By Brett Richter
Following four weeks of road travel and away games, the Ironwood Lumberjacks were excited to be back on home ice for a weekend series against the Sioux Lookout Bombers. Hoping to interrupt a losing streak, Head Coach Doug Lein installed a different defensive approach and encouraged the roster to play with speed and a physical presence.
For the first 16 minutes of the opening period, the Ironwood Lumberjacks played solid man on man, penalty free hockey. But suddenly, just like a light switch works, everything changed. The on ice play of the Lumberjacks seemed to abandon the game plan and the Bombers took advantage. In the last four minutes of the first, the Bombers added 10 shots on goal with Ironwood netminder stopping nine of them. The first period ended with the Lumberjacks down 0-1.
The second period was marked by the largest mental breakdown exhibited by the 25-26 Lumberjack team. System failure by the players and a lack of personal accountability allowed the Bombers to take control of the contest. Down by three goals and hoping to spark a change, Coach Lein swapped goalies, giving the net to Connor Doyle.
At the end of the 60 minutes, the Lumberjacks failed to score a goal in only their second game of the season. The home team was outshot 25-48 by the Bombers. The final score for the Friday night contest was 0-5. A quiet post-game locker room suggested a bunch of personal reflection. Only Saturday night’s contest will tell if the silence was meaningful.
Saturday, February 28 – With nearly 24 hours of soul searching, the Ironwood Lumberjacks arrived at the Pat O’Donnell Civic Center refocused and reenergized. When the team took the ice for the first period, the energy was high. But some habits die hard. The visiting Sioux Lookout Bombers jumped on the notoriously slow starting Jacks and scored a quick goal just over two minutes into the game. But newly named Co-Captain Jack Hanna, scored his 13th goal of the season just over a minute later to tie the game. Hanna’s goal we assisted by hard working Jack Carruthers and Félix St-Onge. The Bombers added a goal ten minutes later and the first period ended 1-2.
Although the score was not in their favor, the Lumberjacks entered the second period energized by their first period play. Working hard for more than ten minutes, the Lumberjacks scored two quick goals just 59 seconds apart. Tim Hanulik added his sixth goal of the year and Andrew Bubakken tallied his fourth. Hanulik’s goal was assisted by Tyki Babcock and Felix St-Onge. Brubakken’s shot was assisted by Logan Carey and Brendan Klotz. The second period ended with the Jacks up on the score board 3-2. Shots on goal favored the visitors, 20-25.
The visitors entered the third period with energy the Lumberjacks were unable to match. Looking at the third period statistics, the picture of the period becomes clear. In the third period alone, the Lumberjacks were outscored 0-3 and out shot 1-25. Lumberjack goalie Connor Doyle made several outstanding saves during the onslaught from the Bombers. When the final horn sounded, the Lumberjacks were on the short end of a 3-5 scoreboard and out shot 21-50.
The Lumberjacks leave early Monday morning for a two-night series against the Dryden Ice Dogs before returning home for their last regular season home weekend. The March 6 and 7 weekend against the Thunder Bay North Stars will feature both billet recognition and family night. Puck drops at 7 pm both evenings.