Lucas Punkari
Despite having just watched his team give up a tying goal in the final 15 seconds of regulation and then lose in overtime to the Dryden Ice Dogs by a score of 4-3 on Thursday night at the Ice for Kids Arena here, Fort Frances Lakers head coach and general manager Wayne Strachan was quick to point out the importance of putting Game 5 in the rearview mirror as the team now trails their best-of-seven SIJHL semi-final series 3-2 heading into Game 6 in Dryden tonight.
“We can’t hang our heads, as we know that we are a good team and that we can compete with that team down the hall,” Strachan stressed.
“We have to shake this off as we still have two hockey games ahead of us, and we know that we can win up in Dryden.
“We have to be ready to go in that game, and if we can win up there we will come back here and we have had success in our own barn that favours us,” he added.
After Patrick Sofer scored the go-ahead goal for the Lakers midway through the third period, the Lakers looked to have fully exercised the demons of their previous two losses in Dryden and seemed to set to take the series lead once again.
But with just 15 seconds left on the clock, Dryden’s Chris Belhumeur shot the puck by Talor Joseph and into the back of the net to tie the score at three to force overtime.
“It was just a matter of bounces there at the end,” Strachan reasoned.
“If we had been able to get the puck out of our zone, we probably would have won the game.
“But instead, it bounced right in front of the net, and it came right to the open guy so we couldn’t do much about that,” he added.
In the overtime frame, both teams traded chances until just before the halfway mark of the extra period, as Jared Stratford lit the lamp in a similar situation to his teammate’s game-tying goal.
“I’ve never had an experience like that before,” Stratford smiled.
“We were just battling down low with Jesse Linner and Tyler Walsh working hard, and I was just sneaking in up in the high slot.
“One of the guys threw the puck on net and it just came out to me, and I was able to shoot through and into the open cage,” he added.
Paul Thompson and Mike Butler also scored for the Ice Dogs, while Linner led the team in points with a pair of assists.
Jordan Christianson paced the Lakers on offence with a goal and an assist, while Jon Carlson had a pair of helpers.
Davis Smith also lit the lamp for the hosts.
Thursday’s setback came at a price for the Lakers, as they’ve lost the services of captain Merritt Rysavy for the rest of the season as he suffered a serious wrist injury during the first period.
“He was just trying to clear the puck out of zone and one of their defenders was on him,” Strachan recalled.
“I didn’t see what happened exactly after that, but he might have caught his arm as he went down, as it was pretty gruesome looking.
“I just hope that he’s alright,” he stressed.
The Lakers will be looking to even up the series without their captain tonight in Dryden, as Game 6 will get underway at 7:30 p.m.
A seventh and deciding game, if needed, will be held at the Ice for Kids Arena tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m.
The winner of the Lakers/Ice Dogs series will take on the Minnesota Wilderness in the SIJHL finals, as the defending league champions complete a sweep of the Minnesota Iron Rangers on Sunday.
