After weather derailed the playoff tournament schedule, it would take the Muskies an additional three days to retain the hockey title they captured a year ago.
The Muskie boys were in tough in their semi-final match against the St. Thomas Aquinas Saints out of Kenora when they finally had their turn to take to the ice in Sioux Lookout last Saturday.
It looked like they might be in tough when the Saints opened the scoring just 21 seconds into the game. The teams would trade goals right up until the dying minutes of regulation. The Muskies found themselves fighting for every inch, according to head coach Chris Sinclair.
“It’s definitely not how I envisioned it playing out,” Sinclair told The Times. “They scored within the first 20 seconds, and we found ourselves trying to claw back the whole game. I thought we outplayed TA, but every time we had momentum, they found a way to take it right away from us.”
Despite the challenge served up by the Saints, Sinclair said the game was proof of the team’s mettle. The Muskies tied the game at one apiece late in the first period but gave up another goal to go down before intermission.
“We were down 1-0, then tied it up, went down 3-1 then tied it up,” Sinclair said.
The teams eventually went into the second intermission tied at four, but the Muskies couldn’t manage to take the lead. The Saints looked to have the game in hand with less than three minutes to go, but senior Trent Friesen played the hero, tying the game up with 15 seconds remaining in regulation time.
“I think this game showed just how resilient a group we have this year,” Sinclair said. “We had to battle back five different times in that game, not once having the lead.”
Sinclair acknowledged the tenacity of the Muskie’s opponents.
“I give credit to TA, who played a great game and answered everything we threw at them. In the end it was a game of inches and seconds. They almost put it away on an empty net shot that just barely missed our net. But the boys battled right to the end and tied it up with 15 seconds left. Then three minutes into overtime we got our first lead of the game, which was the game winner.”
“It was unbelievable to be a part of that game. Watching them refuse to lose and finding a way to get the job done, giving us a chance to defend the NorWOSSA trophy.”
The semi-final saw scoring support from all over the roster with Ziigwan Smith scoring a pair, as well as Kolton Joyce and Gage McKinnon, and Friesen adding to the tally while, Jaxon Grimard scored the OT winner.
With the weather having delayed the start of the playoffs, the final was not played on the weekend. There was a thought that the Muskies might have the opportunity to play the final game at home, but Dryden, having the higher seeding going into the playoffs, was given the opportunity to host.
The Muskies had a chance to regroup after the weekend before heading to Dryden on Tuesday to take on the Eagles. The team was buoyed by the support of many fans, including a busload that made the trip up from Fort Frances for the mid-week afternoon contest.
The Muskies had struggled against Dryden in the regular season with a pair of overtime losses, 6-5 away and 4-3 at home.
In stark contrast to the semi-final, the Muskies did not wait to get on the scoreboard Tuesday. Ashton Armstrong put the Muskies up early, beating Eagles goalie Max Calder just 44 seconds into the final. Armstrong would score a second goal on the powerplay in the middle period to give the Lakers a two-goal lead.
Sinclair said the opening showed just how important it was to get into the game early.
“I think that just goes to show how important the start of the game is,” he said.
“Saturday afternoon we got scored on in the first shift and were chasing the whole game. Tuesday, we scored the first shift and allowed us to play a little more reserved and play with the lead. We stress the importance of good starts to not only the game but each period, and we certainly did just that.”
The final wasn’t completely without drama, as the Eagles pressed hard but struggled to beat Muskie goaltender Keaton Cooper, only getting one past him later in the third period on a total of 34 shots.
Sinclair said the goaltender gave the team confidence to play in front of him.
“Keaton has been unbelievable for us all year. He has kept us in games and given us a chance to win every time we hit the ice,” Sinclair said. “Don’t get me wrong, I think there are many chances that we could have taken the game over with, but any opportunity or chance that we gave up, he was there to bail us out. Without his play, that game could have been totally different.”
Cooper has led the way for the team all season, Sinclair added.
“Game in and game out he’s one of the best players on the ice. I think the guys on our team know that as well. He allows us to play with a little more confidence, knowing it’s going to take a lot to get a puck past him. I also think guys take a little more pride in the defensive end because of him. They know how hard he battles for us, so guys want to do everything they can in front of him to make his job a little easier.”
The Eagles broke through Cooper’s defenses with about seven minutes remaining in the game but Armstrong was there to answer back, capping off a hat trick just two minutes later. Jaxon Grimard would go on to score on the Eagles’ empty net at the 1:48 mark, putting the game away for good.
Of Armstrong’s performance in the final, Sinclair said those are the moments the forward relishes.
“Armstrong lives for the high-pressure moments,” Sinclair said.
“He’s someone who feeds off the energy and performs his best when the stakes are highest. The show that he put on Tuesday afternoon was unbelievable. He’s someone who has been with our program for four years, he’s experienced the glory and the defeat of a NorWOSSA final and I could tell even from our pregame warm up, he was doing everything he could not to lose this one. As a fifth-year returning student, he wasn’t letting that one be his last game. To put up a hat trick in a game of that magnitude shows how special a goal scorer he is. The funny thing is, he could have had two or three more with the chances that he created.”
That said, Armstrong has been counted on by the team to score goals all year.
“I’m not shocked about his performance. All he has been doing for us this year is score goals. He has led the way in scoring this season with 43 goals in 36 games with those most recent three just being the icing on the cake to his incredible season.”
While the performances of Cooper and Armstrong stood out, Sinclair said the whole team played well and made it one of their best games of the season.
“Just because those two players stand out, I think it’s important to note that our success on Tuesday didn’t just come from certain individuals,” Sinclair said.
“All 20 guys dressed deserve credit for that victory, because that was our best, most well-rounded game of the season. Although we are going to be up against some steep competition at the OFSAA championship in Belleville [March 24-36], I think if we play that same way we might be underestimated and who knows what we could accomplish.”
