Joey Payeur
If nobody else was interested in protecting Brandon Bodnar, Wayne Strachan wasn’t going to leave his goalie out there to absorb a continuous flurry of pucks.
But by the time the period was over, Strachan re-enlisted Bodnar’s help after the back-up plan backfired.
It’s rare a netminder gets put into the game three separate times, but that was how the story went for Bodnar in the Fort Frances Lakers’ 8-6 road loss Saturday in Thief River Falls as the Norskies earned a split of the home-and-home series.
“Mostly for Brandon,” was Strachan’s initial explanation on why he pulled the veteran after Alec Daman made it 5-2 for the Norskies at 8:34 of the second period, with Bodnar having stopped 25-of-30 shots to that point.
“We didn’t help him out in the first,” Strachan noted. “We were puck-focused and allowed two back-door goals.
“On their first and fifth goals, for sure, we didn’t tie up sticks and they were tipped in, as well, as defensive breakdowns led to those shots being made,” he fumed.
“I pulled him in hopes of a momentum change rather than calling a time-out.”
Dakota Delbridge took over but surrendered goals to Logan Jackson and Connor Bowey (power play) on just nine shots before the period was up to make it 7-2.
That prompted Strachan to go back to Bodnar to start the third period.
“We put Brandon back in for the third because we were not happy with the sixth and seventh goals that went in,” Strachan said.
“[Bodnar] shut the door to give us a chance to make a comeback.”
As Bodnar turned aside all 14 Norskies’ shots he faced in the third, the Lakers charged back into contention.
Brandon Zajicek scored just 58 seconds into the final frame.
Austin Petrie and Dylan Kooner then tallied 19 seconds apart just before the seven-minute mark before Kooner added his second goal on Jared Virtanen’s fifth assist of the night at 15:07 to suddenly make it a 7-6 game.
Bodnar was lifted with 1:08 to go for an extra skater, but was re-inserted between the pipes again after Parker Simonson iced the Norskies’ victory with an empty-netter with 39 seconds left.
“We need to be better defensively as a team and have more pride in our defensive game,” stressed Strachan, who said it was no mystery how his team went from a 6-1 win here the previous night to a five-goal deficit the next against the same team.
“Number one, it’s about intensity and not respecting your opponent,” he remarked.
“The second reason being on Friday, we boxed them out defensively so most of their shots did come from the perimeter.
“[But] on Saturday, they attacked the net more in the first two periods and we didn’t adjust to it, and left too many players open to create their scoring chances,” he noted.
Connor Keith and Jack Bernie had first-period goals 12 seconds apart in the first period against Norskies’ goalie Ryan Buttazzoni.
But Mitchell Soderberg netted a pair for the Norskies, who also got singles from Tommy Stand and Jared Pederson.
Even Friday’s win wasn’t a complete work of art for the Lakers, who waited until the third to explode for five goals to shatter a 1-1 tie.
“I think both games should prove to our team the importance of playing 60 minutes at this level, and just how dangerous we could be if we played 60 minutes with the intensity we are capable of,” Strachan said.
“Friday, I thought through the first 40 minutes we struggled, not a lot of life to generate anything.”
Bernie and Soderberg (power play) traded goals before the Lakers erupted in the final 20 minutes.
Tyler Malpass notched the game-winner with the man-advantage just over a minute into the third, followed by even-strength markers by Bernie and Ian Jarvis, who snapped a 21-game scoring drought.
Zajicek made it 5-1 when he wandered in from the point and jammed home a loose puck after Matt Tustin’s shot.
Virtanen later polished off a perfect 3-for-3 night for the Lakers’ power play to round out the scoring.
Bodnar earned the win while Sam Novak took the loss.
Strachan, meanwhile, wasn’t turning cartwheels despite his team scoring a half-dozen goals each night.
“Depends how you look at it, I guess,” he reasoned. “Friday, it was good to see production from throughout the lineup and win by that margin.
“Saturday, if you score six goals, you should win the hockey game and obviously we didn’t have that outcome,” Strachan conceded.
“So, yes, good to see us moving forward offensive-wise.
“We have different guys contributing, but we won’t be able to turn that corner totally until we buy into what we are being taught on the defensive side of the game,” he stressed.
With Saturday’s loss, combined with the Norskies’ 5-2 win Sunday over the second-place Dryden GM Ice Dogs, the Lakers (9-11-1-3) trail fourth-place Thief River Falls (11-11-1-3) by four points, although Fort Frances holds two games in hand.
The Lakers next host the last-place Minnesota Iron Rangers (4-19-1) this Friday at 7:30 p.m.
That game also will serve as the team’s annual “Teddy Bear Toss,” with fans asked to bring along a stuffed toy to hurl onto the ice to celebrate the team’s first goal.
The toys then will be collected by the Salvation Army to be given to needy children in the area.
On Saturday, the third-place English River Miners (12-9-1-2) come to town for a 7:30 p.m. start in the Lakers’ last game until Jan. 3.
“Big weekend and of high importance to us for two crucial wins,” Strachan said.
“Friday is a team behind us that we need to keep there and not give them any life or confidence against us,” he stressed.
“Saturday is a team that is just ahead of us and a race for third place that has tightened up in the last few weeks.
“We need to get focused and I desperately hope, as a team, we have realized the importance of playing 60-minute hockey games,” Strachan added.
