Lucas Punkari
The fine-tuning process was underway for the Muskie boys’ hockey team this week as the black-and-gold prepare for the OFSAA ‘A/AA’ championships next week in Peterborough.
Having captured the NorWOSSA crown for the sixth-consecutive season on March 3 after sweeping the Kenora Broncos in the best-of-three final, the squad has been making sure everything is in tip-top shape prior to hitting the road Sunday evening.
“The long break always seems to just kill us,” admitted head coach Shawn Jourdain.
“This year we’ve been working hard at practice and making sure that everything that we have done so far continues to go in the direction that we want it to be, and so far it’s been going well,” he noted.
“Plus, everyone is healthy going into OFSAA, which is great to see.”
The Muskies are competing at the ‘A/AA’ level this year, instead of the ‘AAA/AAAA’ division they have taken part in for years.
But as Jourdain pointed out, the change was done mainly to keep in line with the rest of the Muskie athletic programs.
“We were the only team that was not competing at that level, and that was mainly due to our past success in that event,” he explained.
“It made more sense for us to compete at the ‘A/AA’ level, so that’s why we decided to do that.”
Last year at the all-Ontarios in Toronto was a disappointing one for the black-and-gold, who went winless in their four round-robin games to be ousted in short order.
For those on that team, the 2012 tournament will be one where they are looking for redemption.
“Last year didn’t go at all like we had planned, so one of our main goals this year is to come away with some wins first and foremost,” said returning Grade 12 defenceman Braedon Keast.
“I have a good feeling about this year’s team, though, as we have been working hard all year long and I think we have a good chance.
“We have great depth on this team and we don’t give up out there, as when we are down we are able to come right back,” he noted.
“Last year, that was a big issue for us down there and we kind of struggled as a result of being nervous,” Keast added.
“But right now we’re feeling really good before we go down there.”
That optimism is shared by those heading to OFSAA for the first time, which includes Grade 12 right-winger Ryan Windigo.
“I’m pretty excited about going down there, and I’ve been thinking about it a lot since we beat Kenora,” he enthused.
“We have a very fast team, which we proved during our [exhibition] game against International Falls.
“And we also have that physical style of play to our game, which we are looking to show to the other teams down there,” he added.
When asked what he thought was the key to this team’s success this season compared to other the title winners during his tenure behind the bench, Jourdain was quick to point to the Muskies’ special teams play.
“That is something that we have worked a lot in practice and it has been a major strength for us this year,” he remarked.
“We have some great penalty-killers, and our power play has been working really well,” he noted.
“Plus, our five-on-five has been dominating whenever they are able to cycle the puck around.”
The Muskies—seeded seventh for this year’s tournament—will compete in Pool ‘E,” which is the first pool for the ‘A/AA’ division at OFSAA (Pools ‘A’-’D’ make up the ‘AAA/AAAA’ division which also is being held in Peterborough).
The black-and-gold will open play next Wednesday (March 21) at 10:30 a.m. (EDT) against the 20th-ranked St. Martin Mustangs of Mississauga.
They’ll face the hometown Holy Cross Hurricanes—seeded 12th—at 8:15 a.m. (EDT) on Thursday (March 22) before going up against the top-ranked Glendale Gemini (Tillsonburg) that evening at 6:30 p.m. (EDT).
Fort High then will wrap up round-robin play Friday (March 23) at 10:15 a.m. (EDT) versus the 13th-ranked Kincardine Knights.
The top two teams from each of the four pools (i.e., Pool ‘E’ to Pool ‘H’) will advance to the quarter-finals Friday evening, with the semi-finals and the final set for Saturday (March 24).
