By Brett Richter
Playing four games in eight nights is a tough stretch for hockey. Following a well-played road loss in Fort Francis on Tuesday, the Ironwood Lumberjack locker room entered Friday’s contest against the Kam River Walleye with a high level of energy, and some earned confidence. Head Doug Lein challenged the team to embrace the lessons from Tuesday, play with passion and believe in the team. The puck dropped at 7 pm for game one of the two game weekend series.
After a tightly played game in Kam River a few weeks back, the Lumberjacks took the ice with a jump. The early energy led to a Kam River penalty with less than a minute gone in the game. Taking full advantage of the penalty, #13 Jack Hanna, with an assist from #11 Gavin Lafferty, put a puck behind the Walleye net-minder for an early 1-0 lead. It was Hanna’s fourth goal of the season. The Walleye scored with four minutes left in the period and the Lumberjacks left the first period ice with the score tied 1-1.
During the intermission, Assistant Coach Paige Moilanen said, “That was one of the best periods we have played from a game structure standpoint. There are little things we need to adjust, but overall, it is proof the system will work.” Before sending the team out for the second period, Head Coach Lein encouraged the team to stay within the system, make the smart play and be aware.
The second period started with an early Walleye goal and setting the Lumberjacks back a bit. During the later half of the period, the penalty box door began to open on a more frequent basis limiting the amount of five-on-five play. At the 13 minute mark, #25 Jack Carruthers celebrated his birthday with his team leading seventh goal of the season. The lone assist on the goal went to #3 Felix St-Onge with his seventh assist of the season. The Walleye scored a momentum breaking goal with only 12 seconds remaining in the period. After two periods, the Walleye led 3-2.
Before entering the third period, Assistant Coach Moilanen commented, “We got away from the system a bit and took some stupid penalties. We need to maintain focus and stay out of the box.” That all worked for the first eight minutes of the period before the penalty box once again became a factor in the game. The final 12 minutes saw a total of 8 penalties called and another power play goal for the Walleye. The final horn sounded with the scoreboard showing a 4-2 Lumberjack loss.
In his post-game comments to the team, Coach Lein continued to encourage the team to believe in their game and to believe in their ability to win games. “It is time to be a professional. Watch your film. See what you, as a player, could have done better tonight to help this team win. We all need to take the next step.”
Game two of the weekend series began with puck drop at 7 pm on Saturday night. After a difficult Friday loss exacerbated by a very vocal Walleye team, the Jacks mustered new determination for the game. Similar to Friday, the host Lumberjacks played a disciplined and physical first period culminating in a Lumberjack power play goal by #24 Timy Hanulik. Hanulik’s fourth goal of the season was assisted by #19 Brendan Klotz and Lumberjack Captain #7, Will Porter. The period ended 1-0 in favor of the home team.
Everyone in the Pat O’Donnell Civic seemed to feel the rise in tension as the teams took the second period ice. Over the first 10 minutes, the on-ice play slowly deteriorated. At the 10:09 mark, tensions boiled over in the far corner. When everything settled out, the officials called for 34 minutes of penalty time between the two teams. The tone for the remainder of the game had been set. Kam River added a power play goal to an earlier tally to end the period with a 2-1 advantage over the Lumberjacks.
The third period struggled to create any momentum for either side. With a total of 15 penalties called in the third period alone, much of the period was a display of special teams. Kam river added a third goal at the 6:50 mark of the period followed by a beautiful Lumberjack goal by #3 Felix St-Onge right before the halfway mark. Unfortunately, the Lumberjacks failed to score the tying goal in the remaining minutes of the period losing a close game 3-2.