Staff
The last step turned out to be the toughest.
Eric Pitkanen had the lone goal for the Muskie boys’ hockey team yesterday in a 2-1 loss in the final of the championship bracket at the Crocus Plains Victoria Inn tournament in Brandon, Man.
It was the black-and-gold’s only loss in five games at the tourney, with their second-place finish an improvement over last year’s fifth-place showing.
The Muskies won Pool #2 with a 2-0 record after beating the Neepawa Tigers 6-1 on Thursday and then the Stonewall Rams 8-0 on Friday.
In Saturday’s quarter-final, Fort High blanked the Virden Golden Bears before eliminating the Garden City Fighting Gophers (Winnipeg) with a 4-1 win in the semi-finals.
The Muskie girls’ team, meanwhile, compiled a 3-2 record at the K-Town Winter Classic in Kenora over the weekend.
Fort High opened play with back-to-back shutouts over a pair of NorWOSSA rivals in the St. Thomas Aquinas Saints (4-0) and Kenora Broncos (8-0).
The Muskies then downed the Sioux Lookout Warriors 6-2.
But they fell 3-1 to the Shaftesbury Titans (Winnipeg) before being blanked 4-0 by the Dryden Eagles.
Both squads return to NorWOSSA action here tomorrow night against St. Thomas Aquinas.
The girls get started at 7:15 p.m. at the Ice For Kids Arena while the boys’ game goes at 7:30 p.m. in the ’52 Canadians Arena.
It also will be the male Muskies’ turn to hold their annual “Teddy Bear Toss,” with spectators encouraged to bring a stuffed toy to throw onto the ice after their first goal.