Mitch Calvert
Coming on the heels of a disappointing two-game sweep at the hands of the Fort William North Stars here this past Friday and Saturday, changes soon may be on the horizon for the struggling Fort Frances Lakers.
The Lakers dropped back-to-back games by scores of 11-6 and 4-2 to the first place North Stars (10-1), and now sport a 0-5-1 record at the Ice For Kids Arena and a 2-7-2 mark overall.
Friday night’s game was a see-saw affair, with at least five goals being scored in each period.
The Lakers actually jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the first period was half old on goals from Dwight Lee, Colton Kennedy, and Mike Jourdain. But the Stars got goals from Travis Savard and Alex Cooper before the end of the period to sway the momentum and they never looked back.
Cooper and Kennedy exchanged goals to begin the second, keeping the Lakers ahead 4-3, but the North Stars then scored four goals in a four-minute span to break the game wide open.
Jordan Sinclair got one back before the end of the period, but the North Stars continued where they left off in the third—netting four more goals to close out the rout.
Cooper scored five goals to go with an assist while Gamache netted two. Kevin Hamel, Olivier Morin, Savard, and Rainy River’s Dan Usiski added singles for the Stars.
Kennedy led the way offensively for Lakers, notching a pair of goals and two assists.
Sinclair, Jourdain, Jordan Carne, and Lee had the other goals.
“Friday was definitely filled with a lot of different moods and emotions,” Lakers’ head coach Wayne Strachan noted.
“The first seven minutes we looked like the Pittsburgh Penguins; the next 53 we looked like a weak novice ‘A’ team,” he remarked.
Despite giving up 10 goals, goalie Jameson Shortreed could not be blamed solely for the loss.
“He played well and had to make many stops,” Strachan said. “The goals were mental breakdowns by the five guys in front of him.”
Fort Frances product Josh Scott admitted morale is low among the players right now.
“It’s pretty low, can’t go much lower,” he lamented. “We had that lead [Friday] and lost it, and it was downhill from there.
“Just breaking out and finishing hits, that’s what I want to see us do better,” Scott insisted. “[Our opponents] have the puck too much because we aren’t finishing hits and it just goes from there.”
The Lakers showed confidence in going back to Shortreed on Saturday, and he rose to the occasion to stop 68 of 72 shots in a 4-2 loss that could have been a lot worse if not for his efforts.
All told, Shortreed faced 137 shots over the two nights.
“Shortreed rebounded well and he was the only reason we were not embarrassed,” Strachan remarked.
“All the hard work and extra work we put into building our team systems up, and having success for most of a four-game stretch, all went down the drain,” he lamented.
“The motto of the game is never to be too high or low with your emotions,” he stressed. “Good teams that stay on an even keel are the teams that produce and ultimately have success.
“I was victim of this on Friday, too, but we need to compete and learn how to compete against everyone in the league,” Strachan said.
Devlin native Jordan Davis had a goal and an assist in Saturday night’s game to lead the North Stars while Mitch Forbes, Cody Fraser, and Gamache also scored for the visitors.
Kennedy netted both markers for the home squad to give him eight goals on the season. He has 16 points to sit fourth overall in the SIJHL scoring race.
Strachan said some players simply aren’t buying in and changes will need to be made.
“It wasn’t like they were not prepared by the staff for the North Stars, it wasn’t like we didn’t have a game plan, and it wasn’t like they were not told how they were going to play,” Strachan remarked.
“Bottom line is we are a young team, a new team, [and] a team that has a lot of players who need to learn the game and need to learn that wherever they played in the past doesn’t matter anymore,” he added.
“We had four-six players play themselves off the team and changes are coming in the next weeks as soon as we can find bodies and players that are willing to come in and be team players,” he noted.
Thin on depth to begin the season, the Lakers’ recent struggles have been made worse by injuries to forwards Byron Katapaytuk, Tyler Stevenson, and Brendan Muise.
Muise, who suffered a fractured cheek bone during a home game against the Dryden Ice Dogs late last month, is expected back tomorrow against the K&A Wolverines in Thunder Bay.
“We are awaiting the arrival of Katapaytuk, Stevenson, and Muise from injury, hopefully this week, and know it makes us a better team,” Strachan said.
“We have to secure some defensive spots and changes are coming,” he added. “We have a few things in the works and are hoping all will pan out.”
There’s certainly a core group of players who have come to play on a nightly basis for the Lakers, but they are the minority right now.
“I know we have a lot of good hockey players and team players on this team, and those are the guys we will build around in the next month,” Strachan vowed. “We’ll find them some players that are willing to compete.
“We need to forget about the weekend,” he said. “We have had a day-and-a-half to forget about it and hopefully we bring our game faces to practice [this week].
“We need to start practising like we need to play in games: full-out intensity,” he stressed. “We have only a handful of players in our room now that are committed to working hard day in and day out.”
A silver lining to the weekend sweep was the play of newcomer Dwight Lee, who was picked up from the Seguin Bruins of the OJHL last week.
Lee scored the opening goal in Friday night’s game and added an assist on Jourdain’s first-period marker that same night.
“For the most part, he had a good weekend,” Strachan said. “He needs to get his legs under him, but will contribute and be a part of the team for our future.”
Another positive has been the improved play of the penalty kill, which held the Stars without a goal in six chances Saturday. The penalty kill has now been successful at a 72.22 percent clip—still last of the five full-time members of the SIJHL, but closer to the pack now.
The Lakers’ injury woes also have been lessened by the improved play of some first-year local players, notably Sinclair, Scott, and Jourdain.
“It’s a big upgrade [from high school],” Scott admitted. “Tougher players, more hitting. It’s an eye-opener.
“I’ve been adjusting and getting more ice time since I stepped my game up with more hitting and on-the-tape [passes],” he added.
The Lakers travel to Thunder Bay to take on the last-place K&A Wolverines (1-10-2) tomorrow.
The Lakers sit two points up on the Wolverines for fourth while Sioux Lookout (6-5) are alone in third.
The Dryden Ice Dogs (8-1) are just four points behind the North Stars for top spot, with two games in hand.
