By Allan Bradbury
Staff Writer
Ice For Kids Arena was abuzz with the sound of 800 hockey fans as the Fort Frances Lakers opened up the SIJHL semi-finals with an overtime win on Good Friday in Fort Frances.
The game was a back-and-forth affair as the Lakers and the Kam River Walleye traded attempts on net. But it was Daniel Tokariwski who put the Lakers out front about nine minutes into the series opener.
With the teams at four on four following a cross-checking minor to each team after a scrum near the Walleye bench, Tokariwski managed to find himself alone behind the Walleye defence and was spotted by teammate Judd Pesch, who fed him the puck. Alone against Walleye goalie Sam Keene, Tokariwski roofed it to pop Keene’s water bottle.
Toarkariwski, who lost his grandmother over the break between the end of the regular season and the second round of the playoffs, celebrated by pointing to the sky.
“I saw Kam River going one-on-three against our guys. I was confident our guys would win the puck battle. I snuck behind their three guys coming off the bench,” the forward said.
“I really wanted it at that point, and once I was in the clear, I knew exactly where I wanted to put it; it was just about execution.”
On playing soon following the passing of his grandmother, Tokariwski says he could feel her with him in the game.
“It was a tough week. I’m not gonna lie,” he said.
“I kind of had a similar situation about six years ago. My grandpa passed, and I played the next day. I kind of just feel like there’s an extra hand on my stick when you know there’s a big opportunity, and she would have wanted me to play, my grandma, and I’m glad I did. And that one was for her, and she definitely helped me with that one.”
The rest of the night saw the Lakers get plenty of chances to widen the gap, however, Keene stood firm, stopping 14 of 15 shots in the first and 11 in the second.
Brady Cates, thrust into the role of sole starter for the Lakers following an injury to tandem partner Nolan Koethler, put on a show at times in the Lakers’ net.
He stopped 10 shots in the first frame, eight in the second and looked to be on his way to a shutout, but the Lakers struggled to clear the zone in a third period that saw Kam River pepper Cates with 26 shots. In the end, it took an empty Walleye net and six skaters to beat Cates.
Cates says he tried to take the game one shot at a time.
“We were scrambling, we took three penalties, so we were killing for a lot of it,” he said.
“I was just trying to take it one shot at a time. I trust our guys; we did what we could. If that’s how they’re scoring on us six on five with 1:30 left, I’ll take that.”
With a flood of the rink ahead of a potential 20-minute overtime period, the Lakers took to the dressing room to regroup and returned to the ice looking much better than they had in the third period.
The Lakers had a handful of attempts on the power play when Nick Carlson of the Walleye was sent off for high-sticking less than two minutes into the extra frame, but they failed to capitalize.
It was the Lakers’ season-leading scorer Nick Fagnilli, a former Walleye himself, who managed to secure the win for the home team.
Fagnilli forced a turnover at the Walleye blue line, walked in and rifled it past Keene for the game-winner.
“Their d-man tried to dangle me, and I kind of stopped it with my feet and kicked it ahead to myself, and realized I had a one-on-one situation and I could use their other d-man as a screen, and I just picked the top left, and it went off the post and in.”
Head Coach and General Manager Luke Judson said he’s hoping to see better defensive zone clearances in game two.
“In our d-zone, we can get out quicker. We get a chance to clear the puck, I think it’s got to be out,” Judson said.
“It’s playoff hockey, you’ve got to make sure the pucks are out when you get a chance. We saw that at the end of the game, I thought we had a few chances to clear it to maintain the lead late, but we didn’t get it out, and ultimately, if they get enough chances, they’re gonna put one in.”
Following almost two weeks off between games, there was a sharpness missing from the Lakers’ play.
“Were we as sharp as I would have liked? No, but I mean, ultimately, you have to be happy with the result,” Judson said.
“You know, the guys found a way; they kept a good attitude on the bench. They stayed together. That’s really all we can ask for, and uh, you know, we’ll try and get a second one tomorrow.”
