Fort William Canadiens U18 'AA'

Currenr River used two early goals to get an early lead and then closed the game out late with two goals midway through the second period.  Brad Vis and Chris Kovac were the goal scorers for the Canadiens.  Vis, playing in place of the ill Kyler Miron, is an affiliate from the Midget 'A' ranks.  Sean Spenrath was the game's most valuable player.

Game #23: TBMHA Tournament
Friday, Jan. 28/05 - Fort William First Nations #1
Fort William Canadiens 2 Current River Comets 6
Score By Period
Team	1	2	3	T
Fort William Canadiens	0	1	1	2
Current River Comets	2	1	3	6
Summary
First Period
1. CR Menei (Krawec) 0:18
2. CR Menei 14:19
Penalties: FWC Buckley (Boarding) 3:27; CR Johnson (Tripping) 4:12; CR Black (Hooking) 8:37; FWC McLean (Highsticking) 11:12
Second Period
3. FWC Vis, 1st (Friday, Spenrath) 2:57
4. CR Menei 10:35
Penalties: CR Kreutz (Boarding) 3:20; CR Black (Roughing), FWC Zaroski (Double minor roughing) 11:23
Third Period
5. FWC Kovac, 16th (Franzese) 2:02 PP
6. CR MacDonald 9:13
7. CR Hakanen (D. Blackburn, Keeper) 9:30
8. CR Smith (Ylinen) 14:25
Penalties: CR T. Blackburn (Elbowing) 1:41; FWC Bench (Unsportsmanlike conduct) 9:55; FWC Zaroski (Interference, Misconduct), FWC McLean (Roughing, Misconduct), FWC Connolly (Misconduct) 13:05; CR Hakanen (Unsportsmanlike conduct) 13:14
Goaltenders	MP	GA	Dec
FWC Cody Junttola	45	6	Loss
CR Jordan George	45	2	Win
Power plays: (goals-chances) Canadiens 1-4; Comets 1-6

Drew Strandberg was solid in net and Terry Zaroski scored three consecutive goals to give the Canadiens their first win of the tournament, a 3-1 victory over the Volunteer Pool Bearcats.  The goals by Zaroski were his 19th, 20th, and 21st of the season.  The Canadiens were solid on the penalty kill in the second period, killing four consecutive penalties off to maintain their lead.

Game #24: TBMHA Tournament
Saturday, Jan. 29/05 - Fort William First Nations #1
Fort William Canadiens 3 Volunteer Pool Bearcats 1
Score By Period
Team	1	2	3	T
Fort William Canadiens	2	0	1	3
Volunteer Pool Bearcats	0	0	1	1
Summary
First Period
1. FWC Zaroski, 19th (Franzese) 8:47
2. FWC Zaroski, 20th (Krasnichuk, Willis) 14:59
Penalties: None
Second Period
No scoring
Penalties: FWC Zaroski (Crosschecking) 2:56; FWC Buckley (Double-minor spearing) 5:53; FWC Krasnichuk (Crosschecking) 11:27
Third Period
3. FWC Zaroski, 21st (Spenrath) 7:07
4. VP Skube (Ward, Fogg) 7:21
Penalties: VP Beese (Holding), FWC Krasnichuk (Hooking) 4:57; VP Sambray, FWC Kovac (Roughing) 11:53
Goaltenders	MP	GA	Dec
FWC Drew Strandberg	45	1	Win
VP Michael Scarcello	45	3	Loss
Power plays: (goals-chances) Canadiens 0-0; Bearcats 0-4

In a tournament in which you can normally only afford one loss, the Canadiens put their back to the wall with a 2-1 loss against the Fort Willliam Hurricanes.  Because the tournament does not have any semi-finals, only the top two teams of the six team round robin will move on to Sunday's final.  The West End Bruins-Current River Comets game finished in a 5-5 tie.

The Hurricanes got out to an early start when Gavin MacVicar scored four minutes into the game.  The remaining portion of the first period was scoreless.

The second period included 64 of the 98 minutes in penalties in the game.  Terry Zaroski evened the score at 1-1 when he took a puck from Chris Kovac and beat Kirk Bodnar on a breakaway.  Jerry Franzese and Drew Strandberg were awarded assists.  Michael Cowie returned the lead to the Hurricanes minutes later.  Zaroski was awarded a penalty shot after that but was unable to beat Bodnar.

The third period was scoreless and included 28 minutes in penalties.

Drew Strandberg was solid for the Canadiens but took the loss.  Bodnar earned the win.

Both teams were 0-5 on the powerplay.

Notes:  Jesse Friday was unable to play because of his elbow injury.  He received four stitches and had severe swelling.  He is listed as day-to-day for the weekend; The teams had to submit a roster by Thursday which included the regular 17 players plus five affiliates.  No other players can be used for the tournament; The Hurricanes were short four regular players for the game, three because of a post-game incident on Tuesday evening versus the West End Bruins; Kovac's point streak ended when he was not awarded an assist on the Zaroski goal.  The streak was a team high nine games (15 points).  Zaroski had streaks of eight and seven earlier in the year.  Kovac's goal scoring streak also ended at seven games (10 goals); The Comets-Bruins game was filled with controversy in the third period.  With a delayed Comet penalty coming, the Comets chipped the puck towards the blueline, expecting a whistle.  When no whistle was blown, Eric Missere ripped a point shot past a suprised Comets team making it 4-3.  After evening the score at 4-4, the Comets again appeared to have another call go against them when a Missere point shot was deflected off a Bruins glove to make it 5-4. Both incidents had the Comets bench upset.

