Going into Game 7, the visiting team had won every game of the 2026 Bill Salonen Cup SIJHL finals between the Fort Frances Lakers and the Thunder Bay North Stars—unfortunately, the Lakers couldn’t buck that trend Tuesday night, falling 5-4 in a hard-fought contest to end what has been an outstanding season.
The game was a back-and-forth affair. The Lakers scored first with a power play marker from Tie Schumacher, but Thunder Bay answered back less than five minutes later, and the teams went into the first intermission knotted at a goal apiece.
The North Stars came out swinging in the second period and scored one to jump ahead inside three minutes, but the Lakers were able to answer back. Teagan Wrolstad scored on the power play just a few minutes later to tie the game once again.
A pair of bad luck plays for the Lakers saw Thunder Bay jump out to a two-goal lead. But the Lakers weren’t out of it, staying motivated and fighting through every play with plenty of vocal support from the bench. Wrolstad would go on to score his second of the game to bring the Lakers within one before the end of the middle period.
Going into the final frame, the Lakers carried the lion’s share of the play in the third, firing 12 shots in the direction of Connor Dunham-Fox in the Thunder Bay net.
The Lakers pulled Brady Cates in favour of an extra skater with about two and a half minutes remaining in the third period. Many of the 1,300-plus Lakers fans at Ice for Kids Arena held their breath as they watched, hoping for a game-tying goal.
They got what they wanted—the clock ticked under 90 seconds as the Lakers cycled the puck in the North Stars’ end, then a rebound off a point shot found the back of the net off Ronnie Bender’s stick.
As former Times reporter and Lakers play-by-play man Joey Payeur put it, it was “Bender bedlam”; the roof of the Memorial Sports Centre felt like it might blow off.
The rookie forward, camped out in front of the net, banged home the rebound off a Zak Green point shot to tie the game at 4-4.
As the ice was polished for an extra period, the arena was abuzz with optimism, but it wasn’t to be for Lakers fans.
The home team carried the play for a large portion of the overtime period and put nine shots towards Dunham-Fox in OT. A displaced piece of glass near the North Stars’ bench resulted in several minutes’ layoff during OT, during which both teams took the time to regroup as Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” echoed through the IFK.
A few minutes later, an icing call against the Lakers resulted in a faceoff in the defensive zone. A scrambled draw saw the puck make its way back to the point where North Stars defenceman James Cullison wristed the puck towards Cates, through traffic, and into the net, ending the Lakers’ championship hopes and breaking the hearts of Lakers’ players and fans alike.
Rookie goaltending sensation Cates lay face down on the ice, defeated. He stopped 26 of 31 shots in the loss, while Dunham-Fox stopped 42 of 46.
It was a sombre atmosphere as the North Stars and Lakers shook hands as is traditional in hockey playoffs.
Down in the tunnel under the IFK, Lakers’ players, alumni and family all gathered to commiserate, sharing their emotions and love for one another. Head Coach and GM Luke Judson expressed his pride in the group.
“I just told them, they’ve done more than they can imagine for elevating hockey in Fort Frances, to be what it is now,” Judson said. “We saw what it was out there. It was an unbelievable night. Tonight should be a celebration of what they’ve done, what they’ve accomplished and the team that they are. I couldn’t be happier with how the year went and what they are, and I wanted a better result for them, but that wasn’t in the cards tonight, but that doesn’t take away from what I feel for the team, and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
The team and organization have been on a rebuilding trend essentially since the COVID pandemic, making their first run to the SIJHL finals since they last won in 2016.
“Tonight was a testament to what it means to be a Laker now and we’re gonna have big plans moving forward,” Judson said. “Tonight should be a celebration of what these guys have done and what they’ve given to Fort Frances.”
Lakers captain Pierce Gouin reflected on the last three years having been part of the rebuilding of the team and organization.
“There’s no words to describe it, just that it hurts,” the graduating captain said. “We rebuilt. You know, it was fun. Every single year, it didn’t matter if we won or lost. I just couldn’t imagine myself in this position in Game 7 in the finals. You know you don’t know what’s done until the last minute comes up. It goes by so fast, you don’t know it’s the end until it’s the end, and I’m just so proud of everyone and how far we’ve come this year.”
