Hats off

Coming up a win short of the SIJHL crown, after having three cracks at it, was a disappointing end to the 2011-12 season for the Fort Frances Lakers. But there’s certainly no reason for anyone to hang their heads.
Just three years after the community-owned club was cobbled together at the last minute when the former Fort Frances Jr. Sabres folded shortly before the 2009-10 season, the Lakers enjoyed their most successful campaign yet—compiling a 37-12-7 record during the regular season en route to a second-straight second-place finish behind the Wisconsin Wilderness.
But it was during the playoffs that the team really shone. First, they upset Wisconsin in the 1 vs. 2 “showdown” series, avenging a loss a year earlier. Then in the semi-finals, they swept the Dryden Ice Dogs—the team that had ousted the Lakers in that round the previous two seasons. And, as we all know, Fort Frances opened up a 3-1 lead in the thrilling final against the Wilderness before dropping the next three games to miss a berth in the Dudley Hewitt Cup.
Hats off to everyone involved with the Lakers’ organization—the management, coaches, players, and volunteers—for a terrific season. It’s great to see junior hockey remain in Fort Frances (after the Borderland Thunder and Jr. Sabres fell by the wayside) as a source of civic pride, an economic driver, and an opportunity for local players to suit up here at home.
The Lakers also are very community-minded, both through the club’s “Adopt-a-School” program and by helping out with various events like parades and the “Backyard Haunt” at Tess’s Kitchen each Hallowe’en.
Hopefully the Lakers continue to call Fort Frances—and the Ice For Kids Arena—home for many seasons to come.