By Brett Richter:
After a brief two game home stand over the weekend, the Ironwood Lumberjacks boarded the bus at 3:30 am Monday morning for a road trip to Dryden, Ontario and a two game midweek series. In the Dryden series, the Lumberjacks were facing games three and four in a five-night stretch. With a nasty illness creeping through the Lumberjack locker room, only one day of rest since the last two game series, a long road trip, and a few key injuries, the Lumberjacks were only able to field 15 skaters and two goalies for night one.
The short bench was noticeable right off the bat for the Lumberjacks. Rolling three forward lines and six defensemen, the Jacks began the Monday night contest with concerted effort. But missing a few key offensive players and a few key defensive fixtures, the team struggled to generate shots on goal and maintain solid defense. At the end of 60 minutes, the Lumberjacks fell to the host Ice Dogs 0-8 and were out shot 18-42 in the shots on goal statistic. The Lumberjacks gave up two power play goals and one short handed goal in game one of the two game series.
Tuesday, March 3. With another post-game injury taking hold, the Lumberjack roster shrunk by one from the previous nights roster. With Head Coach Lein telling his team there are no excuses for not giving 100% effort, he challenged the locker room play with pride and energy for a full 60 minutes.
The Lumberjacks played the first two periods with resilient energy and focus. Although at the end of the second, the Lumberjacks were down 0-3 and out shot 22-37, their effort was noteworthy. Connor Doyle, under relentless pressure, was playing well in goal doing all he could to keep the Jacks in contention. With about four minutes gone in the third, it appeared that Bennet Arro got the Lumberjacks on board, but after a lengthy review, the goal was disallowed on an offside challenge by the Ice Dog bench. With just less than five minutes remaining, Owen DeBrody put a nice shorthanded shot on net giving the Lumberjacks a much-needed goal for the night. The lone assist was credited to Jack Hanna. At the end of 60 minutes, the final score was 1-4 and Doyle was credited with 48 saves on 52 shots on goal. The Jacks were credited with 29 shots on goal.
The Lumberjacks return home for their last regularly scheduled weekend series March 6 and 7 against the Thunder Bay NorthStars. Friday nights game will include recognition of the Lumberjack billet families and Saturday’s game will be parent’s night for the Lumberjack players. The puck drops at 7 pm both evenings.