Lucas Punkari
The Fort Frances Lakers edged the host Dryden Ice Dogs 5-4 in a shootout Tuesday night but may have lost the services of their captain for an extended period of time.
Blake Boaz left the game late in the second period with a wrist injury—the severity of which still is being evaluated following a visit to a doctor in Thunder Bay yesterday.
“He had come off of the ice and talked to our trainer [Dale Cooper], and he was telling him how he had jammed his hand in the corner,” recalled Lakers’ head coach and general manager Wayne Strachan.
“He was on the bench with ice on the wrist for a while before he went to the dressing room, and later on Dale came back and said that he was done for the night and that he thought it was pretty bad.
“It’s really unfortunate as he [Boaz] had just came back from a broken foot this summer, and he’s definitely a huge contributor to our team both in leadership and on ice ability,” Strachan added.
With the Lakers currently preparing for three-straight games this weekend, beginning with one tomorrow night at the Ice For Kids Arena against the Wisconsin Wilderness before a pair of road contests against the Wilderness and Duluth Clydesdales, Strachan and his coaching staff will be working on how to replace Boaz in the lineup.
“We’ll have to make a decision on what winger would have to play centre, and we’re also talking to a few teams right now about the possibility of making a move for a centreman,” noted Strachan, whose team also is without the services of Alex Bruess for a few more weeks due to a facial injury suffered in the pre-season.
“There’s nothing really concrete right now, though, so we’ll have to have someone step and fill that role, or maybe we could add a player to fill that role.
“And when Blake comes back, we will just go from there,” Strachan reasoned.
As for Tuesday’s game itself, it took until the seventh round of the shootout before someone could find the back of the net.
Forward Adam Wensley notched the lone goal to give the Lakers the comeback win.
“It’s probably the longest shootout that I’ve seen for our team since the league adopted the shootout,” Strachan laughed.
“On the bench, the guys kept talking about faking [their shots] and getting [Ice Dogs’ goalie Brett] Timmerman to drop and just putting the puck over him, because it’s hard for him to get back up after he drops because of his size,” Strachan noted.
“Adam just came in, faked a shot, made him drop, and went around to his backhand to put it over his glove.
“It was a relief to see someone finally score, and then [Lakers’ goalie] Tyler Ampe made a big stop on their seventh shooter [Josh Reid] to solidify the victory,” he added.
Wensley and Jordan Larson each had a goal and assist in regulation to help lead the Lakers while linemate Davis Smith pitched in with a pair of helpers.
Also scoring for the Lakers were Ryan Wildman and Jaret Leclair, with Leclair’s power-play marker with less than three minutes to go in the third period setting the stage for overtime.
The Ice Dogs, who remain winless after two games, were led by Jesse Linner’s goal and assist.
Len Pelletier, Bryce Maggrah, and Diego Breckenridge also tallied in a losing cause.
