by Ken Pagan (nugget.ca)

Sturgeon Falls has a junior hockey championship to call its own.

The hometown Lumberjacks built a 4-1 lead through two periods and hung on during an intense final 20 minutes for a 6-1 win over the Temiscaming Titans in Game 6 of the Greater Metro Hockey League final series, wrapping up the championship at a packed Sturgeon Falls Arena, Saturday.

Actually, the final period only lasted 19 minutes. Game officials wisely called the game with 2:17 remaining after an on-ice brouhaha involving all 10 skaters, a melee that culminated with Lumberjacks captain Anthony Trozzo and the Titans’ D.J. Tahbazian breaking free from officials and squaring off to exchange blows.

Within a few minutes however, both teams were shaking hands, combatants included, and both teams saluted the fans for their support before the Russell Cup was presented.

“It’s a great feeling to win it at home, but it’s hard to put into words,” said Trozzo, a former midget ‘AAA’ North Bay Trapper. “This is awesome.”

The Lumberjacks wrapped up the series on the second try after dropping Friday night’s Game 5 in Temiscaming by a 6-3 score.

The Titans (38-3-1) were the 13-team league’s top team during the regular season, while Sturgeon Falls (35-7-0) was second. But it was the Lumberjacks who came through in the final series.

“I think we had more depth than them,” Trozzo said. ”We had a solid three lines and we just outworked them. We came to the rink ready to work every game.”

Finnish native Atte Koopikka scored twice for the Lumberjacks in Saturday’s win, as did Sweden’s David Amnas. Polish defenceman Adrian Turos and North Bay’s Adam McParland added one goal each. League leading scorer Andre Leclair scored the lone goal for the Titans in the first period.

Lumberjacks head coach Lui Ricci said winning the first two games on the road provided his team a lift and made the difference in earning home-ice advantage back. “In Game 5 (Friday night in Temiscaming), their top unit really put it to us and to have this last game at home to make the adjustments we needed to match lines, that was key,” Ricci said. “Our checking line of Adam Marceau, Cam Moffatt and Trozzo did a hell of a job against them.”

The GMHL wrapped up its sixth season with two area teams battling for the championship. 

“It’s very nice for us to win it here in Sturgeon Falls,” Ricci said. “There were a lot of fans who I haven’t seen here in years, since the Sturgeon Falls Lynx days. It is very nice to see a Sturgeon Falls team win.”

Titans head coach Nathan Hewitt said his team was in tough against the Lumberjacks, but he was proud of how his team battled to the end. The Titans played most of the final without top-six forwards Richard Abbott, who suffered a shoulder injury, while forward Drew Moffatt missed the final two games after having his wrist lacerated by a skate in practice on Thursday.

“It’s hard to beat a team like that two games in a row,” Hewitt said. “We were pretty evenly matched in skill and we may have even had an advantage, but they had a lot of size, a lot of age and experience on that team. “I told our guys they had nothing to be ashamed of. They battled hard and every guy on the team gave 100%. They did everything in their power to try and win. It just didn’t happen.”

While the Titans came up short in the final, Hewitt is proud to have helped establish a program that became a top team in the league. “Hopefully, we can make Temiscaming a destination for a lot of junior hockey players,” he said. “We’ve put the town on the junior hockey map and we’re hoping to build on that in the future.”

The 2011-12 GMHL champions include Brandon Hanson, Ryan Sidun, Casey Restoule, Adrian Turos, Maciej Rompkowski, Atte Koopikka, Cam Moffat, Armin Trautmann, David Amnas, Timi Tamminen, Adam McParland, Illes Gallo, Anthony Trozzo, Taylor Jackson, Dale Hatfield, Joel Senecal, Robin Bonvin, Claude Lotscher, Adam Marceau, Darnell Koosees, Reijo Hyytianen, Asa Lipse, Steeven Nicolet, Chris Osellame, Peter Quedent, Juho Raappana, Mark Wardell and Richard Wynne.

Photo courtesy of the North Bay Nugget (Ken Pagan)
More photos on the Nugget's website