Feature Story

As season winds down, Ice Hawks take control

 

By Nick Clark

MnJHL Director of Media Relations

 

If not for the Zamboni circling behind him, for all intents and purposes, Nick Fatis could have been at the grocery story as he ran through the checklist he had in mind for his Rochester Ice Hawks.

Win Minnesota Junior Hockey League Showcase – check.

Win the MnJHL regular season – nearly checked.

Win the MnJHL Bush Cup playoffs – not yet.

Pick up the milk and diapers – you get the point in that this type of stuff is the norm for the Ice Hawks.

“We’ve been here before,” Fatis said. “And I take pride in the fact that we seem to know what to do when we get here.”

That said, the list isn’t complete yet. And for Rochester to officially check off their next item, the Ice Hawks will have to win at least five of its seven remaining regular season games, then find a way for navigate a postseason that last year was defined by the miracle of the last shot.

The common thread through all of it was in the opposite locker room from where Fatis was speaking last week. Granite City has been in the way for each item on the to-do list thus far, and chances are strong the Lumberjacks will stand between the Ice Hawks and what would be a sixth consecutive Bush Cup championship.

“They are loaded with talent, so if we want to win it, yeah, we’ll probably have to find a way to beat them,” Fatis admitted. “But we expect that. Look at their team. That is one of the most talented teams we’ve seen in this league in a number of years.”

The Ice Hawks would know, having a talent laden roster themselves that’s been beaten badly twice by the Lumberjacks this season.

But despite a pair of lopsided defeats in St. Cloud – Granite City won 9-1 in late November and then 6-1 in early January – Rochester took the final two regular season meetings between the two sprouting rivals, including a hold-on-to-your-seat 5-4 thriller Feb. 4, on the Lumberjacks home ice.

Rochester scored the first three goals that night, but needed the game-winner from Zack King (Lakeville, Minn.) with 1:49 to play to break out of a 4-4 deadlock.

“We buried some pucks, and got a huge goal from Zack when we needed it,” Fatis said. “It was nice to see us get the first three, but we were never comfortable. We knew they’d make some sort of comeback, which they did. We’re just happy to get out of here with the victory.”

The win all but sealed up the regular season championship for Rochester – the Ice Hawks are now up eight points on Granite City and hold a 13-point advantage over the Twin Cities Northern Lights – a fact Lumberjack head coach Brad Willner said is a done deal.

“As far as the regular season, they just won it,” said Willner. “They are not going to lose three games. They clinched it. Hopefully we can fix some things and try to get back at them in the playoffs.”

If that opportunity were to present itself, Granite City could help by setting up what could be an unforgettable postseason match-up.

A year ago in the Bush Cup finals, all three games were decided on the last shot. The Lumberjacks won the first game in overtime, Rochester sent the series into a deciding third game on a goal with 13 seconds left in regulation, and then the Ice Hawk won it all on an overtime goal from Robby Dahl in Game 3.

“It was an unbelievable series,” Fatis said. “The entire playoffs were that way. We needed an overtime win just to get into the finals, and they got in by beating the Mustangs in overtime. I just love the playoffs in this league. It’s good hockey and good teams all the way through.”

That fact looks like it could continue in the coming weeks. Rochester is all but assured the No. 1 seed, and Granite City will most likely enter the playoffs seeded second. But the grouping of Twin Cities, Wisconsin, Edina and the Minnesota Owls have given the top-six some legitimate depth, and Hudson, the Minnesota Flying Aces and Minnesota Wildcats will have their shots as well.

“All you have to do is look at how the season played to realize it is going to be an extremely competitive postseason,” Willner said. “We’ll need to get to the finals to lock up a national tournament berth, but when you look at who we could have to play, there is no guarantee. We’ll have to go out and work for it.”

 

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