Joey Payeur
Wayne Strachan is no mad scientist but his latest experiment may end up exploding in the rest of the SIJHL’s face.
Due to an ankle injury that has sidelined top-line winger Colton Spicer indefinitely, the Fort Frances Lakers’ head coach and general manager has come up with a new—and so far lethal—line combination by adding 16-year-old rookie Cole Tymkin alongside Dylan Robertson and Andrew Willner.
The trio combined for seven points Saturday night in pacing the Lakers (6-1) to a 5-3 win over the host Minnesota Iron Rangers (5-4-1), with Tymkin contributing two goals and an assist.
“Sometimes it’s funny how injuries help others’ games and that is exactly what has taken place with Cole,” noted Strachan, whose team now sits atop the SIJHL by one point over the Iron Rangers and Dryden GM Ice Dogs (5-1-1).
“With an injury to [Spicer], he was given an opportunity on the top line.
“He [Tymkin] hasn’t taken it for granted,” Strachan added. “He is working hard, he is strong on the boards, and making room for Willner and Robertson.
“He is a player that goes to the dirty areas to have success, and those two skilled guys are finding him in open holes around the net to have success.
“I would say a few weeks ago I didn’t see him in the role he is in now, but he has played extremely well and is deserving of what he is given so far,” Strachan said.
“We couldn’t be more happy with how he has stepped up,” he stressed.
“As long as he continues what he has started and remains focused on hard work and development, he will only improve his game.”
Tymkin, a Fort Frances native, got the ball rolling at 4:56 of the first before Nick Minerva made it 2-0 at 19:02.
Tymkin then extended the lead to three at 9:58 of the second before the Iron Rangers found their footing.
Tristan Knott’s power-play marker at 11:18 started the Minnesota rally, with Dan Sarnecki continuing it by tallying with 37 seconds left in the middle frame.
Dalton Johnson then netted a short-handed goal at 6:45 of the third to tie the game.
“Our intensity level dropped a bit,” admitted Strachan.
“We started to take bad and unnecessary penalties, and the Rangers are too good of a team to give that many power-play chances to,” he stressed.
“We need to be more consistent in our team defence and one-on-one play,” added Strachan.
“We have to start being more physical in hockey games.”
But Robertson—who yesterday was named the SIJHL’s co-player of the week with Bradley Thrower (Thunder Bay North Stars)—stemmed the momentum 36 seconds later when Tymkin set him up for his team-leading sixth goal of the season to put the Lakers back in front.
“In both games, we needed a leader to step up and Dylan was one of those guys,” lauded Strachan.
“His line was cycling [the puck] down low,” he noted.
“I believe it was Cole who got the puck out to him from the corner area, and Dylan kind of just turned and shovelled the puck in short side on [Iron Rangers’ goalie Kyle Carignan].
“It was big as we were in a little bit of a lull continued over from the later part of the second period where we had given them momentum,” Strachan stressed.
“So we needed this to change that and it did.
“After the goal, we settled down in our game and played better to earn the win.”
Dylan Kooner tacked on an empty-netter with 36 seconds to go to seal it.
The Lakers improved to 3-0 against the Iron Rangers this season—the same record as a starter now held by back-up goalie Brandon Bodnar, who made 25 saves to earn the victory.
The Lakers’ third-straight win also moved them up from No. 16 to No. 11 in the latest CJHL top 20 weekly rankings.
“I am big in watching how guys prepare,” said Strachan.
“Are they focused? What pushes them to get ready to play?
“With Brandon, on game days that he plays, he is all business—focused, intense, goes through his routine, and gets himself ready for the game,” Strachan noted.
“He is keeping it simple in the net, staying square to pucks, playing with poise and good positioning,” he added.
“His rebound control is strong and he is giving the team a chance to be in every game.”
Defenceman Brandon Zajicek made his Lakers’ debut Saturday after joining the team last week.
The 19-year-old from Albertville, Mn. split time last season between the Portland Jr. Pirates of the United States Professional Hockey League’s Premier and Elite Division and the Estevan Bruins (SJHL).
“I thought at times his game was good, making nice reads, joining the attack to create offence,” said Strachan, who paired Zajicek with Minerva.
“But he hasn’t played a game in some time and he needs to work on his conditioning, and work hard on his one-on-one play to be effective through 60 minutes,” he added.
The Lakers were scheduled to host the English River Miners last night at the Ice For Kids Arena.
But mechanical problems with the Miners’ bus did not allow them to make the trip.
A make-up date has yet to be announced.
The Lakers next will face the Ice Dogs tonight in Dryden.
Their next home game is slated for Oct. 24 against the North Stars.
