Ironwood, MI
By Brett Richter
Coming off of a disciplined, full team victory on Friday night, the Ironwood Lumberjacks entered game two of the weekend series with the Thunder Bay North Stars optimistic and motivated. During pregame comments, Head Coach Doug Lein told the team, “We played a good game last night, but we need to start better. The first eight minutes need to be stronger, more disciplined and not spent chasing the puck. There needs to be a tone set tonight.”
But once again, the North Stars had the early jump in the opening period. Just over eight minutes into the period, coincidental minors for roughing and high sticking changed the ice surface to four-on-four hockey. One minute into the penalty, the North Stars found the back of the net after a goal crease scramble taking an early 1-0 lead. At 13:40 of the first, and the North Stars on a power play, a lapse of defensive coverage by the Jacks allowed a second puck to slip past Jacks goaltender (#33) Dillion Zimmerman leading to a 2-0 North Stars lead.
Before the first period clock could run out, both teams decided the rest of the night would be dedicated to keeping the penalty box door swinging. Between the 13-minute mark of the first period and the end of the second period, the officiating crew could hardly catch their breath whistling players with 31 penalties for a total of 60 minutes in penalty time and four game misconducts. Surprisingly, with mixed up lines and defensive pairings, the second period went scoreless and remained 2-0 headed into the third. When asked about the first two periods, Lumberjacks Assistant Coach Paige Moilanen stated, “This type of game proves by being undisciplined and not playing the systems set in place by Coach, it will cost us and here we are down by two goals. The penalties result from a lack of mental focus more than the lack of physical effort.”
The Lumberjack bench and line up was re-organized by Coach Lein and headed out for the third period with the game still in reach. The first five minutes of the third period, while still chippy, played out evenly. At the 6:20 mark of the third, the North Stars took the first of their seven third period penalties leading to an unassisted Lumberjacks power play goal by (#25) Jack Carruthers. The Jacks were within one goal of tying a very unconventional hockey game and seemed to swing momentum in their favor. The change in momentum was short lived with the North Stars adding two more goals in the next three minutes before Ironwood’s (#2) Jake Scott found paydirt with his first goal of the season. (#19) Brendan Klotz assisted on the Scott goal. The game stood at 4-2 with just over seven minutes remaining. But that was enough for the North Stars to take game two of the weekend series with 60 minutes of play finishing in a 6-2 loss for the Lumberjacks. The game finished with 41 penalties being called over the course of 2 hours and 48 minutes of playing time.
In post-game comments to the players, Head Coach Doug Lein told them, “The push back was really good when we were down 2-0. The drive to come back and get ourselves into the game was there. I don’t really think you (the players) just tried to fill a shift.” When asked directly about the game, Lein went on to say, “I just don’t think we executed tonight. I think our preparation was poor before the game. I think our focus was lacking and I think we beat ourselves. I’m not taking anything away from Thunder Bay, but it starts with us.” In addition, Lein stated, “If you are talking about learning, it was a big learning weekend. We’ve got positive momentum out of Friday’s win. If you look at what can be learned out of tonight’s game, it’s not a bad weekend of hockey.”
The 1-1 Lumberjacks head out for their first long road trip of the season as they play the Sioux Lookout Bombers Friday and Saturday night, September 26 & 27, with a 7pm puck drop both nights. The next home weekend for the Lumberjacks is October 10 & 11 when the Red Lake Miners come to the Pat O’Donnell Civic Center for a weekend clash. Game time is 7 pm each evening.
For a full schedule of the Lumberjack games and up to date scoring information, head to ironwoodlumberjacks.com. A link is also available for the SIJHL Live streaming service to catch all of the Lumberjack games whether home or away.