By Brett Richter
The final road trip of the regular season found the road weary Ironwood Lumberjacks doing a quick turn around and heading back north to play the first place Fort Frances Lakers. With games on Thursday and Friday night, it would complete a stretch of 11 games in 18 nights for the Jacks. With a few players returning to the bench to test the durability of recent injuries, for the first time in several weeks, the Lumberjacks listed a nearly complete roster.
Thursday, Mar 12 – The Lumberjacks took the ice against a tough opponent, particularly on their home ice. The Lakers boasted a 22-1 record on home ice. The Lumberjacks, on paper, didn’t pose much of a threat to the Lakers, but Team Captain Jack Hanna urged his fellow teammates to play with personal pride and passion as the season was drawing to a close. The Lumberjacks responded.
At the end of 60 minutes, the scoreboard read 2-3 in favor of the home Lakers. Both Ironwood goals were scored by captain Jack Hanna and Ironwood net minder Connor Doyle stopped 44 of 47 shots. It was a total team performance.
Not without controversy, many observers of the game would have the final score listed as 4-3 in favor of the Lumberjacks. In the second period, Jack Carruthers poked a messy puck barely across the goal line before the Lakers netminder was able to cover it from the referee’s eyes. Although the Lumberjacks celebrated and the Lakers skated toward center ice, the referees did not signal a goal. Head Coach Doug Lein asked for a replay review to confirm the goal. Unfortunately, Coach Lein was informed the replay was not functioning. The goal was not counted, and an offensive zone faceoff was called for.
In the third period, Owen DeBrody took a quick pass and skated across the Laker goal mouth sneaking the puck past the goalkeeper for an apparent goal. Once again, the Lumberjacks celebrated and the Lakers headed to center ice. The live stream announcers confirmed the goal. But the referee corps huddled and without clarification to the Ironwood bench, moved the face-off back into the offensive zone and declared no goal.
At the end of the contest, the Lumberjacks staff and team found themselves encouraged by the effort and the results of their work but frustrated with the final score. Friday night would bring them one more opportunity to play the league leaders prior to playoffs starting in one short week.
Friday, March 13: The last road game of the regular season started with a 7:15 pm faceoff on the Lakers home ice. With a strong game the previous night, Coach Lein tapped Connor Doyle to guard the Ironwood net for game two. In typical fashion, the Jacks started slow and Fort Frances put an early goal up on the scoreboard. But with seven minutes left in the first, Jack Hanna continued his hot streak scoring his 17th of the season on a power play goal. Assists were credited to Jack Carruthers and Owen DeBrody. The game was tied at one. In the course of three minutes and 21 seconds, the Lakers put three pucks in the Ironwood net. The first period ended with Jacks down 1-4.
Even with several power play opportunities during the second period, the Lumberjacks were unable to add to their side of the scoreboard. The Lakers took advantage of a cleared puck and added a shorthanded goal to their tally. One other score by the Lakers completed the second period. The Jacks were down 1-6. Doyle was replaced by Jacks goalkeeper Gavin Covrig midway through the second period.
The third period saw the Lumberjacks step up and play a very competitive brand of hockey against the Lakers. The teams traded ends of the ice and good scoring opportunities, but each netminder held their ground. The final horn sounded with the scoreboard reading 1-6 in favor of the Fort Frances Lakers.
The Lumberjacks head home with two games against the Red Lake Miners scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, March 16 and 17. The Lumberjacks enter the playoff rotation on the road March 20 and 21. Their opponent will be announced shortly.