Joey Payeur
Forgive Brett Hahkala if he has become a Raider hater.
The 17-year-old Fort Frances native and the rest of the NOJHL champion Powassan Voodoos have seen enough of the Georgetown Raiders after losing games on back-to-back days to the OJHL kingpins at the Dudley Hewitt Cup Central Canadian Junior ‘A’ Championship in Trenton.
One day after falling 5-2 to the Raiders on Friday to finish third in the round-robin, Georgetown edged the Voodoos 2-1 in Saturday’s semi-final.
With Powassan taking 50 penalty minutes compared to 28 for the Raiders, the Voodoos’ penalty-killing units were heroic in killing off all 13 Georgetown power plays.
But the Powassan man-advantage units struggled in their own right in going 0-for-10.
“You can’t go into the refs for that,” said Hahkala, who registered no points in three games at the tournament.
“We did the best we could and kept one of the best teams in the country to 2-1, even though we spent half the game in the penalty box,” he noted.
Jack Jacome scored just 1:20 into the first period, then Jordan Crocker beat Powassan goalie Nate McDonald just over two minutes later to put the Raiders up 2-0 early.
A final frantic push after Dayton Murray’s goal for the Voodoos with 2:30 left in the third period cut the Raiders’ lead in half was too little, too late.
“We missed a couple of chances on the doorstep,” Hahkala recalled.
“After we scored, they couldn’t get it out of their zone.
“[Georgetown goalie Josh Astorino] played really well–we couldn’t get one by him,” he added.
“Our one player had an open net, but the puck bounced over his stick with two seconds left.
“It’s a tough way to go out,” Hahkala lamented.
The Voodoos got no favours from the schedule-makers to start the tournament, drawing the defending and eventual two-time champion Trenton Golden Hawks in their opening game.
Trenton, who went on to beat Georgetown 2-1 in Saturday’s final to advance to the RBC Cup in Cobourg from May 13-21, powered its way to a 5-1 win over the Voodoos.
“They’ve got a really good top two lines, but we didn’t show up ready to play the game,” Hahkala admitted.
“We’re such a young team in the Dudley Hewitt Cup and they’re a team with mostly 19- and 20-year-olds,” he noted.
Already behind the eight-ball, Powassan next had to face the SIJHL champion Dryden GM Ice Dogs, who had stunned Georgetown 5-4 in overtime in their opener.
But a much-improved Voodoos’ team held on for a 4-3 win.
“That was a big statement game for us, especially since Dryden beat Georgetown and after we lost 5-1,” said Hahkala.
“People were probably asking, ‘Should that team even be there?'” he added.
“It was a big win for the NOJHL.”
In their round-robin finale Friday, the Voodoos and Raiders were tied 2-2 until Georgetown’s Ryan Takamatsu scored with 4:01 left in the second.
“We were right there but that goal just sucked the air out of everyone,” noted Hahkala, who was an unexpected healthy scratch for the game.
“I was a little surprised after having played all the way through the [NOJHL] playoffs,” he remarked.
“But it’s hockey. It happens.
“Coach told me I was scratched for the game because he wanted me to rest and that I would be back in the next game,” Hahkala added.
There would not have been a next game had Dryden beat Trenton in the final round-robin game to jump past Powassan for third place and push the Voodoos out of the playoff mix.
But Trenton crushed the Ice Dogs 10-4 to clinch the bye to the final by finishing first and pushing Dryden into the off-season.
Hahkala had 37 points in 45 regular-season games and eight points in 10 playoff games with the Voodoos this season while also getting a five-game stint with the OHL’s North Bay Battalion.
He termed his first season of junior hockey “amazing” for both himself and the team.
“It put Powassan on the map for it being only the third year of the franchise,” Hahkala said.
“I learned a lot this season that will carry over to next year,” he added.
“We’ve got a lot of guys returning [just one 20-year-old on the roster this year] and for the next two to three years, we’re going to do a lot of damage.”
