Lucas Punkari
Final tune-up
for Allan Cup
Despite dropping their last four games, including three-straight to the Kenora Thistles, the Fort Frances Thunderhawks are heading into Saturday night’s showdown at the Ice For Kids Arena here with a newfound confidence.
That poise comes from their last clash with the Thistles back on March 12, when they took their northern rivals to a shootout, which the Thunderhawks ended up losing by a score of 4-3.
“I think that getting to a shootout after having two heavier losses [5-1 and 6-1] in Kenora really showed that we can compete,” Thunderhawks’ head coach Larry Beck said.
“That should help get some good positive thoughts in our mind.
“And if we can stay like that on Saturday, it should allow us to head into the Allan Cup with a good state of mind,” he reasoned.
With Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. meeting with the Thistles being the last before the T’hawks head to the Allan Cup in Kenora from April 11-16, Beck has been working on a few things in practice to help get his team sharp before the national tournament.
“One of the main things we’ve been working on is our power play and breaking out of our own zone,” Beck noted.
“We’ve also been working on our defensive zone coverage, especially deep in our own end.
“And we’ve also been trying to get our face-offs to where we want them to be because we lost a few key ones in our last game,” he added.
After not being able to ice a full roster in the three previous games with Kenora, Beck is expecting to have a full contingent out Saturday night, which would include players from the Thunder Bay and Minneapolis areas.
“It’s important to have everybody working together and get everyone on the same page so that the guys can start gelling together,” Beck stressed.
“You’re going to have to go with a minimum of four lines going into the Allan Cup since you could play up to five games in six days, which is a lot of hockey especially at that competition level,” he reasoned.
One of the out-of-town players Beck is really excited about is former OHL forward Malcolm MacMillan, who is starting a new job in Thunder Bay but is trying to make it down for Saturday night’s game.
“I personally haven’t seen him play, but everyone I talked to say that he’s something special, and it’ll be nice to see him wearing a Thunderhawks jersey,” he remarked.
With Saturday’s match-up marking the sixth time that the Thunderhawks and Thistles have squared off in exhibition play this season, Beck is starting to get very familiar with how his northern rivals play.
“The thing with Kenora is that they are very mobile and they move the puck well, and I think that’s probably the strength of their team,” he noted.
“There’s not too many guys that are as talented or speedy as [Thistles’ forward] Jeff Richards is.
“And while I’m sure he’s a thorn in their side for some of our guys, you have to appreciate the skill of that kid,” he stressed.
Still, Beck feels his team is able to match up well with the Thistles, which they did in their lone win against them—a 10-5 romp back on Jan. 11.
“We’ve got the manpower here with guys like [Tom] Biondich and [Kevin] Webb that can really play, and I think our defence is really solid,” Beck said.
“Heading into the Allan Cup, you’re going to see a lot of talent in that tournament with ex-pros and ex-semi-pros, so we’re just going there saying that we can play at a high level.
“We’ve not going to go there in awe, we’re going there to compete,” he pledged.
“We’re very confident in the product that we have and all the boys will show that.”
