Date: Friday, Sept. 3, 2010
Fort Frances improves to 2-0 in preseason
FORT FRANCES, Ont. –The Fort Frances Lakers won their second preseason game in as many starts past the visiting Sioux Lookout Flyers 5-2 Friday evening in Superior International Junior Hockey League exhibition action at Ice for Kids Arena.
Cody Hasbargen was the set-up man for Fort Frances on this night assisting on three power play goals for the Lakers.
His first point came with 8:52 remaining in the opening frame as he fed Jon Sinclair for the game’s opening tally.
Galen Matyjanka would knot the score two minutes later to send the two sides to the dressing room tied at 1-1 after one period of play.
The Lakers potted the only two goals of the middle stanza as Tyler Stevenson buried his first of the preseason at 12:07 and then drew an assist on Jace Baldwin’s effort five minutes later.
Nick Hinsberg would pull Sioux Lookout to within one early in the third period only to see Henry Gutierrez restore the Fort’s two-goal cushion with 14 minutes remaining.
Sinclair then added some insurance late notching his second man advantage marker of the night with a minute to go to conclude the scoring.
Last season’s SIJHL rookie-of-the-year recipient Jameson Shortreed picked up the win for the Lakers making 21 stops. Jordan Giguere started for the Flyers in their first on-ice action of the year facing 36 shots overall.
SIJHL preseason action continues Saturday when Sioux Lookout travels to Dryden to take on the home town Ice Dogs at Memorial Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m.
Lakers rally to win preseason opener
Dryden jumped out of the gate quickly striking 1:32 into the contest as Dallas Crum beat Lakers starter Tyler Ampe with a shorthanded marker.
Alex Galbraith increased the Ice Dogs lead late in the opening frame with a power play tally at 19:05.
Fort Frances would even the score early in the second period as Dan Chesser and Ty Brueggeman leveled the proceedings on goals 3:38 apart.
Dryden jumped back on top at 6:39 with Ben McClellan's first of the preseason only to see Blake Boaz tie it with his first of two at 8:42 of the middle stanza.
Boaz struck again midway through the frame, but Dryden responded tallies from Jon Mitchell and Conner Foster to take a 5-4 lead after 40 minutes.
The score stayed that way until late in the contest when the Lakers Mike Jourdain forced overtime with just 56 seconds remaining in regulation.
Dryden recorded the first three shots in the extra session, but were turned away by Ampe setting the stage for Caulfield's game-winner as he beat Ice Dogs netminder Christian Mueller who had come in to replace starter Curtis Barker midway through the second period.
Shots on goal favoured Fort Frances 30-26 on the night.
SIJHL exhibition action resumes Friday when the Lakers host the Sioux Lookout Flyers at Ice for Kids Arena. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
Lakers acquire Baldwin
Tuesday, 22 June 2010 - 1:33pm
Jace Baldwin, a former menace to the Muskies, has been brought back to the Borderland area—this time on the Canadian side.
Baldwin, who was raised across the river in International Falls, was acquired by the Fort Frances Lakers from the Steinbach Pistons of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League yesterday.
Baldwin used to play for the International Falls Broncos’ hockey team—an arch-rival of the Muskies in exhibition and tournament play.
In 60 games last season with the Pistons, the 5’11”, 155-pound forward netted four goals and 19 points to go along with 95 penalty minutes.
“We have spoke with Jace and hope he is excited as we are to have him in the lineup for next season,” said Lakers’ head coach Wayne Strachan.
“Jace will bring added skill to our forward ranks, as well as grit.
“[He is] a player that likes to get under the skin of the opposition,” Strachan noted.
Lakers sign first defenceman
Thursday, 3 June 2010 - 1:30pm
Staff
The Fort Frances Lakers now have their first defenceman for next season.
The team announced yesterday that it had signed blueliner Rylan McKinnon of the Cypress Cyclones (Prairie Junior Hockey League in Saskatchewan).
McKinnon finished fourth in scoring for the Junior ‘B’ Cyclones last season, notching five goals and 17 assists in 28 games.
The 19-year-old also racked up 75 penalty minutes.
Lakers’ head coach Wayne Strachan noted the Cyclones are the same organization from which the team gleaned defenceman Conner Foster.
“Rylan is a great skating defenceman with good offensive instincts, a hard shot, and is very competitive,” Strachan noted in an e-mail.
“He will add some much-needed skill to our [power play].
“[He’s] a defenceman we can rely on to move the puck, and step in and log minutes for us right from the get-go,” Strachan added.
Staff
The Fort Frances Lakers got a little “wild” in filling their third roster spot for the upcoming season.
The local SIJHL squad inked 17-year-old Ryan Wildman from the Timmins Majors ‘AAA’ program.
Wildman, a left-winger, netted 16 goals and 19 assists in 31 games last season, although an injury cost him some playing time.
Lakers’ head coach Wayne Strachan noted Wildman comes recommended by Majors’ coach Bob Savard as well as Lakers’ centre Byron Katapaytuk.
“He is described as a good skater, with speed, hard worker, and plays bigger than he looks,” noted Strachan.
Strachan also said the team is close to signing a defenceman and is waiting on an answer from a forward.
By Dan Falloon
The newest member of the Fort Frances Lakers knows a thing or two about winning championships the hard way.
Brett Wur, who officially signed with the team on Sunday at the Memorial Sports Centre, helped his Selkirk Fishermen to a Keystone Junior Hockey League (Junior ‘B’) title earlier this spring.
But to do so, Wur and the Fishermen were forced to overcome a 3-0 series deficit at the hands of the Arborg Ice Dawgs.
“The whole room stayed calm and positive, and kept their emotions under control,” Wur recalled.
