Lucas Punkari - A View from the Nose Bleeds

With the way the sports calendar is lined up, the final weekend of May proves to be one of the most eventful and exciting over the course of the entire year.
Locally, the Emo Walleye Classic will be held this Friday and Saturday in what is the official kick-off for many anglers in a busy summer of fishing tournaments throughout the region.

I know that what I’m about to write has a very distinct chance of suffering from the “Punkari Kiss of Death” in rather short order, but there is a possibility this year’s Memorial Cup could be one of the best in the tournament’s 94-year history.

Think back to when you were in Grade 9 and entering high school for the first time.
Though most of us know a few of our classmates, for the most part it’s an entirely overwhelming feeling when you walk through the doors and are about to take part in a whole new experience.

Now that the Stanley Cup playoffs finally are underway (albeit a little later than usual due to the lockout that everyone has pretty much forgotten about), nearly every sports fan in the country will be focused on which of the 16 teams will be hoisting Lord Stanley’s mug in two months’ time.

As Jeremy Johnson celebrated his series-winning goal for the Minnesota Wilderness in Game 6 of the SIJHL final here Monday night, there might not have been a more disappointed person in the stands at the ’52 Canadians Arena than Fort Frances Lakers’ captain Merritt Rysavy.

For all intents and purposes, the Yale Bulldogs had absolutely no business coming away with the “Frozen Four” championship this season, which they captured in Pittsburgh on Saturday with a 4-0 win over the Quinnipiac Bobcats.

Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to cover a lot of exciting sporting events, most of which have taken place here in Fort Frances and surrounding area.

For the third-straight year, this Saturday’s OHL draft will see a player who is one year younger than the rest of his 16-year-old compatriots among one of the early names selected.

As the baseball season gets underway on Sunday night with a contest between the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros, all eyes will quickly turn towards the Toronto Blue Jays after a massive off-season overhaul.

As Lakers’ head coach and general manager Wayne Strachan rightly put this week, everything that has happened during the regular season between the Fort Frances Lakers and Dryden Ice Dogs has to be put in the rearview mirror.
Yes, the Lakers did win the season series over their long-time rivals by a 9-6 margin, which included victories in their last seven head-to-head meetings.