Joey Payeur
Wayne Strachan can hear the nay-sayers loud and clear.
Now it’s up to his troops to silence them.
The head coach and general manager of the three-time defending SIJHL champion Fort Frances Lakers knows his team isn’t exactly the betting favourite in its best-of-five first-round “Survivor Series” playoff matchup with the expansion Thief River Falls Norskies, which opened there last night (score unavailable at press time).
“We will embrace being the underdogs,” Strachan said about his fifth-place Lakers (24-25-3-4) going up against the fourth-place Norskies (30-21-2-3).
“We finished fifth and they [the Norskies] out-performed us overall in the standings,” he conceded.
“I am sure there are a lot of skeptics that don’t believe we can move on from the series,” Strachan added.
“[But] the regular season is over, it is what it is, and we will be prepared.”
Game 2 goes tonight in Thief River Falls before the series switches to the Ice for Kids Arena for Game 3 on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Game 4, if necessary, will go here Saturday at 7:30 p.m., with Game 5 (if needed) back in Thief River Falls on Monday night.
The winner advances to a best-of-seven semi-final showdown against the first-place Dryden GM Ice Dogs (45-7-4), who edged the Lakers 3-2 here Friday night to end the regular season with their 12th-straight win.
Dylan Kooner opened the scoring at 2:09 of the second.
Affiliate player Ian Tookenay of Fort Frances, in the lineup along with Kenora Thistles’ Midget ‘AAA’ teammate Hunter Buzzi, notched his first SIJHL assist in teaming with Ryan Gazich to set up Kooner.
SIJHL scoring champ Braeden Allkins (94 points) showed his lethal touch at 14:35–needing just one stride across the middle of the slot before ripping his league-high 53rd goal past Lakers’ goalie Brandon Bodnar.
Kooner, named the SIJHL’s most sportsmanlike player last Wednesday, netted his second goal of the night with 55 seconds left in the period, taking a short pass from Matt Tustin and zinging a shot by Patrick Zubick during a power play.
“Dylan has had a strong season–something we thought he could do if he stayed healthy, and something the team needed him to come in and do for us this season,” Strachan said of the Lakers’ captain.
“His speed generates everything for him,” Strachan noted. “When he is flying, he makes things happen in both ends of the rink, and he is taking advantage of his opportunities and having success in finding the net.
“He has steadily improved over his three years with the team,” added Strachan.
“He leads in a quiet manner for us, speaks his mind when he has to, and goes out and leads by example on the ice.
“He contributes in many ways to the team, whether it is on offence, special teams, or in the last minutes of the period we need to really on him to get the job done.”
The game very well may have shifted during the second period, though, as Lakers’ forwards Jack Bernie (shoulder) and Julian Uhryniuk (head) were lost for the rest of the game.
Dryden tied it at 2-2 at 6:07 of the third on a shot by Matt Leniuk from almost the corner of the rink, which Bodnar got a piece of but not enough as it slipped through him.
Matthew Pitchenese, another affiliate player and Kenora Thistle, then dashed the Lakers’ hopes at 15:02.
After a furious forecheck, Pitchenese dug the puck out along the end boards and centered it to Allkins, then headed straight for the net to tip home Allkins’ shot past Bodnar.
“Obviously, when you lose two players of Jack and Julian’s ability, it hurts your lineup,” said Strachan, whose team went winless in three games entering the post-season.
“For the most part, that has been the tale of our last three games, where we have had OK to good first two periods and then haven’t closed the games out,” he noted.
“Dryden is the best team in the league and good teams find ways to win,” Strachan reasoned.
“They turned up the intensity and we didn’t match it.
“You can’t afford little mistakes or mental blocks against good hockey teams,” he stressed. “They hurt you.”
Now the Lakers turn their attention to the Norskies–a team Fort Frances actually took the season series from by a 6-5 margin in roller-coaster fashion.
The Lakers lost to Thief River Falls in the Norskies’ first-ever regular-season game in the season-opener, then won four-straight and six of the next seven meetings before dropping the three most recent games.
“We have played some of our best defensive games versus the Norskies and limited their Grade-A opportunities,” Strachan remarked.
“We have kept the game simple and did little things correct to help ourselves have success,” he noted.
“We matched their intensity and our special teams has helped in earning that success.”
One of the key factors in the series will be how the Lakers handle what should be a frenzied Norskies’ fan base that set an SIJHL attendance record earlier this season in a game against the Lakers that drew 3,047 people.
“I am sure it will be big and obviously in their favour,” conceded Strachan.
“One advantage we may have is that we have seen big crowds there so we know what to expect,” he reasoned.
“Really, we have to worry about ourselves, our game, and not allow the crowds to be a factor.”
The Lakers’ got a huge shot-in-the-arm last night with the return of forward Jared Virtanen, the team’s leading scorer this season with 74 points, who had been out since Feb. 24 with a shoulder injury.
“He brings a lot to our team and helps the confidence factor,” said Strachan.
“He plays with poise, he has experience in the playoffs, and he is a player that leads by example in his play.
“He seems excited to get the playoffs rolling so we will embrace his presence in the lineup,” Strachan added.
But that still leaves five other Lakers stuck being spectators.
The closest appears to be forward Austin Petrie (upper-body injury), who is back skating with the team and could be back as early as Game 3.
Bernie is out for at least the first two games while Uhryniuk likely won’t see any action for at least this round.
Forward Dawson Waddell (knee) has not resumed hockey exercises yet.
Meanwhile, defenceman Matt Cheetham (knee) skated with the team this week but left practice early after experiencing soreness in the affected area.
