Mitch Calvert
The Fort Frances Jr. Sabres get back to business this Friday and Saturday with a pair of road games against the SIJHL-leading Fort William North Stars (Jan. 9-10).
The squad geared up for the second half of the season with two exhibition games against the host Wisconsin Mustangs this past Saturday and Sunday, losing both by scores of 4-1 and 6-5.
“We definitely had turkey legs and our heads were not in the hockey game [on Saturday],” Sabres’ coach Wayne Strachan admitted. “We led 1-0 after the first and it was all downhill after that.
“Lack of effort, sluggishness, undisciplined at times, and a lot of bad decisions.
“After the game, the team had a much needed heart-to-heart meeting, and most players seemed to get the message for Sunday,” Strachan added.
The Sabres outplayed the Mustangs 5-on-5 on Sunday, but their penalty kill was the downfall in a tough one-goal loss.
“In both games, the reffing was very questionable and one-sided,” Strachan remarked. “Many big hits on our side became penalties with phantom calls.
“They [the Mustangs] played well, skated, worked hard, and frustrated us a lot,” he added. “Are they a better team? Not even close, but they were this weekend.
“They had a mission to beat us and they did,” Strachan conceded.
The majority of the Mustangs wear full-face shields, with Strachan noting they played a lot bigger than they are because of it.
“It was hard to watch what they would get away with,” he said. “Sticks to the face, punches to the face, and then when our players would stand up for themselves, their team cowered away.
“At some points in the game, I often had to calm myself down from what was happening on the ice, by both their team and the officiating,” he added. “But, not to make excuses, we were nowhere near our best and we didn’t deserve to win.”
The good news for the Sabres is the fact they have several days of practice leading up to this weekend to work out the holiday kinks.
“This week we will be going hard on conditioning, continuing our work on our systems, getting re-focused on the season, [and] getting ready for a seven-game stretch against all the top teams in the league that could solidify our status as one of the top teams,” Strachan revealed.
“I believe after this [past] weekend, the boys realized they were not on their game and were embarrassed,” he added.
The Sabres had beaten the Mustangs by a 9-3 score back in early September.
After facing the North Stars, the Sabres will visit the Schreiber Diesels on Jan. 15 before taking on the Thunder Bay Bearcats for a pair of games Jan. 16-17.
They then return to home ice for back-to-back games against the Diesels on Jan. 22-23.
The Sabres know they’ll have to elevate their game quickly to get this five-game road trip off on the right foot.
“I don’t think it will be hard for them to get focused for our next two games,” Strachan insisted. “We need to split with them [North Stars] at worst and we have a goal to go through this stretch at 5-2.”
The North Stars, meanwhile, are red-hot—opening the second half of the SIJHL campaign with a two-game sweep of the Diesels on Jan. 2-3, where they scored a combined 20 goals to only six against.
“They are a solid club, the league tops, [but] can we play with them? Yes. Can we beat them? Yes. Will it be easy? No,” Strachan remarked. “We know this, [but] we will prepare hard this week, get mentally prepared, and be ready on the ice to give it our all and prove we can play with the mighty North Stars.”
To make matters worse, however, the Sabres aren’t sure if goalie Ryan Faragher will be a go for the two-game set after suffering a lower body injury.
“We are hoping it is not severe and he will be ready for this weekend,” Strachan said. “If not, we may have to have to change our plans and wishes for this coming trade deadline [Jan. 10].
“Ryan is a huge part of our team and a big reason for our success in the first half,” he stressed. “We need him healthy if our team is to have any success down the stretch and in the playoffs.”
Colton Kennedy also is still being bothered by a lower body injury, and is questionable for this weekend.
Meanwhile, Gabe Capozzi won’t be returning to the team at all as the Fairlawn, N.J. native has decided to hang up the skates and pursue an education closer to home.
