Sabres sweep Bulldogs on road

Things already are looking good for the Fort Frances Jr. Sabres in 2008 after a pair of road wins against the Thunder Bay Bulldogs, including the team’s first-ever shutout victory.
The Sabres blanked the cellar-dwelling Bulldogs 2-0 on Saturday night before managing a wild 7-5 win yesterday afternoon.
“Our goal going into the weekend was to get four points. It’s probably a team we should beat,” Sabres’ head coach Wayne Strachan admitted.
“We have to start preparing for the playoff run now, and solidify our spot in fourth place,” he stressed.
With just a couple of team skates since the long holiday break, the Sabres turned out to be the least rusty of the two teams Saturday night.
Goalie Ryan Faragher’s shutout came on just 15 shots in the match that was scoreless until left-winger Quinn Amiel netted a pair of goals in the third period.
“I think Ryan played very good in the game,” Strachan said.
“If you were to have see the game, probably the first two periods were pretty boring and uneventful,” Strachan added.
“But he [Faragher] had to come up with some key saves and Quinn Amiel came up with a couple great individual efforts and scored a couple goals to help us win.”
While Strachan was more impressed with the team effort Sunday, he was less than pleased by the back-and-forth nature of the game. The Sabres got into a hole early—trailing 3-0 before finding a way back into the match.
“I think, to be honest, we slept for a period-and-a-half and they capitalized on three of their chances,” Strachan said.
Seemingly unbeatable on Saturday, Faragher was pulled after allowing the first three goals on just 16 shots.
“We pulled him and we put Dave [Novak] in, and it just seemed like the team changed,” Strachan said, noting the team scored on the next shift and then netted another four-straight.
“Then we sat back again and let them back into the game.”
Novak and the Sabres (11-14-3-3) allowed the Bulldogs (4-20-3-0) to roar back with a pair of goals to tie the game before Mike Ainsworth tallied the game-winner.
Amiel iced the win with an empty-netter.
Amiel led the way with four goals and an assist to remain second in the league scoring race—12 points behind Dryden’s Colin McIntosh—while Ainsworth contributed two goals and two assists.
Also scoring for the Sabres yesterday were Chris Sinclair, Brendan Baumgartner, and Colin Spencer.
The Sabres, meanwhile, will have some work to do before their next game this Friday when they host the Fort William North Stars.
Thursday marks the SIJHL’s final roster deadline—meaning the players who suit up against North Stars will be the roster Fort Frances takes into the playoffs come March.
They’ll also need to get into top game shape with their next four games coming against the second-ranked North Stars and third-place Thunder Bay Bearcats—two tough teams the Sabres have beaten in the past.
Strachan is looking for the team to do well, imposing a goal to improve their record to .500 by the end of January.
That means winning at least five of their next seven against some strong opponents.
“It’s going to be tough,” Strachan said of the next two series. “They’re two teams that are ahead of us, [but] it’s two teams we’ve beat before and have played well against them.
“It should be some exciting hockey,” he enthused.