues, let’s deal with them,” said Simpson. “These games are an important part of life here in Fort Frances. Our kids, our community, looks forward to them.”
Dault said he was open to future discussions, but was adamant that nothing was going to change in regards to next year’s schedule.
“I would like to see the traditional rivalry continue if the utmost sportsmanship is displayed,” he remarked. “That isn’t happening [right now].”