By Allan Bradbury
The offence came to life and goaltender Brady Cates was his usual rock-solid self as the Fort Frances Lakers defeated the Thunder Bay North Stars 5-2 on the road Saturday night, tying the Salonen Cup final series at three games apiece and forcing Game 7 this Tuesday at Ice for Kids Arena.
Lakers’ captain Pierce Gouin opened the scoring with about 6:30 remaining in the first period when he picked up a turnover at the blue line and streaked in alone on North Stars goaltender Morgan Blackwood.
Cates fended off nine shots from the North Stars to keep the score 1-0 heading into the first intermission.
A penalty to the North Stars resulting from a scrum after the buzzer meant the Lakers had just over a minute on the powerplay early in the second period and they came out ready to capitalize after Teagan Wrolstad was out of the box.
It was Daniel Tokariwski sitting on the doorstep who was able to put the puck past Blackwood and give the Lakers a 2-0 lead.
There was a substantial presence of Lakers’ fans in the stands at the Fort William Gardens as the Lakers sent three fan buses from Fort Frances, who burst into applause after every Lakers goal.
And they had more opportunities to celebrate.
Following a faceoff win in the defensive zone, Justin Gelderland cleared the puck high off the glass. North Stars defender Casey Lynn attempted to bring the puck down but lost his balance springing Nick Fagnilli; with one defender down, Fagnilli collected the puck just inside the offensive blue line and he and Gouin were in two on one—Fagnilli chose to shoot and beat Blackwood.
It was Fagnilli who got the visiting crowd going again towards the end of the frame.
With the Lakers set up in the offensive zone on a powerplay, Tokariwski passed the puck to point man Zak Green, who passed it to Fagnilli who shot from the left faceoff dot off the far post and into the net.
Despite another penalty at the buzzer, the Lakers were unable to capitalize on the power play in the third.
Around the halfway mark of the period, the North Stars picking at Cates after the whistle led to a scrum that saw two players on each side taken off for four minutes each.
Just before the 13-minute mark, Lakers forward Jace Van Eps took a four-minute kneeing penalty that saw the North Stars break Cates’ shutout.
The Lakers would kill off two minutes down to three men on the ice after Max Caddo took a cross-checking penalty during the second half of Van Eps’ timeout.
The Lakers were able to kill off the five on three but gave up another goal soon after they got back on even ground.
The North Stars pulled Blackwood hoping to draw even but Carter Thiessen was able to score from the Lakers’ end to put the game on ice.
After the game, Head Coach and General Manager Luke Judson said he was pleased with the team’s response after the home loss Friday night.
“That was exactly what we were looking for,” Judson said.
“The guys have rebounded well all year and tonight was no different. We’ve struggled a bit at home, but it’s been a place we’ve done well all year, so we’re looking to turn the tables and finish it off the right way.”
Gouin said he was pleased to see the team stand up for themselves. “I’m just so proud of everybody; we have a really young team and nobody backed down,” he said.
“Everybody gave it their all, so I’m just so happy and proud of everyone.”
The game marked the Lakers first time facing elimination in the playoffs, having received a bye through the first round and eliminating the Kam River Walleye in five games. Judson said they didn’t treat it any differently from any other playoff game going into the do-or-die situation.
“Right from day one, every game we’ve tried to treat the same way, same with tonight,” Judson said.
“We didn’t want to put any pressure on them, they were loose, they were motivated after last night to get back out there and make it a game seven at home.”
Gouin also credited Cates for keeping the team in the game.
“I gotta give it to our goalie, he kept us in it, he’s been keeping us in this entire series,” Gouin said.
Cates stopped 33 of 35 shots from the North Stars for the win while Blackwood allowed five goals on 29 shots from the Lakers.
For his part, Cates praised the veterans, like Fagnilli, Gouin and Tokariwski, the team’s 20-year-old players who scored Saturday night.
“Having those veteran 20-year-olds has been huge,” he said. They’ve been through playoffs, they know what it takes to win,” Cates said. “Having those guys step up in these big moments it means a lot. I think it’s contagious throughout our whole team.”
Gouin said having the busloads of fans their supporting the Lakers helped as they made the push to get back home for game seven.
“It’s so important, it boosts everyone’s morale and it gives us a little more energy on the ice,” he said. “Now we’re heading home and we’ve got all the fan support, so I think everyone’s happy. The quest for the Bill Salonen cup comes down to one final game on Tuesday, Apr. 28 at 7:15 Central Time at Ice for Kids Arena.
