Joey Payeur
It’s not the ideal formula for success but the Fort Frances Lakers are getting away with it for now thanks to their goalies.
Pierce Dushenko and Brandon Bodnar were the keys as the Lakers extended their winning streak to five games—even though they were outshot in all three of their games over the past week.
“Hands down, our goalies were the difference this weekend,” Lakers’ head coach and general manager Wayne Strachan said after Dushenko made 43 saves on Saturday to beat the visiting Minnesota Iron Rangers, which was followed by Bodnar’s 38-save effort in a 4-1 win Sunday over the English River Miners up in Ear Falls.
“They both had to come up big to help the team walk away with victories,” noted Strachan.
“In both games, in my opinion, they were both the first star.
“For the team, we need to look at their work ethic and build off it,” he added.
“We cannot continue to play lackluster and put the two of them in vulnerable positions.
“The two of them have stepped up on the ice to lead the team and we have to reward them with better 60-minute efforts,” Strachan stressed.
Dushenko earned himself a share of the SIJHL’s player-of-the-week award with Dryden GM Ice Dogs’ netminder Paul Laferriere with back-to-back top-flight performances.
The 20-year-old from Coquitlam, B.C. had 32 saves in blanking Dryden 5-0 last Wednesday.
He was even better in the win over Minnesota—when the Lakers were outshot 45-26—to solidify his place at the top of the league’s goalie class, leading the circuit in wins (17), GAA (2.32), and save percentage (.925).
Bodnar, meanwhile, thwarted the Miners for the second time this month to help the Lakers (22-3-0-1) move up one spot to No. 5 in the CJHL’s weekly top 20 rankings.
Strachan said the barrage of shots his two goalies have been facing of late wasn’t linked to any specific defensive vulnerabilities, but rather a lack of consistent effort.
“I believe we were just outworked by our two opponents this weekend,” he remarked.
“We didn’t play with any urgency or emotion in our game and as a result, we found ourselves on our heels a lot and chasing the puck.
“We do need to continue to become better in our own end when it comes to the two areas of coverage away from the puck and not being puck-focused,” added Strachan.
“The two go hand-in-hand.”
Christian Ripley netted the game-winning goal against the Iron Rangers (9-15-2) midway through the third period on a quick pass from Dylan Kooner in the left corner.
“That was a great play by Kooner, unbelievable,” lauded Ripley.
“He and Brandon [Zajicek] did all the work. I just had to tap it in,” he noted.
Iron Rangers’ head coach Chris Walby, meanwhile, was frustrated after losing forward Jacob Shannon and defenceman Dalton Johnson to possible concussions—one night after losing veteran forward Alex Arnold to a concussion.
“We’ve had a load of injuries all year long, but we’ve got to put the blinders on and move on,” stressed Walby, whose team now has lost seven of eight meetings with the Lakers this season.
“Our team is always better at the end of the year,” he noted.
“Remember, I had to go out and find 19 guys before the season started this year.”
Nick Minerva was the offensive catalyst in Sunday’s triumph—staying on a hot streak that has seen him garner 13 points in five games to lead all SIJHL blueliners in scoring.
He also is tied for second overall in league scoring with 33 points—one behind teammate Dylan Robertson.
Minerva set up Julian Uhryniuk and Jason Wilson (with his first goal as a Laker) just 27 seconds apart in the final minute of the first period against the Miners.
“Jason was streaking down the left-side boards and Minerva was coming out of our end through the middle, and found him with a pass just on the other side of the red line,” Strachan recalled.
“Jason blew by their defence wide and cut in and made a nice move five-hole to beat their goalie.
“I have liked Jason and what he brings to the team,” Strachan added. “You can see he has experience and understands the game.
“He is very well-positioned and a good 200-foot player.”
“As the year goes on, his role as a shutdown guy will become important and I believe he brings secondary scoring to the lineup,” said Strachan.
Minerva later added an empty-net goal with 28 seconds left to send the Miners (7-15-1-4) to their seventh-straight loss.
“Nick is a good heads-up hockey player,” lauded Strachan.
“He has a lot of tools that make him effective as a player and right now, he is working hard and generating smart offensive plays to create scoring chances.
“He [Minerva] came up big this weekend in that area to help our cause in games we had to find ways to win,” he noted.
The Lakers, who lead second-place Dryden (18-6-1-2) by six points with a game in hand, visit the Thunder Bay North Stars (10-14-0-2) tonight.
Then they’ll host Minnesota again this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in their final game before the league’s Christmas break.
The squad is without defenceman Dustin Deugau, who has been out since Nov. 28 with a shoulder injury and is not expected back until at least after the break.
Sidelined on a day-to-day basis is forward Jack Bernie, who missed Sunday’s game after suffering a possible broken or dislocated finger.
