Lucas Punkari
The Fort Frances Thunderhawks saw their dream of capturing the 2011 Allan Cup come to an end Friday evening in Kenora with a 7-2 loss to the Bentley Generals (Alberta) in the semi-finals.
After allowing three goals in the opening 10 minutes of the game, the Thunderhawks finally got on the scoreboard near the halfway point of the second period.
But then they gave up a pair of goals later in the frame to effectively end any chance of a comeback.
“We got behind the eight-ball right off the bat,” Thunderhawks’ head coach Larry Beck noted.
“We needed to have our best game against a very good team, but we got caught up in some penalty trouble and ended up going down 3-0 as a result,” he recalled.
“It was hard to play catch up after that.”
Ross Johnson had a goal and an assist for the Thunderhawks, with Ian Lockman netting the other goal.
Paul Cabana led the Generals with two goals and an assist while former Detroit Red Wing Darryl Laplante added three helpers to the cause.
But in Saturday’s final, it was the Clarenville Caribous (Newfoundland) who captured the Allan Cup title for the first time in team history with a 5-3 win over Bentley.
The loss for the Generals was their second-straight in the Allan Cup final, and their third setback in the last four years to go along with the trophy they won in 2009.
Dustin Russell and Travis Chapman each had a goal and two assists for the Caribous.
Goalie Jason Churchill, meanwhile, turned aside 39 shots to earn the tournament’s MVP honour.
