Lucas Punkari
An exhibition affair at the Ice For Kids Arena here Sunday afternoon was the perfect tune-up for both the Fort Frances Midget ‘AA’ Canadians and the NWO Bantam ‘AAA’ North Stars as they prepared for tournaments this coming weekend.
The Canadians, who won the game 6-3, hit the road tonight to compete at the Niagara Falls Championship Cup in New York starting Friday morning.
The North Stars, meanwhile, will square off against the Thunder Bay Kings in the Bantam ‘AAA’ HNO branch championship, which gets underway Friday night at the Fort William First Nation Arena.
For the Canadians, their level of play has been improving heading into the tournament, having also beaten the Fort Frances Bantam ‘AA’ Canadians 9-2 last Tuesday night.
“I think it was a pretty good game and it was nice to see everything going right for once, especially with the little things,” noted assistant coach Nick Wreggitt.
“They were cycling the puck, they were going hard on the forecheck, and they stuck it out with the dump-and-chase game,” he added.
Leading the way for the Canadians on Sunday was centre Cam Gobeil, who completed a hat trick with an empty-net goal in the third period.
He also drew an assist on Wade Johnson’s second-period marker.
“I have to give all the credit to my linemates [left-winger Ian Friesen and right-winger Brody McPherson] as they were setting everything up for me,” Gobeil said.
“I thought we played well as a team as we had some strong goaltending and our defence was playing well, and the forwards were putting the puck in,” he added.
“It’s always good to get a win, as well, heading into a big tournament like this as it helps to give you some extra momentum.”
Friesen and Jaden Smith had the other two goals for the Canadians.
Across the hallway, North Stars’ head coach Jamie Davis felt his team played well against a much older and stronger opponent.
“This was a good test for the guys and when they go back to playing kids that are their age, they are more prepared for it,” he reasoned.
“By playing against a team like the Canadians, they learn about what is expected of them shift after shift in order to be successful, and that it’s a game of single battles and one of inches sometimes,” Davis noted.
“If they want to win, they have to play strong every time they are out on the ice,” he stressed.
Matt Kellar, Adam Withers, and Fort Frances native Brett Hahkala each scored for the North Stars.
The North Stars, who feature five players from the local Bantam ‘AA’ Canadians on the squad (Tyler VanUden, Evan Krassey, Graeme Kitt, Cole Mattson, and Hahkala), have played 11 games heading into the branch playdowns, where they’ll be looking to upset the always-strong Bantam ‘AAA’ Kings from Thunder Bay to qualify for the provincial championship early next month in Richmond Hill.
“It’s been 20 years since the Kings have lost in the Bantam regionals, so it would be really neat if we’re the ones to beat them,” Davis smiled.
“We’re not a very big team, but we work really hard and we have a ton of skill, and I feel that we are a real tough team to play against,” he noted.
“We don’t get to spend a lot of time together to gel as a team, but the guys have been doing one heck of a job and they have come a long way since we started in December,” Davis added.
The Lakehead squad, meanwhile, has a Fort Frances connection on its roster. Goalie Dylan Ossachuk has led the way between the pipes with 10 wins, three shutouts, and a 2.25 GAA this season.
Two other HNO branch champions will be crowned this weekend, with area connections in both the PeeWee ‘AAA’ and Midget ‘AAA’ finals.
Nine players from the local PeeWee ‘AA’ Canadians’ roster (Ian Tookenay, Eric Pitkanen, James Gushulak, Kendyn Faragher, Ethan Carlson-Jourdain, Colton Bodnar, Cole Allan, Byron Stewart, and Matthew Booth) will be playing for the PeeWee ‘AAA’ All-Stars at the Fort William First Nation Arena as well starting on Friday, where they’ll go up against the Thunder Bay Kings in a best-of-three series.
Both the Kings and NWO All-Stars will compete at the provincials, which will be held April 8-12 in Thunder Bay.
And Scott Parsons, Nolan Ross, and Davis Ross will take to the ice for the host Kenora Thistles this weekend as they go up against the Kings for the HNO Midget ‘AAA’ title in a best-of-three showdown.
Both squads then will compete in the Western Regional Midget Championships on April 4-7 in Kenora, with a berth in the Telus Cup national championship on the line.
