Photos: Kerri-Ann Kanceruk
By Gary Moskalyk
FFL at DRY
Fort Frances: 9-41-1 .186 7th, GF 134 GA 301 -167, PIMs 17.5/G, PP 17.9 PK 68.1, Streak 7L1T, P10 2-7-1 head to head vs Dryden 1-8-0
Fort Frances enters the playoffs winless in eight, with nine regular seasons wins, and one win against Dryden in nine meetings. The Lakers however, are making strides towards respectability. Under new head coach Tyler Miller the team is looking to put a positive spin on a tough season with a good showing against the Dogs.
“We’re not going into the playoffs healthy, that’s for sure,” said Miller. “There’s a little bug going around, guys are banged up.” Defenceman Josh Greene has been lost for a couple of months. He ripped his MCL.
But there’s another side to the story as well.
Ryker Watt led the team in scoring with 24 goals, 19 assists and 43 points. Kevin Bond (16-16-32) and Brady Krentz (11-20-31 in 38 games) were in the top-40. Trever Sanderson (9-21-30), Clark Scaddan (11-17-28), Dylan Wedward (16-10-26) and Brady Wicklund (4-18-22) round out the offense.
“Guys have stepped up for us in the second half,” noted Miller.
There’s no doubt that Fort Frances is in tough against Dryden.
“We’re playing an underdog role. That’s what we’re looking to do,” acknowledged Miller. The play of goalie Brenden Stroble has been a definite bright spot.
“Strobe’s our number one goalie. I think he’s MVP for the league as a goalie,” said Miller of his 20-year-old netminder. “Knowing we’re the youngest team in the league and how many shots he sees a night. I don’t think there’s a better goalie in the league than him. He has the mental capability to come in every night. He’s doing cartwheels out there to keep the puck out.
“He’s a kid who is in the gym Monday to Sunday,” Miller added. “You don’t find a kid like that too often. Leadership, shows what you have to do night in, night out. He never quits, never gives up. To me those are MVP qualities.”
Fort’s playoff fortunes sit squarely on the shoulders of Stroble. Back-up Ryan Tanner is out for the year.
The Lakers didn’t reach Miller’s goal of double-digit wins.
“In the second half here we’ve had a lot more 3-2 games, 4-3 games, 6-4 games. . . ,” said Miller. Of course, from here the goal is to turn those tight losses into tight wins.
Miller’s looking forward to playing Dryden.
“Dryden’s a great team. They’re coached well, they play their system well, they’re aggressive on the puck. They cause a lot of turnovers,” he said. “They’re a well-oiled machine over there. We’re excited to play them. See what we can do. For ourselves, sneak one in, sneak another one in, see what happens. We’re going to compete.
“Our scoring is up, our goals against is down. As a staff we’re looking forward to next year.”
Miller and assistant coach Brandon Bodnar has been joined by Luke Judsen and Cody Mosbeck.
“We’re looking forward to next year with the coaching staff we have.”
The Lakers have 16 players coming back, losing four 20-year-olds.
Dryden: 37-15-1 .708 2nd, GF 229 GA 149 +80, PIMs 29.0/G, PP 26.7 PK 86.9, Streak 2W, P10 7-3-0, head to head vs Fort Frances 8-1-0
The Dryden Ice Dogs had a very good regular season.
“We had the best PK percentage, the best powerplay percentage, scored more goals, we had more shorthanded goals,” said head coach Kurt Walsten. “All that stuff, when the playoffs start, means absolutely nothing. We had a good regular season stats wise. Yeah, we’re a pretty solid team. We don’t have one leading scorer who we rely on. We can roll four lines at you. We’re the biggest team in the league, we can skate.
“But everything we’ve done up until now means nothing. Now we’re going to see where the character and the heart is.”
The Ice Dogs iced nine players in the top-40.
Brady Frattinger and Landen Stromme had 51 points each with 28 and 24 goals respectively. Bryce Benfield (20-26-46) and James Hooton (27-19-46) gives them two more 20-goal scorers. Ben Hackl averaged a point-a-game with 41 in 41 games. Ryland Maier (14-21-35), Jordan Pfoh (17-17-34) and Max Roby (18-15-33 in 31 games) provide more weaponry.
Defenceman Easton Debray kicked in 32 points with nine goals. And there’s toughness, too. Nine of the top 18 penalty minute leaders were Ice Dogs.
“We do like our leaderships core–Brady Frattinger, Ben Hackl, Jordan Pfoh. Hackl and Pfoh, they played in the Centennial Cup last year,” said Walsten. “Brady’s our captain. He battles hard. Max Rath–they’re good leaders in the room. Other guys stepped up. Stromme’s a rookie, tied with Frats with most points on the team. Benfield, Hooton, they’re point-a-game guys. Max Roby, we picked him up later in the year. He’s over a point-a-game for us.”
“You can single out one line with us. We have good depth here this year,” Walsten added.
Despite the statistical advantage, Walsten is not assuming anything.
“We’re sure not taking Fort lightly. Fort’s a good team. They work hard, they’re in every game. They have really good goaltending,” he said. “You just think you’re going to just show up and beat them, it’s not going to happen. You gotta put the work in. If we work as hard as Fort, we’ll beat them. If they outwork us, do the little things and we’re looking at what we did in the regular season, they could upset us. We’re not taking Fort lightly.
“We’re 12 victories away from winning a championship, or, in any series, four losses away from going home,” he added.
“I hope all the series are good. I hope the fans come out and watch. . . I hope the hockey’s good. The league’s been pretty competitive. . . Everyone right now thinks they’re going to win. Every coach is telling their team they’re going to win this series. Time will tell.”