Joey Payeur
Todd Hamilton was seeing red after his Muskie girls’ hockey team’s first outing last week against the Sioux Lookout Warriors.
He was seeing progress after the second–and also seeing a future which has the black-and-gold in the post-season catbird seat.
The Muskies will have home-ice advantage throughout the NorWOSSA playoffs–as they vie for a fourth-straight league title–after sweeping a two-game series from the visiting Warriors with a 3-1 triumph last Wednesday night and then an 8-2 victory the following afternoon.
With a 13-1 record and 26 points, Fort High already clinched top spot over the second-place Dryden Eagles (9-3-0-1) heading into last night’s home game against the St. Thomas Aquinas Saints of Kenora (5-6).
The outcome of last night’s game was unavailable as of press time.
“The girls worked hard for [first place] all year,” said Hamilton.
“In my opinion, it’s a race,” he noted. “You’ve got to win one in [Dryden’s] rink and they have to win one in yours.”
Hamilton was less than jovial after the first game against the Warriors, which saw his team score all its goals in the second period and not do much else the rest of the time.
“Being that we had three games in three days, I guess you could call that one the lag game,” he remarked.
Annalise Hayes had two goals, one on the power play, while Janelle Kaemingh notched the other against Warriors’ goalie Alex Morin, who was steady all game.
Kamryn Sandelovich only allowed Savannah Kirton’s third-period marker to earn the win.
“Obviously, we know that’s not as good as we can play,” said Muskie blueliner Abby Plourde, who had two assists in last Wednesday’s game.
“We have to learn off of that and play to our potential,” she stressed.
The lessons sunk in the next day, with the Muskies using a six-goal second period and a better 60-minute effort to leave Sioux Lookout in the dust.
Hayes had a hat trick to make it 10 goals in three days after her big five-goal performance to sink the International Falls Broncos 5-4 in overtime at Bronco Arena last Tuesday to split this season’s “Border Battle” exhibition series.
Kaemingh and Jenna Clendenning had two apiece last Thursday while Siobhan Mackintosh had the other, with Sydney Beck getting the victory in goal.
Kirton and Mackenzie Pettit (power play) replied for the Warriors.
The Muskies next visit Thunder Bay this weekend for a four-game exhibition series against two separate teams.
Fort High takes on the Thunder Bay Bantam ‘AA’ Queens on Friday, then will play a doubleheader versus the Midget ‘A’ Queens on Saturday before squaring off with the Bantams again Sunday.
Forward Lauren Hamilton will miss the games as she’s still recovering from a hit from behind she took during the second game against the Warriors.
The Muskies’ next home game will be their regular-season finale on Wednesday (Feb. 15) at 7 p.m. versus the Kenora Broncos at the Ice For Kids Arena.
The NorWOSSA playoffs are slated to begin Feb. 23.
