A 24-mile drive in visibility that would challenge a musk-ox on the tundra.
A rousing rendition of O! Canada by Chantal Delorme.
Fans happily commenting about an Enterprise feature
on Chris Festarini’s goaltending future, and, after the opening face-off,
the booming sound of a save off the pads of Eskis goalie Sylvain Miron,
on the North Bay Trappers first shot of the game.
It’s hockey night at The Igloo, and all is well with the world.
[caption id="attachment_18596" align="aligncenter" width="358"]
Ryan Tront (9) and Andrew Green (21) put the pressure on North Bay Trappers goalie Dustin Hummel during the first period of the Eskis 3-1 win Saturday in Iroquois Falls.[/caption]
Whatever the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League’s scheduler had in mind, the week’s schedule for the improving Abitibi Eskimos seems like an underhanded Hallowe’en trick.
Last Saturday’s game, a hard-fought and well-deserved 3-1 victory over a scrappy and determined North Bay Trappers expansion team, came after five full days of rest – save for the normal Tuesday practice – for the Eskis, a team which now seems to have settled into the “set for the season” cubicle, as far as player transactions are concerned.
One of the most positive aspects of these early season Eskis is the fact that, on the 23-player roster, only nine have returned from last year’s team – while seven newcomers were playing midget AAA hockey in Kapuskasing last season – and, after the first dozen games of this 2013-14 season, and they all seem to have blended seamlessly into Head Coach Paul Gagné’s system.
These young firebrand Eskis are giving every indication that they’re not going to be anybody’s doormat this season.
In truth, it looks, at least this early in the season, as though this year’s NOJHL is a two-tier league – divided equally between the “haves” and the “have-nots .”
Last Saturday’s game – a game in which the Eskis were challenged repeatedly by the last-place Trappers, seemed to be a match-up between teams vying to climb out of “have-not” territory.
Neither the Eskis, nor the expansion Trappers, seemed destined to advance too far upward toward the elite category – weekend results left the Ekis with a 6-5-0-2 record, in a fourth place tie with the Elliot Lake Bobcats, while the Trappers occupy fifth spot – but have played three more games the both the Eskis and the Bobcats. Given the determined effort by the Trappers on Saturday night, they have to be considered a potential playoff contender, while the rebuilding Sudbury Nickel Barons and the Blind River Beavers appear, at least this early in the season, to be on the outside looking in when it comes to a possible playoff position.
The Eskis outshot the Trappers by a fairly wide margin Saturday night – but it’s unlikely the outcome of the game would have been any different – Hummel wasn’t feeling well, and his replacement for the second and third periods, Evan Cormier, was solid – but the Trappers just couldn’t score on Miron in the Eskis net. The former Kap AAA standout is proving to be an early candidate for rookie honours in the NOJHL.
Zach Innes, Brady Cloutier and defenseman Kealey Cummings, with an empty-net goal, scored for the Eskis while Zach Shankar ruined Miron’s shutout hopes with a late first-period goal for the Trappers. Official attendance for Saturday’s game was 517 – a decent turnout considering the hazardous driving conditions.
Feature Picture: Abitibi Eskimos Tommy Labrecque has a scoring chance foiled by North Bay Trappers goaltender Dustin Hummel in the first period. Hummel did not return to the game for the second and third periods because of illness.
