Girls’ team sets sights on Eagles

It’s going to come down to discipline.
That’s what Lynn Kellar says will be the deciding factor if the Muskie girls’ hockey team hopes to enjoy some success against the Dryden Eagles in the NorWOSSA semi-finals, which start there this Friday night.
And he should know. He is the head coach.
“We’ve been stressing to the girls about discipline. The penalties kill us, and that’s going to be a key for us in the playoffs,” Kellar remarked.
“Playoff hockey is all about discipline. You can’t retaliate, you have to play smart, and really it’s up to them now,” he added after the team’s 6-2 loss to the first-place Kenora Broncos there Monday night to close out the regular season.
The Muskies came into the game having not beaten Kenora all season, but still they were confident and eager for a game that would set the tone for their best-of-three series against the Eagles.
“We were a bit nervous, but we were so pumped up to try and win,” said Courtney Reutzal, who netted the Muskies’ first goal. “We felt like we were going to go in there and beat them.
“Kenora is tougher than Dryden, so if we can pick up on the mistakes we made tonight [Monday] and learn from them, then I think we’ll be okay come Friday,” she added.
The first-year forward pulled the Muskies even at 1-1 in the first period on a lovely wrist shot.
“The puck was just there and it just popped out,” recalled Reutzal. “I just went and passed it to [Francine McCabe] and it was then one-on-two. She then passed it back to me, and I did a wrist shot, and it hit the crossbar and in.”
“It’s one of the better goals I’ve had this year,” she added.
The Muskies had only three shots on goal in the first period while the host Broncos fired 12 at Kim Pacarenuk, who looked Gumby-like in the way she was able to contort her body to make some fantastic point-blank saves.
Things went downhill for the black-and-gold in the second when Kristen Roehrig got called for a body-checking penalty (her second of the game), then linemate Cortney Caldwell was whistled for an infraction that left them two players down.
Kenora promptly scored on the power play and never looked back, building up a 6-1 lead before Caldwell (assisted by Roehrig) closed out the scoring with less than three minutes left in the game.
“This is it for those veteran players. Now our season goes on as far as we want it to,” said Kellar. “We have a lot of young kids where this will be there first playoff experience.
“Playoff hockey is different—win two games or go home,” he stressed.
Although Pacarenuk allowed six goals, she was exceptional in facing 46 high-quality shots. She, too, will be counted on heavily by the Muskies come playoff time.
“Kim played outstanding. In the last four weeks, Kim has really brought her game up a notch and it showed tonight [Monday],” said Kellar. “She made some great saves that kept us in the game.”
“Kim is just a big part of the team, and she helps us so much and saves us from our mistakes,” added Reutzal.
Game 2 of the semi-final against Dryden will be played here Sunday at 3:45 p.m. at the Ice for Kids Arena. Game 3, if necessary, will be back in Dryden on Tuesday night.
The winner advances to the best-of-three NorWOSSA final against Kenora.