Lucas Punkari
In what was an evenly-contested exhibition affair at the Ice For Kids Arena here Tuesday night, the Muskie girls’ hockey team ended up on the short end of a 2-0 decision to the International Falls Broncos.
Despite outshooting their opponents 32-29, the black-and-gold were unable to cash in on a number of glorious scoring chances, with Broncos’ goalie Keanna Carlson continually giving them fits.
“She’s a strong goaltender and she plays the angles well, and we just couldn’t get one by here,” noted Muskie head coach Scott Clendenning.
“Overall though, I thought it was a really good and evenly-matched contest, and it always is when you have this border rivalry,” he added.
Jordan Bright opened the scoring for the Broncos early in the first period, with freshman forward Jenna Anderson sealing the deal late in the third.
“I knew going in that this was going to be a tight game,” remarked Broncos’ head coach Gerald Bolstad.
“They [Fort High] are very quick up front, so I knew that our forwards would have a hard time trying to get anything going at times.
“But I think that we just got a couple of good breaks, and that led to us getting those two goals,” he reasoned.
Despite yielding a pair of goals, Muskie goalie Dana Cridland was solid throughout the game as she frustrated the Broncos’ shooters with many key saves that kept her team in the game.
“She played excellent tonight,” Clendenning lauded. “Yes, she had a couple of ones go by here but that’s hockey.
“And there’s not much you can do but just shake it off and go right back at it, and tonight she was solid.”
Even though the Muskies were unable to hit the twine, the team’s annual “Teddy Bear Toss” still went off as planned, with fans throwing stuffed animals onto the ice during a stoppage in play late in the third period.
The black-and-gold next head to Portage La Prairie today for a weekend tournament, with their first game set for tomorrow afternoon against St. Norbert.
That will be followed by round-robin matches against Oak Park that night and then Sturgeon Heights on Saturday morning.
After the tournament, the squad will travel to Baudette, Mn. for an exhibition game Tuesday night (Dec. 13), with their next NorWOSSA contest slated for Sunday, Dec. 18 here against the Red Lake Rams.
Off of the ice, the Muskie girls will be ringing the bells for the Salvation Army’s Christmas kettle campaign this Monday from 6-8 p.m. at Walmart, Canadian Tire, and Safeway.
