Lucas Punkari
There are three guarantees in life: death, taxes, and the Muskie boys’ hockey team playing for NorWOSSA gold.
The black-and-gold punched their ticket to this year’s final after sweeping the Dryden Eagles in their best-of-three semi-final series over the weekend.
They now are set to take on the Kenora Broncos in Game 1 on Friday at 7:15 p.m. at the Ice For Kids Arena.
“It should be a really good series,” said Muskie head coach Shawn Jourdain.
“Their coach [Martin Straight] always has them ready to go, and they’ve got a couple of good players that have come in for them late in the season,” he noted.
“We just have to focus on what we need to do, though, in order to win.”
Fort High wrapped up their series with the Eagles on Sunday afternoon with a 3-1 victory in Dryden.
First-year forward Braden Webb led the way with a two-goal effort.
“Personally speaking, that was one of my most rewarding games of the season,” smiled Webb, who is in Grade 10.
“The guys I was paired up with on my line [Nick Kaun and Nick Jourdain] worked well with me in both games over the weekend, and they really help to make things a lot easier out there when they are helping me out,” he explained.
“We put Webb up with our ‘red line’ here recently,” noted Shawn Jourdain. “And with his play, it’s making it hard for our coaching staff to try and move him back off of it.”
That line provided all the offence the Muskies needed Sunday afternoon, with Kaun getting a goal and an assist and Nick Jourdain chipping with a pair of helpers.
“They played very well, especially with the scoring, but overall our team effort was good,” Shawn Jourdain remarked.
“It was a pretty similar game to what happened here on Friday, as we outshot them by a big margin but their goalie [Justin Oltsher] was phenomenal,” he added.
In the series’ opener here Friday night, the teams were locked in a 2-2 stalemate late in the third period when Nick Jourdain tucked a shot underneath the crossbar with 4:43 left in regulation time to give the Muskies the narrow win.
“I got the feed from Kaun there and I just looked to try and beat their goalie up top, and it ended up being a pretty nice goal there thanks to that pass,” Jourdain said.
“The entire team played really well, but their goalie was playing just as well and you have to give it up to him.
“He sees the puck well when you don’t generate a lot of traffic, and that was something we tried to do tonight,” Jourdain added.
Ryan Windigo and Braedon Keast also scored in Friday’s victory.
Game 2 of the NorWOSSA final will go Sunday afternoon in Kenora, with Game 3 (if necessary) back here next Tuesday night (March 6).
“Our last two games, and even our games that we had at the end of the regular season, were all very strong performances, and we need to keep playing like we have been,” Shawn Jourdain stressed.
“Again, one of the big things that we have to do is just stay out of the penalty box.
“That is something that can bite you in this part of the season, and that is something we have been stressing to the guys,” he noted.
