Lucas Punkari
When the Fort Frances Lakers look back on their 2012/13 season, this past week might turn out to be one of the most memorable of the campaign for a couple of reasons.
Not only did the team split a pair of shootouts on the road against the Dryden Ice Dogs and Duluth Clydesdales, two of their games were postponed due to inclement weather conditions.
Last Wednesday’s home game against the Ice Dogs was called off that afternoon due to poor travelling conditions in the Dryden area.
Then Saturday’s trip to face the Thunder Bay North Stars was called off because of the wintery weather here.
“It’s tough when games get postponed as the preparation begins days ahead of time,” noted Lakers’ head coach and general manager Wayne Strachan.
“And then to find out that there will be no game brings all of that adrenaline to an end.
“As a coach, it probably isn’t as hard as a player to have to adapt to that situation, but it definitely bums a person out,” he added.
“At this time, no dates have been talked about to make up those games, but we will definitely be busy in the second half [of the season].”
A day after the game here with the Ice Dogs was cancelled, the Lakers headed to Dryden for the back end of their scheduled home-and-home series, where they saw a 3-1 second-period lead disappear before falling 4-3 in a shootout.
After Colton Spicer and Dryden’s Austin Lewis traded goals in the first round of the shootout, it took until the fourth round for the game to be decided as Tyler Walsh beat Lakers’ goalie Tanner Hamilton.
“We controlled the play for the first 40 minutes, and then we came out for about seven or eight minutes in the first part of the third period and allowed them to gain momentum,” Strachan recalled.
“We had our chances to win the hockey game in both the later parts of the third period and in overtime, but we didn’t bare down to accomplish that,” he noted.
“And it’s a crap shoot in the shootout and we came out on the wrong end.
“Our intensity, work ethic, and systems play were all good,” Strachan added. “But we need to start improving on our special teams as our power play is losing hockey games for us or keeping games that shouldn’t be close tight.”
Davis Smith, coming off his first career hat trick in the SIJHL earlier this month against Duluth, led the way once again last Thursday with a goal and an assist.
Alex Bruess and captain Merritt Rysavy each tallied once.
Ice Dogs’ forward Rory Court led his team’s comeback with a pair of goals while Lewis netted the game-tying marker near the midway point of the third.
Then Sunday night in Duluth, the Lakers found themselves in their second-straight shootout, but came away with the victory this time around by a score of 3-2.
After Spicer opened up the shootout with a goal, Duluth’s Justin Martin knotted things up in the second round to set up a goaltending duel between the Lakers’ Jameson Shortreed and Walker Enstad of the Clydesdales.
The Lakers eventually notched the winner in the fifth round when defenceman Owen Stauber hit the twine.
“The game in Duluth was a sloppy one and our team did not to show up to play,” admitted assistant coach Grant Perrault, who filled for Strachan while the Lakers’ bench boss was in Thunder Bay with the HNO Gold Cup U17 team.
“We struggled from the start and did not play like we are capable of playing as we once again played down to the Clydesdales level of hockey,” he noted.
“We didn’t skate, play physical, or dominate with our cycle game, and we did not put shots towards the net like we are capable of doing.
“But a win is a win, even though it was a sloppy one, and we will take the two points,” Perrault reasoned.
Spicer and Kevin Kurm scored for the Lakers in regulation time while Martin and Mark Williams replied for the Clydesdales.
After hosting the league-leading Minnesota Wilderness at the Ice For Kids Arena last night (the outcome wasn’t known as of press time), the Lakers will prepare for the SIJHL’s annual “showcase” event this weekend in Duluth, where they’ll play the North Starts on Saturday afternoon and then the Clydesdales on Sunday morning.
“We will continue to work on our game heading into the weekend, and that includes repetition work on our defence and keeping the competitive level high,” Strachan pledged.
“We will be working hard on our power play,” he added. “But the players that are getting these opportunities have to put some of the onus on themselves to make the power play better.
“They have to make better decisions, have better support, have better execution with their passes, and they have to pay the price in front to score goals,” he stressed.
Following their Sunday morning tilt with the Clydesdales, the Lakers will enjoy some time off before their next league game, which is slated for Friday, Jan. 11 when the Wilderness pay another visit to town.
