In his return from an injury that might have dashed his hopes of ever playing, Fort Frances Lakers goaltender Nolan Koethler stopped 43 of 46 shots sent his way and made a big poke check to help seal a 4-3 shootout win over the Sioux Lookout Bombers Saturday night.
Koethler was working on his family farm on a bye week before the playoffs last season when the tractor he was driving was hit by a truck.
There was some uncertainty as to whether or not he’d ever play hockey again, but on Saturday night he looked very close to the same goaltender who helped the Lakers to the top spot in the regular season standings last season.
Following the win, Lakers Head Coach and General Manager Luke Judson said the biggest part of the win was just seeing Koethler back on the ice.
“That’s the story of the night, and that’s where our celebration lies. It’s a huge night for him, his perseverance, his character,” Judson said. “To want to do the work to be back here and to want to be back as a Laker. I mean, that means more than anything to me and to his teammates. We can talk about the details of the game all day, but it’s a pretty special night for a pretty special kid.”
For his part, Koethler said being back in game action brought up a lot of feelings for him.
“This is awesome,” he said. “It’s a very emotional game for me, but lots of fun to get back out there and see all the fans again.”
Koethler said he’s not always one for shootouts but was happy to be able to bring the team to a win.
“I’m not the biggest fan of shootouts, but you know, I just had to get a couple deep breaths and get dialled in there,” he said. “I just had to reset after their goal and go from there. I trust the shooters and just trust myself in net.”
With the shootout tied at a goal apiece, Bombers forward Tate Rigel took the puck in on Koethler, but a strong poke check from the Lakers goaltender ended Rigel’s opportunity.
Then it was Lakers rookie Anthony Yerxa who was next up to shoot for the home team. Yerxa came across the goal mouth and dangled Bombers goaltender Stanislav Stefaniv before putting the puck past him on the backhand.
Koethler said he saw Rigel take his eye off the puck briefly and decided to take his chance with the poke check.
“He came in kind of that right side there, and I knew he was gonna go glove,” the goalie said. “He’s a right-handed shooter. He was looking there the whole time. Then he looked down at the puck. He was just close enough; it was probably the most solid poke check I’ve ever done.”
This was the Lakers’ second game in a row to take extra time. They fell to the Thunder Bay North Stars 5-4 in overtime in a matinee game in Thunder Bay on Thursday.
The Lakers will take on the Red Lake Miners on Friday night, Oct. 16, at Ice for Kids Arena in their only contest this week, followed by a game in Dryden against the Ice Dogs next Friday, followed by a midweek contest at home on Tuesday, Oct. 27, against the Kam River Walleye. All Lakers home games are scheduled to start at 7:15 p.m.
