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Game two had some consistencies with game one - Canadiens jump out to early lead, lose lead and lose one-goal game.  The Fort William Hurricanes took a 4 point lead in the series with a 3-2 victory in game two. 

Terry Zaroski got the Canadiens going with a goal on a partial breakaway, after a breakout pass was received up the middle from Sean Spenrath.  It was Zaroski's 32nd of the season.  The Hurricanes scored late in the first shorthanded when Micheal Cowie beat Cody Junttola on a breakaway.

The Hurricanes scored the only two goals of the second with Jordan Foglia and Brian Sippala scoring just 27 seconds apart midway through the period.

The Canadiens closed the gap to one when Justin Backor beat Jeff Stokes for his 16th of the season.  Stokes would make some big saves in the closing minutes, including an open-handed blocker save on Backor while sprawled out in the crease.

Stokes earned the win while Junttola took the loss.

The Canadiens were 0-4 on the powerplay and the Hurricanes were 0-5.

Notes: The Bantam 'AA' series between the Westfort Maroons and the Norwest Stars is even at one game apiece following the Maroons game two win on Thursday night; The Canadiens played their third consecutive game with a full line-up, a first for the year; Game three of this series goes Monday night at 8:25 at the Fort William Gardens.

Game #41: TBMHA Playoffs
Thursday, Mar. 31/05 - Fort William First Nations #1
Fort William Canadiens 2 Fort William Hurricanes 3
Score By Period
Team 
Fort William Canadiens 1 0 1 2
Fort William Hurricanes 1 2 0 3
Summary
First Period
1. FWC Zaroski, 32nd (Spenrath, Friday) 4:17
2. FWH Cowie 14:09 SH
Penalties: FWH Tafe (Hooking) 5:05; FWC Willis (Highsticking) 8:50; FWC Krasnichuk (Crosschecking) 9:41; FWH MacVicar (Slashing), FWC McLean (Highsticking) 11:48; FWH Foglia (Interference) 12:31
Second Period
3. FWH Foglia (Jarvis, Letowski) 3:43
4. FWH Sippala (Cowie, Tafe) 4:10
Penalties: FWC McLean (Crosschecking) 8:45; FWC Krasnichuk (Unsportsmanlike conduct) 11:07; FWH Tafe (Crosschecking, Unsportsmanlike conduct) 14:18
Third Period
5. FWC Backor, 16th (Racco, Krasnichuk) 8:52
Penalties: FWH Hay, FWC Zaroski (Slashing) 4:59; FWH Tafe (Slashing), FWC Kovac (Highsticking) 5:55; FWC Zaroski (Crosschecking) 14:55
Goaltenders  MP GA  Dec 
FWC Cody Junttola 45 3 Loss
FWH Jeff Stokes 45 2 Win
Power plays: (goals-chances) Canadiens 0-4; Hurricanes 0-5

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Hurricanes battle back to take game one

Posted by Lincoln Galbraith at Mar 28, 2005 4:00PM PST ( 0 Comments )
For the first time all season, the Fort William Canadiens took a lead into the third period and lost the game.  Previously, the Canadiens were 13-0-3 when leading after two periods.  The Hurricanes took advantage of two third period goals to take game one of the series 4-3. 

The Candiens got off on the right foot when Chris Kovac scored his 24th of the season just 12 seconds into the game.  The Hurricanes responded with two goals (Michael Cowie and Adam Tafe) to take a 2-1 lead.  Cowie's goal was shorthanded while Tafe's goal was on the powerplay.  Sean Spenrath evened the game at 2-2 near the end of the first period when he took a puck off the back boards and buried his 17th of the season.

Spenrath scored the lone goal of the second when he capitalized on a rebound and made it 3-2. 

Jesse Demeo tied at 3-3 when he found himself all alone in the slot and beat Drew Strandberg just 50 seconds into the third period.  Jory Spring made it 4-3 with just over six minutes remaining and the Hurricanes held on for the remainder of the game.

Kirk Bodnar earned the win while Strandberg was solid in the loss.

The Canadiens were 0-7 on the powerplay while the Hurricanes were 1-4.

