Joey Payeur
It’s like three wins in two.
Just two days after opening their SIJHL pre-season schedule with a pair of victories, the Fort Frances Lakers bolstered their lineup by reacquiring forward Brent Aiken from the Mattawa Blackhawks (NOJHL) for forward Mark Spong.
Aiken was an integral part of the “KAN Line” with Kevin Kurm and Miles Nolan, which propelled the Lakers to their first SIJHL title last season.
The 19-year-old Kenora native racked up 14 points in 13 playoff games after recording just 21 points in 47 regular-season ones.
“In bringing Brent back, we get a player that we are familiar with and know what he brings to the team,” said Lakers’ general manager and head coach Wayne Strachan.
“He is a strong winger that, when working and moving his feet, can be very effective as a player for our team,” added Strachan.
“In the playoffs last year, he and his linemates did a lot of damage to help our team win a championship.”
Aiken joined the Lakers last October from the Winkler Flyers (MJHL) after spending two seasons with his hometown Kenora Thistles Midget ‘AAA’ squad.
He was shipped to the English River Miners on June 9 to complete last October’s deal for forward Colton Spicer, as well as January’s reacquisition of forward Bryson Jasper.
Aiken wasn’t English River property for long as the Miners sent him to Mattawa for forward Eric Champagne.
Spong, meanwhile, a 19-year-old from North Vancouver, played in Friday night’s 6-3 win over the Minnesota Iron Rangers but went pointless.
As for the two exhibition games here, Strachan was far more happy with Friday’s performance than the lackluster 3-2 shootout win the Lakers pulled out Saturday night against English River.
“I was pleased [Friday] night . . . tonight [Saturday], I was not pleased at all,” Strachan remarked.
“I didn’t think we had the work ethic we needed for 60 minutes.
“It was an ugly night but we came away with the victory,” he added.
There was nothing ugly about the performance of new Lakers’ forward Alex Rezansoff over the weekend.
The former Wisconsin Wilderness player, who had to find a new home after the Wilderness folded this past off-season, is off to a great start with the Lakers after scoring twice both Friday and Saturday.
“I’m just trying to keep up the Lakers’ winning tradition,” said the 19-year-old from Red Wing, Mn., who wasn’t on the right side of the scoreboard much last season with a Wilderness team that finished in last place in the SIJHL with a brutal 5-51 record.
“I just want to go out and do what I can, and keep working hard,” he stressed.
Rezansoff’s work in regulation time was the only thing that prevented the visiting Miners from grabbing a win Saturday.
After opening the scoring at 16:54 of the second, Rezansoff notched his fourth of the pre-season on the power-play at 13:21 of the third thanks to a lucky bounce which tied the game at 2-2.
Rezansoff was trying to pass the puck across, but it deflected off an English River defenceman and past Miners’ goalie Jesse Fontaine, who had relieved starter P.D. Melgoza in the second period.
Cody Colby at 9:28 and Alex Maticic at 12:32 had given English River the lead—and ultimately ended goalie Devin Day’s stay in Fort Frances.
The Fontana, Calif. product was cut Monday based on his struggles in the third period against the Miners.
Colby’s shot came from far out and should have been stopped while Maticic shovelled home a loose puck after Day was flopping around in his crease trying to corral it after making two stops in succession.
“I think it was mostly jitters on [Day’s] part,” said Strachan, who now is down to three goalies in veterans Devin Tappenden and Ryan Ferguson and newcomer Stirling Wright, who started Saturday’s game and didn’t allow a goal during his 30-plus minutes between the pipes.
The shooters were on fire in the first two rounds of the abbreviated shootout, with Spicer and Carter Chorney beating Fontaine while Champagne and Maticic did the same against Day.
After Rezansoff and English River’s Kirk Coppock each came up short in the third round, the shootout switched to a sudden-death format (as opposed to continuing through five rounds of shooters like is done in the regular season).
The Lakers turned to their top returning goal scorer from last year, Mason Meyer, who didn’t disappoint with a beautiful double deke that ended with him popping the water bottle with a top-shelf backhander over a downed Fontaine.
That put the pressure on Matt Ray, who tried his own deke on Day but had the puck slide off his stick before he could get a shot away.
On Friday night, the Rangers held 1-0 and 2-1 leads after Seth Chumley and Max Seiter sandwiched first-period goals around one from Chorney.
But the Lakers stormed back with five-straight goals to go ahead 6-2 before Minnesota added a meaningless late goal in the third by Jacob Shannon.
Aaron Wesley-Chisel, Matt Vela, and Josh Gouin netted the other Fort Frances goals.
Tappenden started and was relieved by Ferguson while Colton Anderson gave up five of the six goals in a losing cause for the Rangers.
“We’ve got a good indication now as to where we need to improve,” said Strachan, whose team played in Hoyt Lakes last night against the Rangers (the score was unavailable by press time).
Tomorrow night, the Lakers return to Marathon for another tribute game in honour of former player Jaret Leclair and three other members of the Pic River First Nation who died in a car accident there in October, 2012.
The Lakers, who faced the Dryden Ice Dogs last year in Marathon, will take on the Thunder Bay North Stars this time.
Proceeds from the game will go towards construction of a memorial at the site of the accident, which still lingers in the mind of Strachan and the rest of the Lakers’ organization.
“There’s a different vibe with the game this time,” noted Strachan.
“It was still hitting home when we last played there.
“It’s never easy to lose a family member but we went there with the purpose of playing in their honour,” he added.
“This time, we’re going to get there earlier and go into the [Pic River] community and do things like help at the school there by reading to the kids and taking part in their phys. ed. classes,” Strachan noted.
“It’s a good way to get involved and to give back to them for giving us the opportunity to do this.”
The Lakers then will finish their pre-season schedule Sunday in Ear Falls against the Miners.
They’ll kick off the regular season here Sept. 19 against the North Stars.
