Lucas Punkari
The Muskie girls’ hockey team probably couldn’t help but feel a case of déja vu Saturday afternoon in Portage la Prairie as they faced off against the Kenora Broncos in the final of the PCI Saints Christmas Classic.
In addition to their regular meetings in NorWOSSA play, it marked the third time this season that the two teams squared off in a tournament final.
The Muskies captured the Sturgeon Heights tournament in Winnipeg back in October while the Broncos won Fort High’s own tourney last month.
This time around, it was the Muskies who came away with the championship, edging Kenora 3-2.
“The girls definitely showed up for all of the games and played like a team all weekend,” lauded head coach Scott Clendenning.
“Once again, when we play three periods of hockey we are hard to beat, and the girls did a really great job,” he added.
After jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead, the Muskies allowed Kenora to tie the game up early in the third period, which forced Clendenning to call a time-out and rally his troops.
“I explained to the girls that this was our game to win here and we were letting it get away,” he recalled.
“I told them that we needed to get back to our regular game plan in order to be successful, and the girls did just that and we were able to get the win.”
The black-and-gold advanced to the final following a perfect 3-0 record in round-robin play, in which they easily dispatched St. Norbert 6-1, blanked St. Mary’s 6-0, and throttled Selkirk 12-0.
Prior to their trip to Portage la Prairie, the Muskies improved to 3-2 in NorWOSSA play with a 7-0 romp over the St. Thomas Aquinas Saints last Wednesday night at the Ice For Kids Arena.
“I always talk to the girls about how you have to play every game at 120 percent no matter who it is that you are playing,” Clendenning stressed.
“The girls played well, they were moving the puck, and they were trying a few different things that they were working on in practice,” he noted.
Shilo Beck led the way offensively with a hat trick while Kaily Greengrass netted a pair of goals.
Amber Jourdain and Hailey Clendenning also scored against the Saints, with Calie Clendenning earning the shutout between the pipes.
A night earlier, the Muskies made a successful visit to Bronco Arena in International Falls, earning a 6-1 victory over their cross-border rivals in an exhibition contest.
“We were all working well together as a team in that game,” Greengrass noted.
“It felt like that we wanted it more against the Broncos than we’ve had in the last couple of games, and we also moved the puck around a lot better.
“I think that made a huge difference,” she added.
The Muskies also found themselves going up against someone who had never played in goal before.
The Broncos were forced to start centre Tessa Walls between the pipes as both of their regular goalies (Keanna Carlson and Taylor Fish) currently are out of action due to injuries.
“She stepped up to play in goal and I thought that she did a really good job,” said Muskie blueliner Nicole Horn.
“For someone who had never played in net before, she did a phenomenal job of stopping the shots that we had on her.”
Leading the way for the Muskies last Tuesday were Beck and Shelby Tymkin, who paced the offence with two goals each.
Greengrass and Amy Penner rounded out the scoring.
“All three of our forward lines were flying out there, and it was good to see that take place,” Horn enthused.
“Everyone was able to get on the ice and as a result, we were able to get scoring opportunities.”
Following the Portage tournament, the Muskies were to have hosted the Lake of the Woods Bears yesterday and the Sioux Lookout Warriors tonight.
But both games were cancelled as a result of the latest work-to-rule edict set out by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) that took effect Monday.
As a result, the black-and-gold currently are in a wait-and-see mode as to when their NorWOSSA season will resume, although Coach Clendenning will be making sure his players won’t be resting on the sidelines.
“During this little time off here, we’ll keep the players moving and active, and they will be ready for when the league starts up again,” he pledged.