Notes: The Hurricanes played without Brian Sippala for game one as he received a one-game suspension as a result of his actions in the final game of the semi-finals; The Hurricanes had two players and a coach ejected from game one.  Adam Tafe received a game ejection for three stick infractions while Mike Maxwell received a game misconduct on the final play of the game and will be forced to sit game two of the series; The game was buzzed with 2:12 remaining on the clock.  As in regular season games, there is no additional time allotted for the games.  An extra five minutes was granted prior to the game due to glass repairs required prior to game one of the bantam series; The Bantam 'AA' Norwest team won game one of their series over the Westfort Maroons.  The two teams are the #3 and #4 seeds from that level.

Game #40: TBMHA Playoffs
Tuesday, Mar. 29/05 - Fort William First Nations #1
Fort William Canadiens 3 Fort William Hurricanes 4
Score By Period
Team 
Fort William Canadiens 2 1 0 3
Fort William Hurricanes 2 0 2 4
Summary
First Period
1. FWC Kovac, 24th (Backor) 0:12
2. FWH Cowie 4:41 SH
3. FWH Tafe (Letowski) 7:37 PP
4. FWC Spenrath, 17th (Zaroski, McLean) 14:34
Penalties: FWH Tafe (Slashing) 1:19; FWH MacVicar (Elbowing) 3:45; FWC Buckley (Delay of game) 7:26; FWH Tafe (Slashing) 7:49; FWC Connolly (Holding) 8:52; FWH Breukleman (Highsticking, Misconduct), FWC Buckley (Crosschecking, Misconduct) 9:49; FWC Kovac (Highsticking) 9:55; FWH Maxwell (Charging, Misconduct) 14:34
Second Period
5. FWC Spenrath, 18th 5:13
Penalties: FWH Yawney (Roughing), FWC Friday (Interference) 2:54; FWH Iuvancigh (Roughing) 5:40; FWH Tafe (Slashing, Game ejection) 9:00
Third Period
6. FWH Demeo (Breukelman) 0:50 
7. FWH Spring 9:07
Penalties: FWC Buckley (Crosschecking) 1:34; FWH Foglia (Crosschecking); FWH Maxwell (Game misconduct) 12:48
Goaltenders  MP GA  Dec 
FWC Drew Strandberg 45 4 Loss
FWH Kirk Bodnar 45 3 Win
Power plays: (goals-chances) Canadiens 0-7; Hurricanes 1-4
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Finals preview

Posted by Lincoln Galbraith at Mar 27, 2005 4:00PM PST ( 0 Comments )
The Fort William Canadiens will take on the Fort William Hurricanes for the TBMHA Midget 'AA' playoff championship in a first to six-point series. 

The Fort William Hurricanes won the regular season championships with a 16-8-4 record.  The Fort William Canadiens were third, with a 13-12-3 record.  The Canadiens are 18-18-3 overall on the season.

The series starts Tuesday March 29 at 8:55 at Delaney Arena.  Below is a summary of the teams meetings this season:

Game 1 - Canadiens 3 - Hurricanes 2 (October 26)
Goal scorers (FWC) - Terry Zaroski (2), Jerry Franzese
Goal scorers (FWH) - Jory Spring, Rylan Yawney
Goaltenders - Drew Strandberg (W), Kirk Bodnar (L)
Special teams - FWC 3-5, FWH 0-7

Game 2 - Canadiens 2 - Hurricanes 2 (December 7)
Goal scorers (FWC) - Cosimo Racco, Sean Spenrath
Goal scorers (FWH) - Jordan Foglia, Jesse Demeo
Goaltenders - Drew Strandberg (T), Jeff Stokes (T)
Special teams - FWC 1-6, FWH 0-5

Game 3 - Canadiens 4 - Hurricanes 2 (January 18)
Goal scorers (FWC) - Brandon Hyatt, Terry Zaroski, Justin Backor, Chris Kovac
Goal scorers (FWH) - Mike Maxwell, Rylan Yawney
Goaltenders - Cody Junttola (W), Jeff Stokes (L)
Special teams - FWC 0-7, FWH 1-6

Game 4 - Canadiens 1 - Hurricanes 2 (January 27 - TBMHA Tournament)
Goal scorers (FWC) - Terry Zaroski
Goal scorers (FWH) - Gavin MacVicar, Mike Cowie
Goaltenders - Drew Strandberg (L), Kirk Bodnar (W)
Special teams - FWC 0-5, FWH 0-5

