Lucas Punkari
While Fort Frances native Jordan Larson is happy to be back in his hometown, he would rather be out on the ice with the Pembroke Lumber Kings in the CCHL playoffs.
Instead, he and the rest of his team have hung up their skates for another season after the fourth-seeded Lumber Kings were swept by the Nepean Raiders in the opening round in mid-March.
“It’s obviously great to be back home after a long year but I would really like to be playing right now,” the 17-year-old said.
“The semi-finals started in that league this week and I would have loved to be there playing in it,” he added.
After the Lumber Kings staged an impressive second-half charge to rocket up the standings and earn home-ice advantage for the opening round of the playoffs, they were unable to get a win when it mattered most as the Raiders racked up four-straight wins to end to Larson’s first year in the CCHL.
“Even though it was a sweep, I don’t think that really says how the series went as it could have gone either way,” he explained.
“In the first game, we hit three posts in the last minute and we hit the post again in the second game before we gave up a own goal that proved to be the game-winner.
“They outplayed us in the third game,” he conceded. “But I felt we outplayed them in the fourth game before they won in overtime on a lucky break.”
While he only played in four games during the post-season, Larson did make an impact on the scoresheet, earning an assist in Game 2 and Game 4.
“Although it was a short series, I thought I played pretty well,” the former Fort Frances Lakers’ forward said.
“The playoffs were a whole different story compared to the regular season as everything was faster, and it was a totally different level from when I played in the SIJHL playoffs last year,” Larson noted.
“It was great to be a part of that experience, but I just wish that it could have gone on longer,” he lamented.
After finding themselves fighting just to make the playoffs near the halfway point of the campaign, the Lumber Kings went on an impressive run during the second half, which included a seven-game winning streak to end the regular season.
“That was a real coming out party for us as a team,” Larson said.
“I think the biggest reason for that was because we just finally found our game, as we had a strong and deep team there [in Pembroke] but we just weren’t putting it together,” he explained.
“We made a couple of moves at the trade deadline, which really helped us out at the back, and we started to beat the top teams in the league like Ottawa and Carleton Place,” he added.
On the individual side of things, Larson finished up the season with 12 goals and 42 assists in 55 games, which put him third in team scoring.
“At the end of the season, I went on a 12-game point streak, so as the team was finishing off strong, I felt that I was doing the same as a player,” he remarked.
“I think my offensive play improved a lot in the second half, and I was also playing a lot better defensively.”
Larson was rewarded for his play during the Lumber Kings’ annual awards banquet March 22, when he received the team’s fourth star award.
“After every home game in Pembroke, they have a fourth star award that goes to the hardest-working player and I happened to win that the most during the year,” he noted.
“A lot of the guys go out there to play for the fourth star, so it was a really good award to win [and] I’m happy about that.”
Larson, who will graduate from high school here in June, will be getting ready over this summer to return to Pembroke next season, where the Lumber Kings’ squad has the chance to be a very experienced one.
“Right now, we could have 17 players coming back,” he noted.
“That could help us a lot as we were a young team this year and I was actually one of the most experienced guys on the entire roster when it came to being in the playoffs,” he added.
“If everyone comes back, we should have a good team,” Larson smiled.
