Born to be a Muskie

Right at 7:30 p.m. last Thursday, Hannah Firth appeared in the lobby of the Ice for Kids Arena.
The third-year Muskie forward’s interview had been scheduled for that time two days beforehand after the squad’s confidence-building 4-3 overtime loss to the Dryden Eagles.
And like that game, in which she scored a key goal to help force the extra period, Firth once again was right on time.
We climbed the stairs to take an isolated seat away from curious onlookers in the bleachers. The first-time interviewee was understandably nervous, but pleasantly refreshing and straightforward.
It started with a simple opening question to ease the tension—What are some of the expectations the team has, and some expectations you have placed on yourself?
“We just want to do our best and just work as a team,” Firth responded. “And I just want to do my best at all times, and try to help anyone I can.
“If anyone comes to ask to learn something they don’t know, I’d be happy to help them.”
There are seven rookies on the team and since you’re in your third season, you are one of the veterans on the team. So what are you doing to help them out?
“We’re just helping them out and showing them what to do. Our rookies are learning fast this year and that’s a big positive,” replied the 17-year-old, 5’0” player.
After only two questions, you could see why Firth is one of the leaders on the team. Her answers may not be flashy, may not be detailed, and may not be analogy filled, but her responses revolve around what she most cares about—the team.
Firth is an outgoing, effervescent, and personable individual, who treats hockey as the one thing in her life that has been true to her. She realizes that how much work you put into the great game only will give you a fraction back come game time—and that’s why she’s persistent in her efforts.
“Hockey is her one real thing in her life that she really loves to do. She lives and dies through it,” said Muskie assistant coach Chris Hill.
She even works for hockey. Her part-time job at Tim Hortons helps pay for her hockey expenses, and her dedication to the game can be deemed as a tribute to it.
“Her work ethic is comparable to none. She is one of the hardest workers. One of our hardest grinders,” said Muskie head coach Jim McMahon. “We can ask her to go out on a power play, a penalty kill, play centre, play wing, play defence.
“She’ll do anything for the team.”
And just how is the team doing?
Well, they won their first game against the vaunted International Falls Broncos in exhibition action.
And though they lost to the Dryden Eagles in their NorWOSSA opener as mentioned, they narrowly lost to a team that routinely blew them out last season.
They’ll be looking to continue their confident play tomorrow night when they face the Kenora Broncos up there.
With their veterans setting the pace early in the season, and the rookies rising to the occasion, the Muskies have grown from a team that was a speed-bump for the opposition to what is now in the building phases of the Great Wall of China (or is it the Great Wall of Muskie?)
“Last year we were losing to Dryden by 9-0 and scores like that, and we’re going to beat them this year,” vowed Firth, who hasn’t been part of a Muskie victory in NorWOSSA play for the past two seasons.
“And if the coaches want to change things, then I’m willing to do whatever they want for the team. I just like to help out,” she added.
And that generous offer has been banked by the Muskie coaching staff, which has taken Firth from the veteran line and placed her to head a rookie line to help in their development—and ultimately the team’s progress.
“Character is only going to build character, and the character that Hannah shows can only influence the rookies in a positive way,” said McMahon. “When I think of character and leadership, Hannah is right up there.
“Although she doesn’t have a letter on the jersey as one of the captains, she is undoubtedly one of the biggest contributors to the team,” he added.
“We consider Hannah kind of like our spark-plug … she’s what a Muskie is all about,” echoed Hill. “She’s actually kind of like the exact kind of person we’d like have on the Muskies.
“She’s really happy and proud to be out there, and she shows it on the ice. Like her scoring the goal the other night and running around the ice like Theo Fleury.
“My mom really got a kick out of that, but those kind of things she does gets the team going and she makes you laugh,” Hill added. “But she’s serious, and she really plays hard and really plays hard.”
It wasn’t always like so for Firth. When she first entered the Muskie dressing room three years ago as a player, she was shy and unsure of her place on the team.
Sure, she had played hockey since she was seven and started playing against the boys, but switched because she was starting to get “hurt too bad” due to her small stature.
But this was different. She was now a Muskie. And she took, and still takes, that title very seriously.
“I feel really proud to represent the Muskies,” Firth said. “I take it very seriously.”
She started coming into her own, started making a name for herself, and began building her role as a major contributor to the team. And no one has witnessed that more than McMahon, who has seen Firth’s development first-hand as a hockey player and, more importantly, as a person.
“When Hannah came into the program, she was very quiet, didn’t know what to expect, shy, modest,” he noted. “And she’s blossomed before our eyes and there’s nothing wrong with the way Hannah has come into her own.”
For Firth, hockey has become much more than just a game she’s routinely played since she was a kid. She eats, sleeps (not before games, though), and dreams about the game that calls Canada home. She truly loves the sport and everything that goes along with it.
She loves the camaraderie developed between the players. The friendships made. The hardships suffered, and the victories savoured.
She’s dedicated. Dedicated to the game and, most importantly, dedicated to the team. Dedicated to the Muskies.
“I just love the game. I just love it, and am dedicated to it,” Firth enthused. “Every practice, every game, I’ll be here unless I’m dying.”