“The toughest game was probably [Game 4] in Arborg, where we just squeezed it out 4-3 and then we shellacked them the next two games.”
The highlight for Wur, however, was Game 7 as he tallied three points, including the goal that stood to be the game-winner after Selkirk let a 5-1 third-period lead dissolve to 5-4.
“That was the great highlight. That was my first-ever [championship],” he remarked.
“It was a great experience, and I ended up scoring the championship winner to win it all.”
Wur had kicked off the season as a rookie grinder, but gained more responsibility as the points began to pile up.
His 43 points (20 goals and 23 assists) were one off the team lead,
“They wanted me to be a checker, and I started off the season being a checker,” Wur explained.
“Then I started to put up a lot of points, too.
“I was a rookie, and I didn’t get a lot of ice time at first, but I started making it count when it came down to it,” he added.
Wur prides himself in his versatility, describing himself as a man for all situations.
“If I had to say one word about me as a player, it would probably be ‘all-around,’” he noted. “I can make plays, I can score, and I like to get in the dirty work.
“I’m not afraid to get into the corners.”
That’s exactly the attitude and skill set Lakers’ head coach Wayne Strachan is seeking for next season’s roster.
“Brett’s a player that has size, has work ethic, plays gritty, which I think we need to add a little bit more to our game,” lauded Strachan.
“If you check out his numbers, he can obviously put the puck in the net.
“We’re looking to get a little bigger, especially up front,” Strachan added.
“[We want] guys that are going to come in and work hard, which I’m not saying we didn’t have, but we want to build that trend continuing into next season.”
Strachan has a hunch the two could be paired up when the team begins training.
“Where he [Wur] totally fits in, we’ll see when main camp comes around,” Strachan explained.
“The first thing that comes to mind in speaking with [director of scouting] Grant [Perreault] is that he might fit in with Byron and we wanted to, obviously, get Byron signed right away.”
Meanwhile, the 18-year-old product of St. Andrews, Man. felt the Lakers provide an ideal fit for his goals of bringing an SIJHL title here.
“Fort Frances looks like a perfect team,” Wur enthused. “They’re young, they’re looking for a good chance to run at a championship, and I’d like to be a part of that.
“I thought that this year could be a turnaround and [we could] give them [Dryden and Fort William] a good run for their money for a championship.”
The jump from Junior ‘B’ to Junior ‘A’ will take some transition, but Wur already has started to read up on some of the competition he’ll be up against when the season kicks off in September.
“I looked at a lot of the rankings and saw Dryden and Fort William up there,” he noted.
“I looked at some of the games that they [the Lakers] played against them, and they [Fort William and Dryden] were pretty stacked, and they [the Lakers] did fairly well.”
For his part, Katapaytuk is looking to build off of an injury-plagued campaign that saw him net 13 goals and 21 assists in 43 games.
“I played half the season with a broken hand,” noted the Moose Factory, Ont. product.
“It wasn’t my best year, but it was good, though. I had a lot of fun.”
Katapaytuk, who will turn 19 on June 7, did his part in the Lakers’ playoff run, notching a pair of game-winning goals.
He said he’s driven to advance further in 2010-11.
“The main goal is to get this team as far as it can possibly go,” he stressed. “I think we’ll have great scorers next year and go far.”
Strachan also cited Katapaytuk’s importance in the post-season after Fort Frances dropped a narrow 2-1 decision in Dryden to spot the Ice Dogs a 3-2 series lead in the semi-finals.
Dryden then won Game 6 here by a 4-2 final.
“He [Katapaytuk] got his bell rung there, and I think it may have been a determining factor with Dryden beating us, with him not playing in Game 5, but that’s neither here nor there,” Strachan remarked.
“It was unfortunate,” he added. “Every time he got on a roll, an injury kind of crept into his game.
“I think you saw him at his best in the playoffs.”
If Katapaytuk gets in a full season of SIJHL action, Strachan forecasts the 6’2” forward could find himself near the top of the scoring race.
“I see him coming in, if he has a good off-season, and furthers his development strength-wise and gets a little more solid in his body structure, I foresee him to be one of the top players in the league this year,” he said.
“He definitely has all the tools to be that player.”
Strachan also said he was relieved to have the chance to start constructing his roster over the summer—a luxury he was not afforded a year ago as the future of the Fort Frances Jr. Sabres remained in limbo.
By the time the Sabres folded and the Lakers were founded, Strachan was forced to cobble together an early-season lineup under the wire.
“We wanted to start signing some players and showing our fans that we’re getting ready,” he remarked. “We’ll continue this throughout the weeks of signing players that are going to return.”
In other Lakers’ news, Strachan announced Perreault will add the title of assistant general manager in addition to his role as director of scouting.
He also mentioned early-bird season tickets still are available for $175 each.
Lakers make first signings
Monday, 17 May 2010 - 2:21pm
Staff
The Fort Frances Lakers have the first names on their roster for the 2010-11 season, including a familiar one.
The local Junior ‘A’ hockey squad signed forwards Byron Katapaytuk and Brett Wur yesterday.
Katapaytuk was the team’s rookie-of-the-year last season, netting 13 goals and 21 assists in 43 games while battling injury for much of the campaign.
He broke out in the post-season, however, notching two goals and seven assists as the Lakers edged the K&A Wolverines in seven games before bowing out to the Dryden Ice Dogs in six games.
Both goals stood up as game-winners.
Wur, meanwhile, knows a thing or two about beating Ice Dawgs after his Junior ‘B’ Selkirk Fishermen came all the way back from a 3-0 series deficit to knock off the Arborg Ice Dawgs for Manitoba’s KJHL crown
Wur recorded 20 goals and 23 assists in 33 regular-season games while coming up with another four tallies and 11 helpers in the post-season.
