Muskie boys head into break on winning note

The only bad thing about the upcoming exam break for the Muskie boys’ hockey team will be the tests themselves.
The squad went into the week-and-a-half layoff with a 5-1 exhibition win over the host Eveleth Golden Bears on Saturday afternoon.
“All in all, the boys got a win under their belt, which is a good thing,” head coach Shane Bliss said.
“We’re not playing our greatest hockey right now,” he admitted. “[It’s] a little sloppy, but at the same time we’ve had a couple key guys out of the lineup.”
Without regulars like Joe Basaraba, Dustin Brown, and Cody McCool (and still missing Matt DiPiero), the Muskies had to make some changes to ensure the win, including moving veteran forward Taylor Jorgenson to the blueline to fill the hole created by the absences of Brown and McCool.
Eveleth jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first period but Matt Beck drew the Muskies even just 17 seconds later. Matt Hebert then netted the eventual game-winner five minutes into the second.
Ryan Witherspoon, Zach McCool and Matt McLellan also scored to ice the win.
While Bliss can’t argue with the results, that “sloppy” play—mostly passes not going tape to tape—is an issue.
“Our passing the last three games, our two losses and even our one win, it just hasn’t been connecting,” he said. “We’ve been giving away the puck and I’m not sure exactly why.”
Bliss noted the Muskies too often try to force passes instead of looking for open lanes and skaters. And when they do hesitate, they may be telegraphing their passes.
“It’s definitely just a decision-making thing that we have to work on,” he remarked.
Justin Pryde was between the pipes for just his second start of the season after getting his first taste of Muskie goaltending the previous weekend at the Hill Abra Dewar International Tournament of Champions in Winnipeg.
“He did well. The only goal they got was kind of questionable, they pushed him into the net and they counted it,” Bliss noted. “He easily could’ve had a shutout.”
Starting goalie David Moen’s job has been commendable so far, Bliss said, but he wants to foster a bit of a rivalry to push them to be their best.
“I wanted to give Justin a shot again,” he reasoned. “I want to create a commitment, an atmosphere for the two goalies competing for the job.
“We’ve gotta make that a competition so they’re really hungry so hopefully going into the playoffs we got two hot goalies. . . .
“To do that, to create that healthy atmosphere, we had to make sure we gave them [each] a couple [of] starts.”
The squad has an upcoming parents’ night on Feb. 8 and their annual Muskie tea on Feb. 16, but won’t see any on-ice action until Jan. 29, when they head across the river in hopes of sweeping their season exhibition series against the Falls Broncos.
Their last meeting—held here back on Dec. 21—saw the Muskies blank the Broncos 4-0.