Lucas Punkari
After falling twice to the Muskie girls’ hockey team during a tournament here back in October, the Kenora Broncos have had the upper hand over their NorWOSSA rivals in regular-season play.
Having defeated the Muskies there Nov. 15 by a 3-2 score, the Broncos skated to a 4-2 triumph at the ’52 Canadians Arena here Friday night, dropping the black-and-gold to a 1-3 mark in the league standings.
Muskie assistant coach Michelle Veldhuisen felt a slow start was the undoing of the squad for the second-straight game.
“We did not come out ready to play,” she admitted afterwards.
“It’s kind of the opposite of we had last year, when we would come out fast and by the third period we would end up being completely out of it,” Veldhuisen recalled.
“And now we’re coming out slow and picking it up as the game goes on.
“It’s just a matter of being able to find our game right away at the beginning, and getting our feet under us,” she stressed.
The Broncos jumped out to a 2-0 first-period lead thanks to goals by Rylee Smith and Hannah Rose.
But the Muskies cut the lead to one after 40 minutes following a number of scoring chances, with Shelby Tymkin finally putting the puck past Aryn Puls following a point shot from Sarah Milling that bounced off the boards and onto her stick.
Kenora regained its two-goal cushion in the early stages of the third period, however, as Jess Ricklefs’ shot eluded Muskie goalie Dana Cridland.
“Hockey’s a pretty simple game when you think about it,” Broncos’ bench boss David Craven noted.
“I think that the girls worked very hard to create opportunities in the first period, but in the second period we ended up doing a little more running around than I would have liked,” he remarked.
“We regrouped a bit and in the third period we were able to create some more opportunities, which came just from good, old-fashioned hard work and taking full advantage of your opportunities.”
Hailey Clendenning fired a wrister to the top of the net to cut the deficit to one again later in the third period, but Rose tallied for the second time a few minutes later to round out the scoring.
Despite the setback, Veldhuisen was pleased with a few different aspects of play by the Muskie squad.
“They all worked hard and they were able to adapt nicely to the different situations out there, plus they played the systems just like we were working on in practice this past week,” she noted.
“The attitude on the bench is very positive as the girls are all encouraging each other, which has been one of our goals this season.
“In the second and third period, we were able to get pucks on net and get a couple of goals, but it’s just those slow starts that we need to fix going forward,” she stressed.
While the black-and-gold are looking to rectify their slow starts, the Broncos have been progressing quite well since their runner-up showing at the Muskies’ home tournament last month.
“The girls have been coming along well in all aspects of the game,” Craven noted. “The goalies are playing solid and they have been communicating well with the defence, and the defence has been moving the puck up to the proper people safely.
“The one thing I think that we need to work on still is calming the girls down when they get frustrated and unnerved a little bit,” Craven admitted.
“But once they figure that out, I’m sure we are going to find some success.”
After a trip to Dryden last night to face the Eagles (the outcome was unavailable as of press time), the Muskie girls then have a week off until their next contest on Tuesday night (Dec. 6), which will be here against the International Falls Broncos starting at 7:15 p.m.
While the game is an exhibition contest, which also will include the team’s annual ‘Teddy Bear Toss,’ the Muskie coaching staff will be using the game as a building block towards others later this season.
“One of the things that we try in a game like that is just using some different line combinations,” Veldhuisen explained.
“An exhibition game like that is a perfect opportunity to try things our and figure out what is going to work for you going forward,” she reasoned.
Off of the ice, the Muskie girls will hold their annual tea and bake sale this Saturday (Dec. 3) starting at noon in the Fort High cafeteria.
