Muskies’ thoughts on OFSAA

Ahh, OFSAA—the acronym all high-school athletes in Ontario strive for.
But where were the Muskies’ heads at before they packed their bags, stepped onto the bus here late Easter Sunday afternoon, and took a seat for the almost 18-hour ride to Windsor?
Here are their thoughts:
How anxious are you about heading to Windsor?
Jason Green—I can’t sleep at night because I’m thinking about it so much.
Brian Vargas—Going to Windsor is going to be the greatest experience of a lifetime, so I’m extremely excited about going.
Alex McQuarrie—I’m pretty excited, but we’re going to win so I’m pretty serious about it, too.
Andrew Easton—I’m wicked anxious, because I’m a rookie and I want to win gold and see what kind of hockey the other teams play.
Matt Redford—I’m really pumped up about going again.
Lucas Romaniuk—Very anxious, and we’re more prepared this year.
Brett Perreault—I can’t sleep. I’m thinking about it a lot.
Brain White—Pumped.
What do you know about Windsor?
Steve Boileau—Nothing.
Brett Meyers—A big city (actually it’s population it close to 250,000)
Jake Esselink—It’s down south.
Vargas—Only that it’s near Detroit (Windsor is a border-city with Detroit separated by the Detroit River).
Dedrick Brueggeman—They have an OHL team called the Spitfires.
Kevin Plett—Somewhere in southern Ontario and right next to Hockeytown USA.
Mitch Green—It’s beside Detroit, and in southern Ontario.
Kevin Bobczynski—It’s a place where we are going to win.
Tyson Romyn—Nothing, beside we’re going there to kick some butt.
Wade Friesen—It’s the Canadian version of the best city in the world—Detroit!
What are your feelings on being ranked 17th out of the 20 teams in the ‘AAA’/‘AAAA’ division?
Tyler Pocock—It’s no big deal. Every game is there for the taking, it’s just a matter of who wants it more.
Brock Benjamin—I think it might be an advantage.
Meyers—Pretty good, at least we’re not 20th.
Easton—Doesn’t matter one bit. The ranking and the record don’t mean anything—we’ll still win!
Redford—They underestimated us and we should be ranked higher.
Esselink—Don’t care.
Romaniuk—I think it’s an advantage because teams might take us easy while we will come out hard.
David Pierce—Not worried about it.
Plett—It doesn’t matter what the rank is because we’re going there to win the gold.
What do you know about the teams you are facing in the round-robin, starting with St. Thomas More, the eighth-ranked team from Hamilton?
Boileau—Nothing.
Easton—A Catholic school.
J. Green—Nothing, we’re going to beat them.
How about Chatham-Kent (near Windsor and ranked 16th)?
Esselink—City Slickers.
McQuarrie—A good team we can’t take lightly.
J. Green—Nothing, we’re going to beat them.
St. Mary—the top-ranked team with from Pickering?
M. Green—#1 doesn’t mean anything.
Romyn—Nothing.
J. Green—Nothing, we’re going to beat them.
And the ninth-ranked Orangeville Bears?
Pocock—Tied them 3-3 last year.
M. Green—This time we’ll be ready for them.
J. Green—We should have beat them last year.
What are your goals and expectations for OFSAA?
Benjamin—Get a medal.
J. Green—Be a team leader and have a big part in bringing home the gold.
Josh Sigurdson—To make some plays, score some goals, and skate hard every shift.
Plett—I’m seeing gold in the Muskies’ near future.
White—Gold baby!
What do you, as a player, need to do to accomplish those goals?
Easton—Play every game like it’s my last!
Vargas—Work hard, never quit, and have fun out there.
McQuarrie—I just need to play my best every time I’m on the ice.
Jordan Bale—Play tough, skate hard, and think!
Pierce—Score and make plays.
Friesen—Play some ‘A-game’ hockey.
For those players who were at OFSAA last year, what did you learn from last year’s tournament that can help you this year? And will you be passing that information along to your teammates?
Benjamin—It’s a really tough grind. You have to work for everything, and can’t take a shift off.
Redford—You have to be a lot stronger in front of the net, and shoot whenever possible.
Esselink—Be big, fast, and strong.
M. Green—You have to be ready for your next shift and keep your mind on the game.
Bale—Keep digging and try not to get frustrated. The goals will come.
It’s close to an 18-hour drive to Windsor. What do you plan to do on the bus ride there—and is doing your homework part of your plans?
Meyers—Sleep, listen to music, and no homework will be done.
Easton—I want to play cards, listen to music, sleep, and watch some movies, and, oh yeah, do my homework.
J. Green—Eat, sleep, and play lots of poker, and no, I will not do any homework.
Vargas—I plan on concentrating on what needs to be done down there.
Bale—No homework. I’m going to think about what I’ll do on the ice.
Brueggeman—Homework on the way back. On the way down, rest and prepare for the tournament.
Sigurdson—Sleep and listen to music and do homework.
Pierce—It’s hard to do homework on a bus. Sleep, and listen to George Strait.
Perreault—Eat, sleep, watch movies, play poker, and get ready to WIN.
Plett—If I was a dishonest person, I’d say I’d do my homework, but I’m honest, so I’ll probably listen to music, watch movies, and sleep.
Romyn—Homework is not part of my plan until the way home. We are going down there to win and not to take a bus trip to do school work. We have school five days a week.
He does make a good point.