Mitch Calvert
Thunder Bay haven’t been kind to the Fort Frances Jr. Sabres so far this season.
The Sabres lost their second game in as many nights to a Thunder Bay-based team, this time the Bearcats, by a 6-1 score last night. They are now a combined 0-5 against the Bearcats and Thunder Bay’s other team, the Fort William North Stars.
Chris Kitt led the Bearcats (11-1-1) with four goals, padding to his league-leading total to 17, while Chad Richard and Brad Pawlowski netted the other two.
Carson Dubchak spoiled Drew Strandberg’s shutout bid with a short-handed marker midway through the third period to account for the Sabres’ lone goal.
“We definitely weren’t the same team we were Wednesday night [versus Fort William],” Sabres’ coach Wayne Strachan noted, referring to their 3-2 loss.
“It wasn’t that we didn’t have the effort, we just couldn’t execute anything,” he said. “Our passes were off, and it was a tough game to watch just because we were so good Wednesday and we stunk last night.
“We were brutal.”
The Bearcats seemed to carry the play right from the outset, jumping out to a 2-0 lead after one and then adding two goals in each of the final two periods.
“I think it was a mental letdown to work so hard and come short [against Fort William],” Strachan admitted. “I thought [our players] were in pretty good spirits yesterday and looked pretty sharp in the warm-up, but once the game started, we didn’t play anywhere near where we can, and never generated any offensive pressure or got our forecheck or cycling going.”
Last night’s game also was a penalty-filled affair with a combined 60 minutes in infractions as the bad blood that started in the opening weekend series between the two teams here Sept. 19-20 carried over.
“I thought after the first the ref was going to let us play, but as the game wore on, he started to call a lot of little stuff and both sides were a little upset with some of the penalties, but that’s the way it goes sometimes,” Strachan lamented.
“At the end of the game, it got out of hand, but there was some bad blood between the teams so that probably carried over in the minds of our guys.”
Strachan said Ryan Witherspoon, inserted into the lineup for the injured Dan Smith, showed a lot of courage by squaring off with Pawlowski in the third period.
“He [Witherspoon] actually has played good in the limited ice time he’s got,” Strachan enthused. “He gained a lot of respect around the league when he dropped the gloves with Pawlowski.
“He’s a strong kid and will do anything for the team and to stay in the lineup,” Strachan added. “I didn’t know what he was getting into when he did it, but they went toe-to-toe and he surely gained a lot of respect from his teammates.”
Smith, meanwhile, is in Duluth awaiting the results of an MRI on his injured shoulder. His offensive contributions have been sorely missed on the road swing.
“We’re hoping it’s not too serious,” Strachan remarked. “That’s a player we need back in the lineup and he’s been missed the last couple games.”
The Sabres (6-6) will look to salvage a win from this three-games-in-three-nights stretch against the Ice Dogs tonight in Dryden.
“We need these two points, can’t let it slip away,” Strachan stressed. “Dryden is a team we have to beat, and we’ve shown we can.”
Ryan Faragher was pulled after three goals against the Bearcats last night, but Strachan said he’s likely to get the start in goal tonight.