Game #22: TBMHA Tournament
Thursday, Jan. 27/05 - Fort William First Nations #1
Fort William Canadiens 1 Fort William Hurricanes 2
Score By Period
Team	1	2	3	T
Fort William Canadiens	0	1	0	1
Fort William Hurricanes	1	1	0	2
Summary
First Period
1. FWH MacVicar (Demeo) 3:47
Penalties: FWH Breukelman (Slashing) 6:49; FWH Iuvancigh (Interference) 11:31; FWC Hyatt (Holding) 13:48
Second Period
2. FWC Zaroski, 18th (Franzese, Strandberg) 1:00
3. FWH Cowie (MacVicar) 8:45
Penalties: FWH MacVicar (Interference) 6:38; FWH Maxwell (Check to the head, Misconduct) 10:01; FWH Foglia, FWC Kovac (Misconduct) 10:43; FWC Zaroski (Charging) 12:26; FWH Iuvancigh (Roughing, Misconduct), FWC Backor (Boarding, Roughing, Misconduct) 13:24
Third Period
No scoring
Penalties: FWH Tafe (Slashing) 2:40; FWC Buckley (Hooking) 9:30; FWH Renzi, FWC Krasnichuk (Roughing, Misconduct) 9:54
Goaltenders	MP	GA	Dec
FWC Drew Strandber	45	2	Loss
FWH Kirk Bodnar	45	1	Win
Power plays: (goals-chances) Canadiens 0-5; Hurricanes 0-5

For the second time this season, the Fort William Canadiens were able to win three games in a row by defeating the Thunder Bay Bantam 'AAA' Kings 3-2.  The Canadiens improve to 9-9-3 and have caught the Current River Comets in the standings, although the Comets do have two games in hand.  The Canadiens are also now nine points up on the Volunteer Pool Bearcats for the fourth and final playoff position.

The first period saw no goal scoring but did see 14 of the 16 minutes in penalties called.

Chris Kovac got the scoring going when he jumped on a loose puck in the slot to score his 15th goal of the season.  Just four minutes later, a point shot from Brendan Willis got past a screened Kings netminder, extending the lead to 2-0.  The Kings responded 15 seconds later when a third opportunity by Jordin Davis finally beat Cody Junttola.

The Canadiens added to their lead in the third when Kevin Connolly scored his first goal of the season.  His shot from the point again beat the screened Kings netminder.  The Kings were able to score a goal with just seven seconds remaining to make it 3-2.

The Canadiens were committed to playing well in their defensive end during this game and when a breakdown occurred, other team members stepped up to make a play.  Cody Junttola was strong between the pipes for the team and earned the victory.  Ryan Faragher took the loss for the Kings.

The Canadiens were 1-2 on the powerplay while the Kings did not score on their lone opportunity.

Notes:  The Canadiens played with out Brad McLean (work) and Kyler Miron (illness).  Hayden Johnston played his second game of the season for the Canadiens as an affiliate player.  Johnston regularily plays for the Canadiens Midget 'A' team; Jesse Friday was forced to leave the game late in the first period.  His elbow was cut open and he was taken to the hospital.  No word yet on his injury;  In the other Midget 'AA' action last night, the Volunteer Pool Bearcats tied the Neebing Hawks while the Fort William Hurricanes defeated the West End Bruins; West End sits in first with 26 points.  The Hurricanes are next at 24 points followed by Current River and the Canadiens at 21 points.  The Bearcats are at 12 points; For the first time in recent history, and potentially ever, the Bantam Kings are at .500.  They are now 5-5-0 in Midget 'AA' play; Kovac extended his point steak to nine games (15 points) and his goal streak to seven games (10 points); The Canadiens are now 6-0-3 when leading after the second period and are 6-4-1 when receiving more powerplays than their opponents.  The team is also 5-3 in games seperated by one goal; The Canadiens begin play in the Thunder Bay Minor Hockey Association tournament, sponsered by Grand Portage Lodge, on Thursday night versus the Fort William Hurricanes; The Canadiens went 3-2-0 in the regular season for the month of January

Game #21: TBMHA Regular Season
Tuesday, Jan. 25/05 - Fort William First Nations #1
Fort William Canadiens 3 Thunder Bay Kings 2
Score By Period
Team	1	2	3	T
Fort William Canadiens	0	2	1	3
Thunder Bay Kings	0	1	1	2
Summary
First Period
No scoring
Penalties: TBK Kane (Interference) 2:29; TBK Judson (Misconduct) 7:42; FWC Zaroski (Unsportsmanlike conduct) 13:35
Second Period
1. FWC Kovac, 15th (Backor) 2:30
2. FWC Willis, 2nd 6:08
3. TBK Davis (Marostica, Minnoletti) 6:23
Penalties: None
Third Period
4. FWC Connolly, 1st 4:46 PP
5. TBK Davis (Forbes, Huskinson) 14:53
Penalties: TBK Davis (Slashing) 3:47
Goaltenders	MP	GA	Dec
FWC Cody Junttola	45	2	Win
TBK Ryan Fargher	44	3	Loss
TBK Tom Gratz	1	0	-
Power plays: (goals-chances) Canadiens 1-2; Kings 0-1

The Fort William Canadiens were well represented at the All-star game on Friday night.  Sean Spenrath lead the team with two goals as the team made up of Canadiens, Current River Comets and West End Bruins defeated the team made up of Fort William Hurricanes and Volunteer Pool Bearcats 6-4.  Spenrath scored the first two goals for his team, including a deflection of a point shot by Kevin Connolly.  Connolly also scored a goal.  Drew Strandberg posted a shut-out for his period of play.  Chris Kovac, Justin Backor and Ryan Krasnichuk also had strong games and represented the Canadiens club well.  Sean Spenrath was named his team's Most Valuable Player.  The team actually lead 6-1 at one point before the opponent scored three times late, including a seven on five advantage.