Dan Falloon
Some days you just run out of ammo.
The Fort Frances Snipers Atom ‘AA’ hockey team found that out the hard way Sunday, falling 3-2 to the Thunder Bay Elks in the final of their home tourney.
The game was a back-and-forth affair where the home side just couldn’t find the back of the net one final time.
“We just couldn’t pot one in. We had lots of chances, but it just wasn’t meant to be,” sighed Snipers’ coach Brent Tookenay.
“We would have liked to have ended it off on a high note but that’s the way it goes,” he reasoned.
Entering Sunday’s final, the Snipers were undefeated after scoring 19 goals in four games.
They opened the tournament with a 5-5 tie against Kenora, but then won their next three to earn a berth in the final.
Fort Frances edged the Elks 4-3, downed Westfort 4-1, and then doubled Baudette 6-3 to finish the round-robin with a 3-0-1 record.
But they couldn’t quite overcome the Elks a second time, falling 3-2 in Sunday afternoon’s final.
“I was really proud of the way our guys handled themselves,” lauded Tookenay. “We played five excellent games.
“We got the short end of the stick at the end, but they can hold their heads up high.
“They played well.”
Tookenay also was proud of his team’s progression over the course of five games.
“We got better every game, which is important to see as a coach,” he praised.
The Snipers were full of vim and vigour in their rematch with the Elks in the final, playing in front of a large and loud group of fans, but Tookenay noted his team’s enthusiasm had to be reined in a little bit in order to play an effective game.
“A lot of them have never played in front of a crowd like that,” he noted. “They were so fired up with adrenaline.
“Our job on the bench was trying to calm them down a little bit because they were going 100 miles an hour just trying to get the puck and trying to make a difference.
“Sometimes that works to your disadvantage,” he remarked.
Tookenay also felt that losing this one is just another experience in playing the game that should serve his charges well in future do-or-die games.
“I’m sure this won’t be the last championship game they’ll play in their hockey careers,” he predicted.
“Now they’ll know what it’s like to come out on the short end and hopefully next tournament, we’ll come out on the better end of things.”