Game 5 - Canadiens 6 - Hurricanes 4 (February 8)
Goal scorers (FWC) - Sean Spenrath (4), Chris Kovac, Justin Backor
Goal scorers (FWH) - Rylan Yawney (2), David Renzi, Mike Cowie
Goaltenders - Drew Strandberg (W), Jeff Stokes (L)
Special teams - FWC 0-3, FWH 1-2

OVERALL - Canadiens were 3-1-1, outscoring the Hurricanes 16-12
Canadiens powerplay was 4-26 (15%)
Hurricanes powerplay was 2-25 (8%)
Drew Strandberg was 2-1-1, GAA of 2.50
Cody Junttola was 1-0-0, GAA of 2.00
Kirk Bodnar was 1-1-0, GAA of 2.00
Jeff Stokes was 0-2-1, GAA of 4.00

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Canadiens advance to finals

Posted by Lincoln Galbraith at Mar 24, 2005 4:00PM PST ( 0 Comments )
For the first time in many years, the Fort William Canadiens have advanced to the Midget 'AA' finals after handing the West End Bruins a two-game to nothing series defeat.  The Canadiens won 6-2 on Thursday night, with 11 different Canadiens registering a point.  10 Canadiens registered a point in game 1.

Cosimo Racco got the Canadiens going midway through the first period with a slap shot over the glove of Bruins goalkeeper Eric Wing.  It was Racco's 11th of the season.  Just over two minutes later, Terry Zaroski picked up a loose puck and fired it past Wing for his 30th of the season.  Justin Backor closed out the first period scoring with a powerplay goal to make it 3-0.  It was Backor's 15th of the season.

The Canadiens and Bruins battled hard early in the second period until Jesse Friday potted his 5th goal of the season on the powerplay midway through the period.  Zaroski scored his 31st of the season when he wired a wristshot over the shoulder of Wing to make it 5-0.

The Bruins seemed to find some life in the third period.  Evan Stewart scored to make it 5-1 and than Eric Hjorth beat Cody Junttola to make it 5-2.  Friday responded for the Canadiens and ended the Bruins hopes for a comeback when he scored on the powerplay with just over six minutes remaining in the game.

The Canadiens finished 3-5 on the powerplay while the Bruins were 2-5.

Notes: The Canadiens played with a full line-up on Thursday; The finals are set to open on either Monday or Tuesday night.  The finals will be the first to six points; Game three of the other series is set for Sunday night.  The Fort William Hurricanes handed the Current River Comets a 8-1 loss on Wednesday night setting up the game three showdown; 13 different Canadiens registered a point in the series, with Terry Zaroski leading the way with four goals and three assists; The Canadiens were 4-9 (44.4%) on the powerplay and the Bruins were 3-9 (33.3%); This is at least the third consecutive season that the third place team has advanced to the finals.  Two seasons ago, the third ranked Comets were defeated by the first ranked Hurricanes while last year had the third ranked Volunteer Pool Bearcats defeating the first ranked Hurricanes; Three members of the current roster have won a midget 'AA' playoff championship.  Brad McLean was a member of the Bearcats last season while Jordan Buckley was an affiliate that played most of the playoffs with the Bearcats last season.  Coach Lincoln Galbraith won the crown two consecutive years as a member of the Bearcats and Hurricanes in 1994 and 1995.  Justin Backor was on the Hurricanes squad last season that lost in the finals.

