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.
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. 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===
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.http://www.fftimes.com/node/227521 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 	OL 	GF 	GA 	P 	Results 	Playoffs 	 	
2007-08	50 	22 	21 	4 	3 	173 	183 	51 	5th SIJHL 	Lost Quarter-final, 0-3 (Diesels) 	 	
2008-09	50 	30 	17 	- 	3 	199 	139 	63 	3rd SIJHL 	Won Quarter-final,3-0 (Flyers)Lost Semi-final, 1-4 (Bearcats) 	 	
2009-10	52 	14 	33 	- 	5 	153 	251 	33 	5th SIJHL 	Won Quarter-final,4-3 (Wolverines)Lost Semi-final, 2-4 (Ice Dogs) 	 	
2010-11	56 	34 	19 	- 	3 	208 	174 	71 	2nd SIJHL 	Lost Playoff Seeding 1-2* (Wilderness)Lost Semi-final, 2-4 (Ice Dogs) 	 	
2011-12	56 	37 	12 	- 	7 	255 	166 	81 	2nd SIJHL 	Won Playoff Seeding 2-1* (Wilderness)Won Semi-final, 4-0 (Ice Dogs)Lost League Finals, 3-4 (Wilderness) 	 	
2012-13	56 	35 	18 	- 	3 	208 	165 	73 	2nd SIJHL 	Won Semi-final, 4-3 (Ice Dogs)Lost League Finals, 3-4 (Wilderness) 	 	
2013-14	56 	46 	6 	- 	4 	295 	150 	96 	1st SIJHL 	Won Playoff Seeding 6-4* (North Stars)Won Semi-final, 4-0 (Miners)Won League Finals, 4-3 (Iron Rangers)SIJHL ChampionsSee Dudley Hewitt Cup below	 	
2014-15	56 	43 	11 	- 	2 	254 	197 	88 	1st SIJHL 	Won Semi-final, 4-1 (North Stars)Won League Finals, 4-2 (Iron Rangers)SIJHL ChampionsSee Dudley Hewitt Cup below 	 	
2015-16	56 	46 	8 	- 	4 	249 	140 	96 	1st SIJHL 	Won Semifinals, 4-0 (Miners)Won League Finals, 4-2 (Ice Dogs)SIJHL ChampionsSee Dudley Hewitt Cup below 	 	
2016-17	56 	24 	25 	3 	4 	188 	201 	55 	5th of 6 SIJHL 	Won Play-in Series 3-1 (Norskies)Lost Semifinals 0-4 (Ice Dogs) 	 	
Season 	GP 	W 	L 	OL 	SL 	GF 	GA 	P 	Results 	Playoffs 	 	
2017-18	56 	15 	32 	3 	6 	172 	241 	39 	5th SIJHL 	Won First Round 3-1 (Miners)Lost Semi-final, 1-4 (Ice Dogs) 	 	
2018-19	56 	18 	35 	2 	1 	177 	237 	39 	5th SIJHL 	Lost First Round, 0-3 (Ice Dogs) 	 	
2019-20	54 	21 	27 	4 	2 	174 	214 	48 	6th of 6 SIJHL 	Season ended before end of regular season 	 	
2020-21	Opted out of season due to COVID-19 pandemic	Opted out of season due to COVID-19 pandemic	Opted out of season due to COVID-19 pandemic	Opted out of season due to COVID-19 pandemic	Opted out of season due to COVID-19 pandemic	Opted out of season due to COVID-19 pandemic	Opted out of season due to COVID-19 pandemic	Opted out of season due to COVID-19 pandemic	Opted out of season due to COVID-19 pandemic	Opted out of season due to COVID-19 pandemic 	Opted out of season due to COVID-19 pandemic	Opted out of season due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021-22	41 	5 	35 	1 	0 	83 	195 	11 	6th 	Lost Quarterfinals 	 	
2022-23	54 	9 	41 	1 	0 	134 	301 	22 	7th 	Lost Quarterfinals 	 	
2023-24	49 	12 	31 	4 	2 	30 	144 	226 	7th 	Lost Quarterfinals 	 	
==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 Patriots1-4L, Wellington Dukes 0-3W, Kirkland Lake Gold Miners 6-3	1-2-0 	3rd of 4	L, Toronto Lakeshore Patriots 0-6	n/a
2015HOST	W, Toronto Lakeshore Patriots 2-1 OTL, Soo Thunderbirds 3-6W, Dryden Ice Dogs 5-3 	2-1-0 	3rd of 4	W, Toronto Lakeshore Patriots 6-4	L, Soo Thunderbirds 2-3
2016 	L, Kirkland Lake Gold Miners 5-8L, Soo Thunderbirds 5-6L, Trenton Golden Hawks 0-3 	0-3-0 	4th of 4	Did not qualify 	Did not qualify
==Notable Alumni==
*Ryan Faragher
==External links==
*Fort Frances Lakers Webpage
*SIJHL Official Webpage
==References==
Category:Canadian ice hockey teams
Category:Superior International Junior Hockey League team