Jamie Mountain
It was a bit of a roller-coaster ride for the Fort Frances Lakers last week.
After being embarrassed in back-to-back home games, first 7-1 by the Thief River Falls Norskies last Tuesday and then 7-3 at the hands of the Thunder Bay North Stars on Friday, the squad bounced back in a big way Saturday night.
The Lakers exacted some revenge on the SIJHL-leading Norskies with a 2-1 shootout victory at the Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Adam Withers scored in regulation time, then Jaedin Ness notched the lone goal in the shootout to lead the Lakers to just their 11th win of the season.
“We came out and played with a purpose, were focused, and wanted it,” said Lakers’ head coach and general manager Wayne Strachan.
“As a staff, we were very pleased [and] it was good to see,” he added.
“We could have easily rolled over and gave up but we came to work for [a full] 60 minutes.”
Brett Akins was outstanding between the pipes, finishing with 38 stops in one of his best starts of the season.
Strachan lauded the play of his key players over the Lakers’ recent stretch of games.
“I think since moving Adam Withers to centre, his game has excelled,” he enthused.
“He has led us offensive-wise since returning from [the Christmas] break.
“Ian Jarvis has scored some big goals for us lately, and Anthony Antonelli continues to improve his game and is playing strong defensively,” Strachan added.
“Brett Akins played a great game Saturday. [He] was big, in position, and made key saves.
“Overall, everyone is contributing in some way and that is what you need to have success,” he stressed.
Given how the week started for the Lakers, Saturday’s outcome seemingly came from out of nowhere.
The first-place Norskies stormed out to an early four-goal lead against the Lakers last Tuesday at the Ice For Kids Arena and never looked back.
Thief River Falls was all business in a dominant opening 14 minutes that saw the Lakers mostly running around in their own zone.
Parker Simonson opened the scoring on the power play at 2:46 before Mitchell Soderberg notched a short-handed tally at 5:29.
Aslan Akervik and Logan Jackson then added even-strength goals to give the
Norskies a commanding 4-0 lead after 20 minutes.
That offensive outburst ended the night for Lakers’ starting goalie Ismael Ralsten, who was replaced by Akins.
“Tuesday night, we never got anything going; weren’t in the hockey game at all,” Strachan conceded after Friday night’s 7-3 loss to visiting Thunder Bay.
“Obviously, against that team [Thief River Falls], you can’t spot them four goals after the first period.”
The goalie change didn’t deter the Norskies as defenceman Jake Eischen netted his first goal of the season 4:48 into the second frame to make it 5-0.
The Lakers’ lone bright spot came when Ian Jarvis spoiled Jackson Nelson’s shutout bid just past the three-minute mark of the third with his 12th of the season.
And that was as close as they would get as Simonson and Alec Daman notched goals less than 34 seconds apart later in the period to cap the scoring.
Ralsten was tagged with the loss after surrendering four goals on just eight shots.
Akins handled 22-of-25 attempts in relief.
Then Friday night produced another miserable result for the Lakers.
Avery Siau, Kyle Auger, Brendan Gillis, and Keighan Gerrie all notched a goal and an assist to pace Thunder Bay’s attack in the 7-3 romp.
The visitors jumped out to a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes on goals from Alex Leonidas (power play) and Gerrie.
The Lakers fought back, though, getting a strike from Loveday just 51 seconds into the second before Ward tied it at 7:07.
But that success was short-lived as Siau (short-handed), Auger, Joe Newhouse, and Troy Sherman all connected in an eight-minute span to extend the North Stars’ lead to 6-2 through 40 minutes.
Gillis pushed it to 7-2 with 4:30 to go in the third.
Ness fired a shot top-shelf past former Laker Brandon Bodnar at 17:53 for his 19th of the season to make it 7-3, but that was as close as the Lakers would get.
Ralsten again took the loss, registering 38 stops.
The Lakers currently are hosting the SIJHL’s annual “Showcase” at the Ice For Kids Arena that began yesterday and runs through today.
All six SIJHL teams were in action yesterday (outcomes weren’t known at press time) in front of college, junior, and pro scouts.
Today’s games will see the third-place North Stars taking on the fourth-place English River Miners, followed by the first-place Norskies battling the cellar-dwelling Minnesota Iron Rangers (3-31-1-2).
The Lakers, currently occupying fifth place in the SIJHL, then will face the second-place Dryden GM Ice Dogs tonight to cap the action.
Strachan said he was looking for a more focused effort from his team during the “Showcase.”
“We need to find our road mentality at home, [and] we need good starts in every game and [to] stay positive,” he stressed.
“Nothing bothered us on Saturday,” he noted.
“We stuck to the game plan and every player wanted to gut out the win, and we need that consistently every game.”
After the “Showcase” wraps up, the Lakers then will cap the week against the host Norskies on Friday night.
