Joey Payeur
For once, Pierce Dushenko was on the other end of the dogpile and he was loving every oxygen-deprived, lung-crushing moment of it.
Dushenko let in a goal in the opening minute, then was nearly perfect for the next 59 to preserve a 4-2 win for the Fort Frances Lakers over the host Dryden GM Ice Dogs in Game 6 of the SIJHL final Saturday night.
Lakers’ captain Dylan Robertson, already named the Amyotte’s Awards & Promotions most valuable player for the regular season, tacked on the Gonghshow Gear playoff MVP title after leading all scorers with 17 points in 10 games.
The victory gave the Lakers their third-straight SIJHL crown—a feat accomplished only twice before by the Fort William North Stars (2004-06) and the Wisconsin/Minnesota Wilderness (2011-13).
Looming large is a third-straight trip to the Dudley Hewitt Cup from May 3-7 in Kirkland Lake, with the Lakers hoping to erase last year’s memory of falling one goal short of its first RBC Cup national championship appearance in a 3-2 loss in the final here to the Soo Thunderbirds (NOJHL).
The Thunderbirds will be back again, along with the OJHL champion Trenton Golden Hawks and the host Kirkland Lake Gold Miners (NOJHL).
“The last two years, I was the guy watching my team win a championship from the bench,” said Dushenko, referring to filling the back-up role on the Coquitlam Express in 2014 and then for the Lakers behind Nathan Park last season.
“It feels a lot better when you’re the guy in goal,” he added.
“There’s not even words.”
Matt Houston beat Dushenko 12 seconds into Saturday night’s game before Ryley Bosman tied it at 2:29 with a Houdini-like trick shot from almost behind the Dryden net that found a way past Ice Dogs’ goalie Troy Pierce.
The Lakers virtually owned the puck in the second period—finally cashing in when Roshen Jaswal picked up the rebound of his blocked shot and waltzed in to rip a wrist shot by Pierce at 6:16.
Jaswal was in on last year’s playoff experience and rejoined the Lakers in a Nov. 16 trade after starting the season with the Kanata Lasers (CCHL).
“I was looking for something that I had here all along,” an emotional Jaswal said in the aftermath of the Lakers’ win.
“Fort is home,” he noted. “I have to thank all the coaches for bringing me back.”
A.J. Rupert then carved his name even deeper into Lakers’ lore when he took another Robertson feed and skated in front to score a power-play goal at 12:01 of the third that made it 3-1.
“Three years in the league and I finally got my championship,” said the gleeful forward, who scored the overtime winner in Friday night’s 6-5 win in Game 5 at the Ice For Kids Arena.
Rupert spent the last two years with the Minnesota Iron Rangers, then started this season with Kirkland Lake before joining the Lakers in a Dec. 2 trade.
“I love these boys,” he declared. “I don’t even know what to say.”
Nic Noseworthy kept Dryden’s hopes alive when Kyle Pouncy’s point shot bounced off his body and behind Dushenko with 4:28 left in regulation time.
Pierce headed for the bench with less than two minutes left for an extra attacker.
But that opened the door for Christian Ripley to send a long shot into the empty net with 1:19 to go—putting his team and the 100 or so Lakers’ fans who travelled to Dryden for the game in a state of euphoria.
The former group included twin brothers Nolan and Davis Ross, who were brought back home to Fort Frances to finish their junior careers when the Lakers dealt for them at the January trade deadline from the Virden Oil Capitals (MJHL) in exchange for forward Carter Chorney.
“This is awesome, especially to win it with my brother,” smiled Davis, who won the RBC Cup national championship with the Portage Terriers (MJHL) last year.
“This is the first time we’ve won a championship together.”
“There’s nothing better than winning a team championship,” echoed Nolan.
“To do it for your hometown makes it even more exciting.”
Dushenko almost didn’t get to experience his golden moment as he had hoped.
A 6-2 loss in Game 1 of the series didn’t have Lakers’ head coach and general manager Wayne Strachan blaming him for the outcome.
But he still considered a switch to the SIJHL’s leader in GAA and save percentage this season in back-up Brandon Bodnar.
“My assistants gave me feedback after the game and really thought Pierce could do it for us,” recalled Strachan, who has helmed the Lakers to all three league titles.
“He [Dushenko] battled through when he needed to,” Strachan added. “I can’t say enough about what he did.”
The Lakers’ title run looked to be in serious jeopardy following a 4-1 road loss in Game 3 that put them down 2-1 in the series.
But Dushenko was like a pit bull guarding his front porch in Game 4 last Wednesday in Dryden—stopping all 35 shots in a 2-0 victory.
“That was the turning point,” said Robertson. “We knew if we got down 3-1 [that] it was going to be tough to come back.”
With home-ice advantage back on their side, the Lakers escaped a Game 5 high-wire act at the Ice For Kids Arena on Friday night.
Rupert, who scored at 12:01 of the third to give the Lakers a 5-4 lead, only to have Derek McPhail tie it up 54 seconds later, played the hero 50 seconds into the extra session.
On a line reunited from the regular season, Nolan Ross got the puck to Robertson, who somehow slipped its through two Dryden sticks and one defender’s legs right onto the stick of Rupert, who whipped it short side on Ice Dogs’ goalie Taylor Unruh.
“What a finish,” Robertson said about Rupert’s tally.
“He really picked his game up from Game 4 on.”
Strachan wasn’t hesitant to highlight the fact there were plenty of doubters walking the streets of Fort Frances when it came to his team’s chances earlier in the campaign.
“People were counting us out early in the season,” he recounted.
“We were getting compared to last year’s team and fans around town were saying, ‘You’re not as good,’” added Strachan.
“But we found the pieces of the puzzle to add to make us better.
“We may not have the firepower of the past but the guys stepped up at the right time,” Strachan said.
The script is familiar at this point, but Strachan hoped a precedent will serve as good luck for his team in Kirkland Lake.
“If you look at the track record of teams from this league, the third time’s been the charm,” he observed, referring to the Wilderness winning the Dudley Hewitt on their third try and advancing to the RBC Cup, which this year is booked for Lloydminster, Alta./Sask. from May 14-24.
“We’re hoping that’s on our side, too.”
