The Fort Frances Canadians failed to defend their crown at their own tournament, settling for third place in the inaugural Gus Lindberg Memorial after a 6-2 win over the Wayzata Trojans in the consolation final here Sunday.
The Canadians missed a berth in the final after a 3-0 loss to the eventual champion Current River Comets on Saturday night.
“We played as well as we could,” Canadians’ head coach Dave Egan said. “We ran into a hot goaltender [the Comets’ Kyle Campbell] 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,” he added.
Kyle Herr and Matt Goldamer led the team in scoring over the weekend, with three goals and two assists apiece.
Herr was a presence in the team’s win over Wayzata, notching two goals while assisting on a tally by Jamie Kaun.
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.”
The Canadians’ two other games were a 4-2 win over the Grand Forks Stallions on Friday night and a 7-4 triumph over Duluth on Saturday afternoon, with the Comets’ shutout their only blemish.
Egan said goalie Joe Bodnar played “his best game in a Canadians uniform” in a loss that amounted to a netminder’s duel.
Bodnar was happy with the bronze-medal finish, but was somewhat more critical of the team’s performance in the game against Current River, saying an inspired forecheck yielding “more shots on net, and some more traffic in front of the net” could have made a difference.
“Overall, it was a good game—we needed more shots on net,” Bodnar said. “He [Campbell] was beatable, we just needed more shots.”
“We could’ve probably challenged their goalie a little more,” agreed Egan, adding the team should have stressed making low shots and hoping for big rebounds against the Comets and throughout the tournament.
Even with the wealth of Canadians’ scoring, Egan said the goaltending tandem of Bodnar and Wes Brown, who earned the win between the pipes against Wayzata, was key.
“I’d have to say our goaltending stood on their head,” he remarked.
The Comets beat Shattuck-St. Mary’s 7-4 in Sunday’s final, avenging their only loss of the tournament—a 6-5 decision in favour of Shattuck on Saturday morning.
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 suddenly last year.
His sons, Chris and Tim, were on hand for a ceremony in Lindberg’s honour to open the tournament on Friday evening, and gave out the awards Sunday afternoon.
Both flew in from their homes in Calgary for the weekend, and Chris said 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.”
The Canadians are in Duluth for another tournament this weekend and while they’re hoping to return to their winning ways, Egan said the team showed their mettle at home for their well-earned third-place finish.
“That’s nothing to complain about,” he said. “We did ourselves proud.”
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
