Joey Payeur
A break in their schedule didn’t mean the Fort Frances Lakers were catching any breaks from those who compile the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s weekly top 20 rankings.
With a rare 10-day break in their schedule, the Lakers’ inactivity cost them three spots as they fell from No. 10 to No. 13 in the rankings.
Fort Frances (14-5-1) now is tied for top spot in the SIJHL with the Thunder Bay North Stars (14-7-1), who got an honourable mention in this week’s rankings, although the Lakers do hold two games in hand.
The Portage Terriers (MJHL), featuring local twins Davis and Nolan Ross and former Lakers’ goalie Talor Joseph, hold the top spot in the rankings thanks to a 12-game winning streak that puts their record at a phenomenal 28-1-1.
All three players have had a big hand in the tremendous start for the Terriers, who will host the RBC Cup national Junior ‘A’ championship this May.
Joseph is sporting a 14-1 record, which is tied with teammate Dustin Laforest for the most victories in the MJHL.
He also has a sparkling 1.44 GAA and .937 save percentage to lead the league in both those categories.
Davis Ross, meanwhile, has 22 points in 29 games while Nolan has chipped in with seven points in 20 games.
Meanwhile, Lakers’ general manager and head coach Wayne Strachan wasn’t twiddling his thumbs during his squad’s hiatus from competition.
He spent the time reshaping his roster—making several moves that were announced Friday, with three players moving on and two more coming in.
Forward Alex Rezansoff and defenceman Max Kaercher were traded to the Minnesota Iron Rangers while defenceman George Roblin was sent to the English River Miners.
The Lakers obtained player development fees in both transactions.
Proving not only can you go home again, but you can do it twice, Fort Frances native Donovan Cousineau signed with the Lakers for a third time.
Cousineau, 20, played five games with the Lakers in the 2009-10 season without registering a point.
He then had six goals and 17 assists in 26 regular-season games last year, along with two goals and five assists in 13 playoff games.
Another new face in the Lakers’ lineup is forward Marco Romano, a 20-year-old native of Burnaby, B.C.
Romano actually joined the team almost a month ago, but hadn’t seen the ice yet as he healed from a fractured hand sustained in a car accident.
“Both will bring speed and skill to our lineup, and most likely will start off playing alongside one another,” Strachan said of Cousineau and Romano.
“Donovan has experience with helping us in the playoffs last year and at the Dudley Hewitt,” he noted.
“And Marco has [BCHL] experience and knows what it takes to compete at a high level.”
The pair made their first appearance last night against the visiting Dryden GM Ice Dogs (the score was unavailable at press time).
The Lakers then play their next two games on the road—beginning with tonight’s contest in Thunder Bay against the North Stars.
After that, it’s off to Hoyt Lakes on Friday for a showdown with third-place Minnesota (11-6-3), which suddenly has picked up steam with four-straight wins entering the match-up.
The Lakers’ next home game is slated for this Tuesday (Dec. 2) against Dryden.
This game was postponed from Nov. 4 after the Ice Dogs ere unable to ice enough players for the contest after four of their members were involved in a car accident.
In other SIJHL news, Iron Rangers’ forward Thomas Fazio was chosen as Amyotte’s Awards & Promotions player-of-the-week on Monday.
He had seven points in three games for Minnesota last week.
The Lakers didn’t have a nominee for the award due to not having played during that span.
