Canadians fall in consolation final But team still

The Fort Frances Canadians had to settle for being the fourth-best team at the Wayzata Junior Gold ‘A’ Invitational hockey tournament over the weekend after the local Midget ‘AA’ team fell 3-2 in the consolation final.
“When it’s all said and done, I thought we did pretty good. Out of 12 teams, we got fourth,” head coach Dave Egan said. “I don’t think it’s anything to be ashamed of.”
The Canadians dropped their first game Saturday afternoon by a 6-0 score to a top-rated Centennial team hailing from the Twin Cities, in what Egan called the team’s “poorest game of the season.”
“We just couldn’t get on track and they just kept pouring it on,” he noted. “I don’t know if we want to call it bus legs, but we certainly didn’t get our legs moving.
“Before we knew it, we were down 3-0 . . . within the first 10 minutes.”
The Canadians did rebound later that night with a 3-2 win over host Wayzata, with Kyle Herr, Jared Baker, and Matt Goldamer scoring the goals.
The squad then headed from pool play to the consolation bracket with a game against Moorhead early Sunday, playing on an Olympic-sized rink.
The Canadians took to advantage of the open ice and rose to the occasion with a thundering 9-0 win.
Herr led the way with a hat trick, with the other goals coming from Jamie Kaun, Jordan Sinclair, Brandon Legarie, Goldamer, Branden Cawston, and Steve Beck.
Then facing Bloomington Jefferson in the consolation final, the Canadians lost by a narrow 3-2 margin.
Ryan Shortreed and Goldamer were the goal scorers.
Egan said Herr’s goal-scoring was a real catalyst for the success the team did enjoy in Wayzata.
“He really stepped his game up and he felt good about it, and from a coach’s perspective, he’s a little guy who plays with a big heart and when he’s going, the rest of the team sort of feeds off that,” Egan remarked.
While fourth place wasn’t what the Canadians were looking for, Egan noted it wasn’t all bad.
“There were a few boys that, as of late, might’ve been struggling, and they just seemed to pull their game together over the weekend,” he said. “It looks like they’re back on track.”
The Canadians are back in action this weekend in Grand Forks, N.D. for four games in a similar-styled tournament, with their opening game slated for Friday at 8 p.m.