Lucas Punkari
If the Muskie boys’ hockey team is successful in its quest to make another appearance at the all-Ontarios come season’s end, one of the key building blocks in that story may have taken place this past week.
After dropping a 5-4 shootout decision to the host Kenora Broncos in NorWOSSA play last Tuesday night, the black-and-gold hit the road again this past weekend for a tournament in Morden, Man., where they were looking to repeat as champs.
But it was another NorWOSSA rival which ended the Muskies’ shot at defending their title as the Dryden Eagles erased a two-goal deficit in the third period before capturing the crown in a shootout by that same 5-4 score.
“That was a tough one to lose,” sighed Muskie head coach Shawn Jourdain.
“I think the biggest lesson that the guys are going to learn from that game is to just pay attention to the little details,” he added.
“Once they are able to do that, I think we are going to be just fine.”
Leading up to the final, the Muskies had been rolling in their two round-robin games, blanking the Pembina Tigers 6-0 and then walloping the NDSW Mustangs 8-2.
“In both of those games, we started off kind of scrambling, especially in that first game,” Jourdain recalled. “But once we got it together, we really dominated the play.
“We pretty much dominated in their zone and moved the puck really well in both games, and I know in our first game that [goalie] Scott [Parsons] saw very few shots.
“Once we get our speed going, we become a really tough team to handle,” Jourdain said. “But if we don’t get that speed going, we become easy to handle.”
In last Tuesday’s loss to the Broncos, the black-and-gold roared back from a 4-1 deficit to force the game into a shootout, with Chris Bobczynski, Braden Webb, Tarran Romyn, and Hunter Leishman notching the goals.
But after seven rounds of the shootout, it was the Broncos who took the win, which dropped the Muskies to 1-1 in NorWOSSA play.
“We had a tough start in that one but once we started rolling in the second and third periods, I thought we were fine,” Jourdain said.
That game also marked the first time Fort High’s full roster had been together in quite a while as a number of players returned to the ice after suiting up for the Muskie football and volleyball teams.
“Getting them back into game shape is the key thing for us,” Jourdain noted.
“In our first practice back with everybody, one of the guys had a little bit of trouble with the speed of the game and had to use a garbage can, [which] shows that it takes a different kind of shape that you need to play one sport to another.
“But those types of things, along with getting everyone familiar with each other once again, take time,” he reasoned.
Overall, Jourdain is pleased with how the team is performing so far as both newcomers and veterans have been key contributors in the early portion of the season.
“The young guys are learning how things go out there, and our veterans are playing solid and doing the things that we expect out of them,” he explained.
“I’ve been very impressed with Tyler Mosbeck so far as he’s a guy who I think will be getting a lot of minutes for us this year, and Braden Webb is another guy who is playing well and he also had a great weekend in Morden.
“Hunter Leishman had a strong tournament with five goals, and that whole line of him, Tyler, and Chris Bobczynski were very strong all weekend long,” Jourdain added.
Following their NorWOSSA home-opener against the Kenora Broncos last night at the Ice For Kids Arena (the outcome wasn’t known as of press time), the Muskies now will prepare for another home game next Tuesday (Nov. 29) at 7:15 p.m. against the Dryden Eagles at 7:15 p.m. before heading to a tournament in Brandon, Man. from Dec. 1-4.
“Everyone’s really excited about those home games as we’ve been playing a lot of games on the road to start off the year,” Jourdain enthused.
“The new guys on our team are really looking forward to playing at their home ice, and I’m excited to see how they perform,” he added.
