Canadians third at home tourney

The Fort Frances Canadians settled for bronze as hosts of the Gus Lindberg Memorial Midget ‘AA’ tournament after falling to the eventual champion Current River Comets on Saturday night.
The loss tied them with Current River in the standings, but kept the Canadians out of the final on Sunday. Instead, the Canadians faced the Wayzata Spartans, winning 6-2 to finish in third place
“We played as well as we could,” Canadians’ head coach Dave Egan said. “We ran into a hot goaltender [the Comets’ Kyle Campbell, who shut out the home team 3-0] but I couldn’t have asked more from my boys.
“They left it all on the ice, and that’s all you can ask for as a coach.”
Kyle Herr and Matt Goldamer led the team in scoring with three goals and two assists apiece.
Herr was a presence in the team’s third-place victory, taxing Wayzata for two goals while assisting on a tally by Jamie Kaun.
The Canadians’ two other games were a 4-2 win over the Grand Forks Stallions on Friday night and a 7-4 victory over Duluth on Saturday afternoon.
While the hosts weren’t happy they didn’t get a chance to defend their crown, and had to watch the final between the Comets and Shattuck-St. Mary’s from the stands, Egan tipped his cap to the winners.
“Current River’s a strong team,” he said. “I have to also say they played a clean, finesse game.
“Definitely, the two teams in the championship, they deserve to be there,” Egan added.
The Comets beat Shattuck-St. Mary’s 7-4 in yesterday’s final.
The late Gus Lindberg was honoured as the tournament took on his name to pay respects to a man known throughout the local sports community who passed away last year.
His sons, Chris and Tim, were on hand for a ceremony in Lindberg’s honour to open the tournament on Friday, and gave out the awards yesterday afternoon.
Both flew in from their homes in Calgary for the weekend, with Chris saying they were “very honoured” to see their father’s name living on, attached to a sport he loved, and at a level of hockey he helped nurture in Fort Frances for years.
“It’s emotional, and it was just very nice,” he said. “It’s just a nice feeling that your dad was part of something for so long and people have recognized [that].
“I think my dad would help anybody . . . not to be a star, but to keep them involved in hockey,” Chris Lindberg stressed.