Trappers forward Scott Pawson feeds a left to Manitoulin Islanders Paygibe Wabano late in the 3rd period. Photo by Jordan Allard. Victory was never really in doubt this evening for the North Bay Jr.
Trappers forward Scott Pawson feeds a left to Manitoulin Islanders Paygibe Wabano late in the 3rd period. Photo by Jordan Allard.
Victory was never really in doubt this evening for the North Bay Jr. A Trappers, as they pounded the Manitoulin Islanders 10-3 at the Memorial Gardens.
On Bill Barber’s jersey retirement night the Trappers got off to a fast start after the pre-game ceremonies - scoring twice in the opening four minutes and four times in the first period.
Trappers head coach Ian Swalucynski was pleased with the strong start by his team and the play by some of their role players.
“Tonight we were much sharper compared to our last game. We worked hard right from the start and got rewarded,” said Swalucynski.
“It was also great to see the Turcotte, Wainman and Dionne line step up and do good things with their extra ice time.”
Scott Pawson and Jonathan Aubertin led the way with a pair of tallies each, while J.P. Kascsak, Dylan Sontag, Travis Fernley, Colton Allan, Sacha Guimond, and D.J. Wainman chipped in with goals.
Jake O’Nabigon (two goals) and Conor McNally provided the offense for the Islanders in a losing effort.
Mathieu Laberge was solid when called upon in between the pipes and stopped 27 shots in the win.
Rookie Devan Turcotte added an assist in one of his best games of the season.
Turcotte looked at the blowout as a chance to beef up on his ice time.
“It was really nice to get some extra ice time. Our line likes to keep our feet moving all the time and we did that tonight. As a line we have been kind of struggling lately so tonight was needed.”
The game turned physical in the late goings of the final period - capped off by a fight between Pawson and Paygibe Wabano.
After the fight between the two players was broken up by the referee, Pawson grabbed Wabano’s jersey and spun it around in the air.
He was assessed a gross misconduct penalty for his actions and will likely face further discipline from the league.
“I told the guys if you feel like you have take care of something then that’s fine, but you can’t be doing what he (Pawson) did. Now he’ll likely be out 4-5 games. It wasn’t a very smart decision.”
As mentioned the Trappers got off to a fast start to the game, scoring twice in the opening two minutes before the Islanders picked up a goal to make it 2-1.
From there the Trappers would take over - scoring four unanswered goals.
Pawson got it started when he jammed in a loose puck from beside the net and then Aubertin redirected in a point shot just before the end of the first stanza.
Aubertin would pick up another goal midway through the second period when he and Jonathan Dionne broke in on a 2-on-1.
Dionne would slide across a great feed to Aubertin and he jammed home his own rebound after the goaltender stopped his initial shot.
The Trappers would continue to pour the offense on in the final period - scoring four times.
Next action for the Trappers is Friday night at 8 p.m. in Temiscaming against the Royals.
BARBER HONORED
Before the game, the Trappers honored alumnus Barber by retiring his number 9 jersey.
Trappers forward Adam Marceau, who wore number 9 last season with the team, presented the Hall of Famer with the jersey at centre ice prior to the puck drop.
Barber, who was approached by Trappers management this off-season regarding a jersey retirement, was more than happy to come back to where his career got started.
"Coming home has always been very special and now I have an opportunity with hockey slowing down in my life, to come back and relive some memories. The North Bay Trappers and the city of North Bay were very big stepping stones in my career and life. I couldn't be any happier than I am right now to be a part of all this again,” Barber said.
Being back in the Memorial Gardens brought back some memories for Barber - back to when he first learned how to win during the Jr. Trapperse Copeland Cup championship in 1968-69.
“As a 15-year-old, we went on to win a championship and that was a big, big thrill for me and taught me a lot. Winning at that very young age took me through to where I wanted to go in hockey,” Barber explained.
Tonight’s ceremony wasn’t the only one for Barber this weekend, as yesterday in Callender they opened an outdoor rink named after him.
“There are a lot of great people in Callender and I still have a lot of family in the area there so it was special for them to do that for me. It’s been an absolute pleasure to be back this weekend.”
