Fort Frances Lakers

Fort Frances Lakers
City Fort Frances, Ontario, Canada
League Superior International Junior Hockey League
Founded 2007
Home arena Fort Frances Memorial Sports Center
Colours Black, Red, and White
              
General manager Wayne Strachan
Head coach Wayne Strachan
Franchise history
2007-2009 Fort Frances Jr. Sabres
2009-Present Fort Frances Lakers

The Fort Frances Lakers are a Canadian Junior ice hockey team based in Fort Frances, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Superior International Junior Hockey League.

History

Jr. Sabres

The Fort Frances Jr. Sabres are the first Junior "A" team to play in Fort Frances since the Fort Frances Borderland Thunder left the league in 2005. The Borderland Thunder wanted to play in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, but chose to go into hiatus when they did not receive clearance for the transfer. The Sabres have a new ownership group and are the seventh member of the Superior International Junior Hockey League.

Sabres celebrate an overtime victory (2007)

On September 14, 2007, the Fort Frances Jr. Sabres played their first ever game at home in Fort Frances. Playing the Thunder Bay Bulldogs, the Sabres played the shocker and defeated the Bulldogs solidly, 5-1, to receive their first ever team win. The Sabres first ever goal came 3:14 into the first period by Alessio Tomassetti. Goaltender Ryan Faragher (himself a Fort Frances native) picked up the win with 29 saves.

In the summer of 2009, the Fort Frances team went through a crisis of sorts. With the Thunder Bay Bearcats and Schreiber Diesels leaving the SIJHL, the ownership of the Sabres decided to pull their team out of the 2009-10 season despite initially telling the press and the league that the team was operating with a "business as usual" attitude and would not be sitting out during the coming season.[1][2] It soon came out that the team would play in 2009-10, but under new ownership. Yet again, as the season drew nearer, it became apparent that the franchise was in distress. The team could not find a buyer, so in an effort to keep the team alive, the community came together to take over the franchise and turn it into a non-for-profit organization. On September 10, 2009, the team decided to change their name to the Lakers.

Lakers

Lakers action in 2011

The reborn community-owned Lakers played their first game as a non-for-profit organization on September 17, 2009 in Fort Frances. Although the team's third season almost did not happen, the Lakers brought hockey in Fort Frances back with style by playing the defending league champion Fort William North Stars in their home opener. The Lakers lost 5-2 with an empty net goal, but were in it the entire game.[3] A night later, the Lakers won their first game of their new era by defeating the expansion Thunder Bay Wolverines in Thunder Bay 3-2.

Season-by-season standings

Season GP W L T OTL GF GA P Results Playoffs
2007-08 50 22 21 4 3 173 183 51 5th SIJHL Lost Quarter-final
2008-09 50 30 17 - 3 199 139 63 3rd SIJHL Lost Semi-final
2009-10 52 14 33 - 5 153 251 33 5th SIJHL Lost Semi-final
2010-11 56 34 19 - 3 208 174 71 2nd SIJHL Lost Semi-final
2011-12 56 37 12 - 7 255 166 81 2nd SIJHL Lost Final
2012-13 56 35 18 - 3 208 165 73 2nd SIJHL Lost Final
2013-14 56 46 6 - 4 295 150 96 1st SIJHL Won League
2014-15 56 43 11 - 2 254 197 88 1st SIJHL Won League

Playoffs

Schreiber Diesels defeated Fort Frances Jr. Sabres 3-games-to-none
Fort Frances Jr. Sabres defeated Sioux Lookout Flyers 3-games-to-none
Thunder Bay Bearcats defeated Fort Frances Jr. Sabres 4-games-to-1
Fort Frances Lakers defeated Thunder Bay Wolverines 4-games-to-3
Dryden Ice Dogs defeated Fort Frances Lakers 4-games-to-2
Wisconsin Wilderness defeated Fort Frances Lakers 1 two-game aggregate to 1, 2-1 SO tie breaker
Dryden Ice Dogs defeated Fort Frances Lakers 4-games-to-2
Fort Frances Lakers defeated Wisconsin Wilderness 1 two-game aggregate to 1, 6-5 SO tie breaker
Fort Frances Lakers defeated Dryden Ice Dogs 4-games-to-none
Wisconsin Wilderness defeated Fort Frances Lakers 4-games-to-3
Fort Frances Lakers defeated Dryden Ice Dogs 4-games-to-3
Minnesota Wilderness defeated Fort Frances Lakers 4-games-to-2
Fort Frances Lakers defeated Thunder Bay North Stars 6-goals-to-4 in two games
Fort Frances Lakers defeated English River Miners 4-games-to-none
Fort Frances Lakers defeated Minnesota Iron Rangers 4-games-to-3 SIJHL Champions
Third in Dudley Hewitt Cup round robin (1-2)
Toronto Lakeshore Patriots (OJHL) beat Fort Frances Lakers 6-0 in semi-final
Fort Frances Lakers defeated Thunder Bay North Stars 4-games-to-1
Fort Frances Lakers defeated Minnesota Iron Rangers 4-games-to-2
Third in Dudley Hewitt Cup round robin (2-1)
Fort Frances Lakers beat Toronto Lakeshore Patriots (OJHL) 6-4 in semi-final

Dudley Hewitt Cup

Central Canada Championships
NOJHL - OJHL - SIJHL - Host
Round robin play with 2nd vs 3rd in semi-final to advance against 1st in the finals.

Year Round Robin Record Standing SemiFinal Gold Medal Game
2014 L, Toronto Lakeshore Patriots1-4
L, Wellington Dukes 0-3
W, Kirkland Lake Gold Miners 6-3 		1-2-0 3rd of 4 L, Toronto Lakeshore Patriots 0-6n/a
2015
HOST 		W, Toronto Lakeshore Patriots 2-1 OT
L, Soo Thunderbirds 3-6
W, Dryden Ice Dogs 5-3 		2-1-0 3rd of 4 W, Toronto Lakeshore Patriots 6-4L, Soo Thunderbirds 2-3

Notable alumni

External links

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ http://www.fftimes.com/node/227521
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