Edwards predicting championship season

After putting his troops through a week of tryouts, Muskie head coach Glen Edwards came away with a good feeling about the potential of his hockey team this coming season.
So good, in fact, that Edwards predicted this team will not only earn a berth to the all-Ontarios but go even further. He feels they could win it all. As in provincial champs.
Talk about confidence.
Edwards has been around the high school hockey scene here long enough to know a good hockey team when he sees it. So if he says this year’s edition of the black-and-gold will be very good, you’ve got to believe him.
“This team can win the all-Ontarios,” he stressed. “What we’ll have to do is come out and play in the third period. Our goal this year will be to win every third period.”
Edwards was referring to all of those lacklustre third periods that plagued the Muskies last season, including a debacle at the all-Ontarios that cost them a chance to advance to the playoff round.
Part of the problem was inexperience on defence. What was a capable–and confident–group through two periods suddenly became an error-plagued unit that coughed up the puck at the worst time.
Edwards is hoping that trend stops this season. And frankly, it will have to if his prediction is to come true.
“Inexperience cost us last year and we didn’t really have a solid rock back on defence,” he said, noting past Muskie championship teams had that type of dominating player on defence.
“All champions have had a rock back there,” he stressed.
So who does Edwards figure will step forward and be that type of player this coming season?
With Gary Curtis and James Baker questionable due to knee injuries, he’s hoping Jon Rogoza or James Asplund take charge and become dominating defencemen.
Both Curtis and Baker missed the summer tryouts last month but Edwards said he will give them a chance to show their stuff at the fall camp. In the meantime, he’s hoping to find some answers with the addition of rookies Dan “Boomer” Redford, Lorne Koski, Andrew Bynkoski, and Marty Hanson.
“We don’t know where we are yet but we’ll find some people there,” he remarked.
On the other hand, the Muskie coaches definitely know where they stand on offence, with the black-and-gold boasting a plethora of talented forwards who have speed and a scoring touch around the net.
Back are last season’s rookie sensations Ross Anderson and Adam McTavish to go along with veterans Tyler Coyle, Steve Keesic, David Lloyd, and Chris Kellar (who can play either defence or forward).
But it’s another stellar crop of rookies that has brought a smile to Edwards’ face in Jeff Savage, Tom Rose, Cole Hayward, and Steve Niskala.
Theses new players, he said, bring plenty of speed and size to the Muskie lineup.
“I think we will be very quick. We will be able to skate with any American team,” said Edwards, whose team had a dismal record against their Minnesota counterparts last season.
The black-and-gold also should be strong in goal this season. Edwards said they had four solid netminders in camp but noted he chose to go with Blake Carlson and Jamie Booth, who put in stellar rookie seasons while sharing goaltending duties last year.
“With Booth and Carlson, it gives us two proven goaltenders who played well for us last season,” he added. “Both of them will see lots of ice time.”