The Fort Frances Lakers are still very much in the race for the Bill Salonen Cup after taking two games on the road in Thunder Bay.
The Lakers beat the Thunder Bay North Stars last night 2-1 to tie the final series at two games apiece.
After Thunder Bay had taken a lead in the first period on a power play goal, the Lakers were trailing near the midpoint of the second and the Lakers’ checking line, made up of Greg Wiseman, Dax Laplante and Cooper Hills carried the puck into the offensive zone.
Carrying the puck in by the North Stars net, Laplante spotted Wiseman at the front of the net and made a quick pass in front for Wiseman to tap it past North Stars’ goalie Morgan Blackwood.
This was Wiseman’s first goal of the playoffs and Laplante’s second helper. Hills now has five assists for the playoffs.
Just after the midway point of the second with Jud Pesch in the box for tripping, and the Lakers penalty killing unit on the ice, Carter Deschamps forced a turnover at the Lakers’ blue line and streaked into the North Stars’ end with Pierce Gouin alongside and no defenders in front of them. Deschamps backhanded the puck across the goal mouth and beat Blackwood for what would come to be the game-winning goal.
Brady Cates, recently named SIJHL regular season MVP, showed why he’s received such accolades. Cates stopped 33 of 34 shots from the North Stars for the win. Blackwood stopped 23 of 25 in the losing effort.
Lakers Head Coach and General Manager Luke Judson said he knew the team had it in them to go on the road and get back into the series.
“We had put ourselves in a bit of a hole, but ultimately we got the results we wanted,” he said.
“It’s exciting to be in a new series coming home.”
Judson said that the contribution of some of the team’s roleplayers in the scoring was good to see as well.
“That’s kind of been our strength all year, is scoring coming from up and down the lineup,” Judson said.
“That line in particular, I thought, was our best line last night, and that’s what we’re going to need from everyone to keep heading in the right direction. But they had a great game, not just with the goal they scored, but kind of throughout the game. They gave us some momentum multiple times, just through work and physicality and commitment to how we do things. So credit to them. Like I said, that’s the strength of our team, you never really know where the contributions are going to come from.”
Judson also praised the penalty kill and their ability to score when it mattered most.
“We haven’t scored a shorthanded goal in a long time, and Carter Deschamps putting that in was a huge boost as well at a time when we were battling to kill penalties against a really, a really strong unit, to score that one was definitely a big swing, as well. So obviously, I’m really happy with the result.”
Judson and the team will have a few days to rest up after four games in five days, which is a tight turnaround when teams are used to mostly playing on the weekends.
“I think rest is a big [priority],” Judson said.
“All year, it’s a lot different from the professional game, where those guys are used to playing a condensed schedule with games throughout the week, and that’s not really something that we do beyond a few Tuesday or Wednesday games throughout the season. It’s a lot of games in a short period of time. I thought we responded well to the tight schedule. But, you know, getting rest, eating right, sleeping right is important.”
After four games that really all could have been won by either team each decided by one goal, the final stretch of the series is sure to be just as thrilling as the first four games. Judson said he’s looking forward to the excitement back home on Friday night.
“When you look at the series as a whole, I think we felt that we probably deserved better in the first two games,” he said.
“As much as we battled and competed the second two games, I’m sure they’re feeling the same way from the two we stole at their rink. That’s hockey, and that’s the kind of adversity that you need to battle through to win a championship. But at the end of the day, we’re pretty happy with where we’re at. And obviously Friday is going to be going to be an exciting night in Fort Frances.”
Game five goes at 7:15 p.m. on Friday night at Ice For Kids Arena. Tickets are available in person at Northwoods Gallery and Gifts or online at fortfranceslakers.simpletix.ca. Game six follows the next night back in Thunder Bay at 7 p.m. Eastern Time / 6 p.m. Central.