Game #39: TBMHA Playoffs
Thursday, Mar. 24/05 - Fort William First Nations #1
Fort William Canadiens 6 West End Bruins 2
Score By Period
Team 
Fort William Canadiens 3 2 1 6
West End Bruins 0 0 2 2
Summary
First Period
1. FWC Racco, 11th (Willis) 9:08
2. FWC Zaroski, 30th (Spenrath) 11:14
3. FWC Backor, 15th (Hyatt, Kovac) 14:37 PP
Penalties: FWC Backor (Holding) 3:35; WE Riley (Crosschecking), FWC Krasnichuk (Roughing) 4:25; FWC Zaroski (Roughing) 11:14; WE Kovac (Crosschecking, Unsportsmanlike conduct) 11:37
Second Period
4. FWC Friday, 5th (McLean, Zaroski) 7:22 PP
5. FWC Zaroski, 31st (Franzese) 11:01
Penalties: WE Missere (Slashing) 7:05; WE Langen, FWC McLean (Roughing) 10:34; WE Stark (Kneeing) 12:16; WE Hjorth (Roughing), FWC Krasnichuk (Crosschecking) 13:12
Third Period
6. WE Stewart (Stark, Murray) 3:23
7. WE Hjorth (Langen) 6:21
8. FWC Friday, 6th (Zaroski, Krasnichuk) 8:30 PP
Penalties: FWC Kovac (Check to the head, Misconduct) 2:48; FWC Junttola (Delay of game) 4:18; FWC Junttola (Delay of game) 5:44; WE Murray (Roughing) 8:00; WE Soramaki (Roughing, Misconduct), FWC Connolly (Roughing) 9:35
Goaltenders  MP GA  Dec 
FWC Cody Junttola 45 2 Win
WE Eric Wing 45 6 Loss
Power plays: (goals-chances) Canadiens 3-5; Bruins 2-5
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Balanced offense gives Canadiens game 1

Posted by Lincoln Galbraith at Mar 22, 2005 4:00PM PST ( 0 Comments )
With 10 different players registering at least a point, the Fort William Canadiens have taken a 2-0 lead in the first to four points series versus the West End Bruins.  Game two goes Thursday evening.

The Canadiens got the lone goal of the first period when Chris Kovac took a drop pass from Terry Zaroski and put a shot on net.  Justin Backor banged home the rebound but the goal was awarded to Kevin Connolly, his third of the season.

The Canadiens jumped out to a 3-0 lead following goals from Jerry Franzese, his 10th of the season, and Terry Zaroski, his 28th of the season.  But the West End Bruins responded, with a powerplay goal by Tommy Langen and another goal by Cory Fortier late in the second period to keep the game at 3-2.

Kovac then took a drop pass from Brandon Hyatt and walked into the middle of the ice and beat Eric Wing for his 23rd of the season.  Zaroski followed that up just over two minutes later on the powerplay with his 29th of the season.  From their, the Canadiens played strong defensively, ensuring they got all pucks out of the defensive zone.  Drew Strandberg made big saves all night to keep the score 5-2.

Both teams were 1-4 on the powerplay.

Notes: The Canadiens played without Brad McLean, who was sitting out his one game suspension for fighting in the last regular season game; The Canadiens welcomed back Jordan Baraniuk (injury), Jordan Buckley (travel) and Brendan Willis (travel) to the line-up; The Current River Comets lead the other series 2-0 following a 5-4 win on Monday night.  Game 2 of that series goes Wednesday night; West End played without two players who have left the team - Mathew Morin and Steve Soderholm

Game #38: TBMHA Playoffs
Tuesday, Mar. 22/05 - Fort William Gardens
Fort William Canadiens 5 West End Bruins 2
Score By Period
Team 
Fort William Canadiens 1 2 2 5
West End Bruins 0 2 0 2
Summary
First Period
1. FWC Connolly, 3rd (Kovac, Zaroski) 11:18
Penalties: WE Kovac (Holding) 0:53; WE Stark (Interference) 8:40
Second Period
2. FWC Franzese, 10th (Miron, Racco) 1:19
3. FWC Zaroski, 28th (Spenrath, Connolly) 3:13
4. WE Langen (Fortier, Missere) 5:03 PP
5. WE Fortier 14:41
Penalties: FWC Zaroski (Slashing) 3:45; FWC Willis (Holding) 5:40; FWC Buckley (Highsticking) 7:56; WE Soramaki (Tripping) 8:21; WE Vail, FWC Friday (Roughing) 13:20
Third Period
6. FWC Kovac, 23rd (Hyatt, Krasnichuk) 2:18
7. FWC Zaroski, 29th (Buckley) 4:47 PP
Penalties: WE Missere (Roughing) 3:18; WE Stark (Unsportsmanlike conduct), FWC Spenrath (Interference), FWC Zaroski (Roughing) 8:42; WE Fortier, FWC Baraniuk (Roughing) 11:50; WE Soramaki, FWC Willis (Roughing) 14:50
Goaltenders  MP GA  Dec 
FWC Drew Strandberg 45 2 Win
WE Eric Wing 45 5 Loss
Power plays: (goals-chances) Canadiens 1-4; Bruins 1-4