Lucas Punkari
Just 24 hours after the Fort Frances Lakers saw their four-game winning streak snapped at the hands of the Sioux Lookout Flyers on Friday at the Ice For Kids Arena here, the most interested observer as to how the team would preform in a rematch the following night up there might have been head coach and general manager Wayne Strachan.
Following the 4-3 shootout loss to the Flyers, Strachan expressed disappointment with how his team had preformed in the contest, especially with some of the veteran players on his roster.
But like a chameleon, the Lakers’ style of play changed dramatically on Saturday as the squad skated to a 6-2 victory.
“I was very interested to see how and if we would rebound from Friday’s game, and it was like a whole different team was out there on Saturday night,” Strachan noted.
“The work ethic was there and the guys were moving their feet and using their speed. And when we do that, we seem to have success.
“It’s just a matter of getting that consistency out of a few players, and they are our leaders, so that when are on their game, everyone else will follow,” he stressed.
Despite giving up the first goal of the game, the Lakers exploded to life in the second period with three power-play goals to jump ahead 5-2.
Byron Katapaytuk and Dane Morin led the way with a pair of goals each.
“Even though they went up on us 1-0 the first period, I thought that we carried the play overall,” Strachan recalled.
“In the second period, we took over the game and it played out almost exactly to our game plan as, offensively, we cashed in on our power-play chances due to hard work and because the guys were paying the price to score some goals,” he added.
The way the Lakers played was a far cry from what happened here Friday evening, which saw a five-game home winning streak go by the boards.
After a fire-wagon style of hockey in the first period that saw the Lakers grab a 3-2 lead, the Flyers came back to tie the game early in the second.
But neither squad was able to capitalize on their opportunities throughout the rest of regulation and a five-minute overtime period.
Then in the shootout, Chris Hoffman was the only player to score a goal during the shootout, beating Tyler Ampe to give his team the win and leave Strachan very disappointed.
“It was just awful hockey,” he sighed. “We were not prepared to start the game and they jumped on us, which was the nature of the whole game.
“A lot of our veteran players on our team seem to be very satisfied right now, and they don’t want to push themselves to become better players and to help push their younger teammates,” Strachan argued.
“It showed again tonight [Friday] as two 16-year-olds [Colton Spicer and Jordan Larson] scored our goals.
“And if you look at the stats, they have been carrying the load for us.
“Something has got to change, and it might have to be with some of our personnel in order to open some eyes up,” Strachan warned.
One of the issues Strachan had was the defensive play of his team, which got burned on many occasions throughout Friday’s game by the speedy wingers on the Flyers’ roster.
“I don’t think they understand what it takes to win championships,” Strachan remarked.
“I know it’s still early in season, and we have many more games and months ahead of us before the playoffs, but how we improve during this part of the year is crucial and we are not doing that on defence,” he stressed.
“In the past few years, the defensive part of our game has been very sound. [But] this year, it seems whatever we discuss in our systems and about being physical just goes in one ear and out the other, which is sad to see.”
It wasn’t just the defensive side of the game, however, that Strachan was disappointed with Friday night. He expressed displeasure with how some of his veteran forwards were performing.
“Some of these guys are three-year players on this team that know the systems and what we expect to see work ethic-wise, but there is no sense of urgency and desire to come to the rink and do that,” Strachan said.
“That includes off of the ice, as well, as we have guys that are late for our pre-game stretch and runs and for our practices, which is just mind-boggling.
“It’s got to come to an end, and somebody has to either stand up in that room and make it end, or it might come down to our staff making some decisions,” he stressed.
While Strachan felt his team shouldn’t have won the game Friday, Flyers’ bench boss Brad Zangs has an opposite feeling about the way the contest played out, with his team getting their third triumph over the Lakers so far this season.
“They [Fort Frances] played a hell of a game, and I think we just stole this game from them,” Zangs enthused.
“I don’t know what is about us beating them so many times this year, but I think it just comes down to the fact that our kids come ready to play against Fort Frances.
“But it’s always going to be tough,” he conceded.
Although Strachan was disappointed over his team’s play Friday, the performance that was shown in Saturday’s win has helped to turn that feeling around heading into a three-game road trip.
After travelling to Chisholm to face the winless Iron Range Ironheads last night (the outcome wasn’t known by press time), the Lakers will go up against the Wisconsin Wilderness in Spooner on Saturday night before concluding the road trip Sunday night against the Duluth Clydesdales.
The contest between the Wilderness on Saturday, along with a rematch here next Tuesday (Nov. 8), more than likely will be the biggest games of the season for both clubs as they have been jostling back-and-forth for top spot in the SIJHL standings since the season began.
“Wisconsin is a team that plays well at home, and they haven’t lost there at all this year, so we will need to go in there with a warrior’s mentality and give them their first setback,” Strachan said.
“We know that we need to be going in there at the top of our game, especially on defence as they are all about getting the puck into the opponent’s end and getting to the net quickly,” he noted.
Going into last night’s game with the Ironheads, the Lakers (12-2-2) held a slim two-point lead over the defending SIJHL champion Wilderness (12-3-0) for first place.
