Joey Payeur
The Fort Frances Lakers gave their time generously to help out in the community this past season.
But that generosity proved detrimental when it came to their biggest games of the year.
The three-time defending SIJHL champs were hamstrung by turnovers and penalties as they went 0-3 record to finish in fourth place and out of the playoffs at the Dudley Hewitt Cup (Central Canadian Junior ‘A’ hockey championship) last week in Kirkland Lake.
The OJHL champion Trenton Golden Hawks claimed their first Dudley Hewitt title with a 4-0 shutout of the defending champion Soo Thunderbirds (NOJHL) in the final to advance to the RBC Cup in Lloydminster, Alta./Sask. from May 14-24.
“It’s never easy to lose, no matter what time of the year it is, especially when you are used to success,” said Lakers’ head coach and general manager Wayne Strachan.
“It hurt,” he admitted. “I had high expectations going to the tournament for us, and I look back now and all the stars didn’t align like we needed them to.
“[But] it’s over and time to move on and learn from the experience,” he reasoned.
After leading 5-4 through two periods, a stockpile of defensive lapses led to an 8-5 loss to the host Gold Miners (NOJHL) in the Lakers’ opening game last Tuesday night.
That theme carried over to the following afternoon, when the Thunderbirds—who quashed the Lakers’ RBC Cup dreams by beating them in the Dudley Hewitt final here last year—erased a 4-3 deficit to squeeze out a 6-5 triumph.
Then when Trenton beat Kirkland Lake 5-1 that night, the Lakers officially were eliminated from playoff contention.
“It was a combination of a few things; breakdowns defensively, bad turnovers, and bad penalties in the first game,” noted Strachan, who had to deal with the loss of his grandmother, Margaret Strachan, just a few days before leaving for Kirkland Lake.
“In the second game again, breakdowns defensively and bad turnovers,” he added.
“But earlier in the game, inopportune penalties also hurt us.
“We had a few players struggle with their defensive game,” Strachan admitted.
“As a team, we were very puck-focused in our own end at times and you can’t turn pucks over in the neutral zone in a small rink against good teams,” he stressed.
“Not pointing any blame but we didn’t get that key save to keep a lead.”
AJ Rupert had to leave the game against the Soo when he was rocked into the boards from behind by Adam McPhail.
Meanwhile, Lakers’ starting goalie Pierce Dushenko suffered a hip injury and had to be replaced by back-up Brandon Bodnar.
“AJ having to leave the Soo game hurt,” said Strachan. “He was playing well and his line was creating opportunities.
“He has just missed a good scoring chance off a rebound before he was crushed into the boards.
“He tried to come back out to no avail,” Strachan added.
“Pierce, I thought, was playing pretty well, even with the score 4-4,” he continued. “But he couldn’t get his hip to loosen up enough to get back in to be effective in his movement.
“You can’t speculate what may have happened if both could have finished the game, but they were key components in getting us there, so you never know.”
The Lakers were a solid third-period team during the season, but were outscored 6-1 in the final frame of their first two games at the Dudley Hewitt Cup.
“Definitely uncharacteristic of our team, but the things I mentioned above hurt you at tournaments like this,” Strachan noted.
“And playing a full 60 minutes is key against the competition you are going to meet,” he stressed.
“We just couldn’t put things together in the third period to help win games.”
The Lakers then closed out play Thursday afternoon with a 3-0 loss to Trenton.
“We talked about having pride, representing ourselves and the SIJHL, and being the only team that may have a chance to beat Trenton at the tournament,” Strachan recalled about the team’s pre-game dialogue.
“In the first, we were flat and kind of handed them the lead,” he noted.
“I thought in the second, we outplayed them bad and we came to life and controlled the puck, but we just couldn’t get that goal to get us going.
“The third, again, we controlled the majority of the play in my mind but it just wasn’t meant to be,” Strachan said.
“After the first, I thought the boys played with a ton of heart and for each other.”
Strachan made sure his nine available over-aged players (minus injured defenceman Robbie Bonthron) were part of the final two shifts of the game to close out their junior careers, including Dushenko.
“Pierce had mentioned to [assistant coach Grant Perreault] that if the game was not close that he would like to finish as it being his last junior game,” noted Strachan, who called time-out with 1:32 to play.
He then sent Dushenko in to face the final two shots of the game—both of which he stopped—before being embraced by his team at the final buzzer.
“For me, it has always been practice to let the [20-year-olds] finish the game win or lose in what could be our last game,” Strachan said.
“It is a special moment for them and a good memory.”
Strachan made it clear to his team to stay positive following the end of a season in which the Lakers’ combined record was a noteworthy 54-13-0-2.
“I can’t say enough of what that team accomplished,” he remarked.
“They/we had goals and we accomplished 80 percent of them.
“We talked after the loss to Trenton, and I told them we walk out of here proud and we don’t hang our heads,” he stressed.
“We need to be proud of what we have achieved,” Strachan reiterated.
“If you look at it, something like 115 teams would have done anything to be in our shoes at that time of the year with 14 teams [still playing] in the CJHL,” he reasoned.
Along with Dushenko, the Lakers will part company with a star-studded cast of over-agers, led by SIJHL MVP and scoring champ Dylan Robertson.
Others no longer eligible include Fort natives Nolan and Davis Ross, Andrew Willner and fellow forwards Ripley, Rupert, and Jason Wilson, along with blueliners Bonthron and Roshen Jaswal.
Kirkland Lake also was likely the last stand for Minerva, who appears set to join Robertson at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota in Winona this fall.
SIJHL rookie-of-the-year Cole Tymkin, who sat out the Trenton game with a nagging injury, also may be headed out the door as the fifth-round pick of the London Knights likely will take another stab at making the OHL club.
“This was the core of our team,” said Strachan. “We built around them and they performed for us.
“We will need returning players to work hard to fill their shoes, and our recruiting has already started to attract players we feel can keep us at the top of the SIJHL,” he added.
“In the last three years, we have built new teams from very few retuning players coming back,” noted Strachan, who confirmed he will return in his dual role with another year left on his contract.
“I don’t feel we have any extra pressure this year.
“We lost our top six point-getters after last year and we had guys fill their spots nicely,” he remarked.
“We will hope that certain returnees can advance their game and the new guys we attract make impacts early.”
