Fort Frances Lakers

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.

Sabres celebrate an overtime victory (2007)

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.^[1][2] 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

Lakers action in 2011

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.^[3] 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.