The Fort Frances Midget ‘AA’ Canadians no longer are the only undefeated team in the Manitoba Eastman Midget Hockey League after dropping a sloppy 4-3 decision to the visiting La Broquerie Habs at the Ice for Kids Arena here Sunday.
The Canadians got off to a rocky start, allowing three goals in the first four minutes of the game before sending starting goalie Mark Buist to the bench.
Wade Friesen stepped in and allowed only one more goal the rest of the way, but the damage already was done.
Alain Beauchamp added two goals to his league-leading tally for the Habs while Tanner Ward netted three points in a losing cause for the home side.
Missed opportunities were the order of the day for the Canadians. It seemed nothing was quite clicking as body checks either missed the target or just bounced off, passes failed to find the mark, and power plays fizzled when they appeared.
The Canadians also took a number of unnecessary penalties—sometimes neutralizing power plays of their own throughout the first two periods.
During the second intermission, coach Dave Egan appeared to get his charges back in the game as the Canadians came out and made a credible comeback bid.
Ward closed the gap to 3-1 at the 8:27 mark on a deft set-up by Brian Chambers. Then Jason Caldwell brought the team to within one at 10:33 with help from Ward and Tyler Pocock.
With momentum now on their side, the Canadians finally began to show why they were 9-0 coming into this game, but Beauchamp’s unassisted tally at 12:16 once again opened a two-goal margin for the visitors.
Brian Vargas brought the Canadians back to within one on the power play at 13:36, assisted by Ward. But despite pulling their goalie for an extra attacker with more than a minute left, Fort Frances was unable to notch the equalizer.
After the game, Egan obviously was not pleased with his team’s effort, but remained convinced there was nothing fundamentally in need of fixing to maintain the team’s status as the one to beat in the league.
“We didn’t play three periods. It’s as simple as that,” Egan remarked.
“The best thing we can do now is use this as positive,” he added. “We have to remember when you’re undefeated, the other teams step it up against you.”
With that streak now behind them, the Canadians will be focusing on two road games this weekend—playing Steinbach on Saturday and then facing the Terriers in Portage la Prairie.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
