Joey Payeur
Jamie Davis measured his words carefully when addressing his team’s effort Friday night.
“We were . . . uninterested the first two periods,” Davis said with a rueful grin in reference to the Muskie boys’ hockey team’s 2-2 tie against the visiting Red Lake Falls (Mn.) Eagles in an exhibition showdown.
“In the third, we finally showed some interest around the net,” he added.
“It was good for us, in a sense, to go up against teams that can play with us.”
Davis was understandably careful in his criticisms—considering his team is now on a 19-game unbeaten streak that sees them sitting with a 20-1-1-1 record—the lone regulation loss coming in the team’s opening game of the season.
“I’ve been really impressed with how they find a way to win and do what they have to to be successful,” lauded Davis.
“It’s not always pretty but they find a way to get the job done,” he noted.
“There’s 16 kids willing to do whatever it takes, whether it’s blocking shots or backchecking.
“We’ve got 16 unselfish players and that’s huge,” Davis stressed. “That goes a long way in a team sport.”
A scoreless first period ended with Fort High getting into penalty trouble as Mike Drouin (tripping) and Hunter Koles (slashing) were sent to the box 17 seconds apart.
Another high-sticking minor just 1:11 into the second provided more power-play time for Red Lake Falls.
The Eagles finally capitalized at 2:17 when Brandon Klipping lunged forward and deposited a rebound behind Muskie goalie Jordan Carlson after Josh Casavan took the original shot.
Fort High seemed content to try and create offence around the perimeter of the Eagles’ zone—almost refusing to take the puck strong to the net against Red Lake Falls’ goalie Bailey Schmitz, who stopped everything sent his way over the first two periods.
With Davis preaching a theme of more urgency during the second intermission, the Muskies were handed an early power play when Klipping was whistled for slashing 34 seconds into the third.
Graeme Kitt made the most of the man advantage by
bursting into the Eagles’ zone, cutting to the middle, and zinging a shot past Schmitz to tie the score at 1-1.
Shortly after killing off a boarding penalty to Connor Tibbs, Fort High took its first lead of the night by crashing the net trying to cash in a loose puck, with Kendyn Faragher doing the honours at 5:54 for a 2-1 edge.
The Muskies then came within a heartbeat of extending the lead twice, with Jarred Taylor and Tyler VanUden both hitting the post with close-in chances.
VanUden then had his deflection goal at 16:35 waved off after the officials’ deemed he had used a high stick.
With Schmitz pulled for an extra attacker, the Eagles made the home side pay for not adding some insurance.
Tristan Knott stepped into a blast from the point, with Carlson unable to corral the rebound that found its way to Klipping, who was left unchecked and went upstairs with his shot for the equalizer.
“There was a missed assignment,” admitted Davis, who wasn’t blaming his goalie.
“Jordan made the stops we needed him to make but it’s a case of shoulda, coulda, woulda,” he added.
“Definitely, there was a minor breakdown and realistically, it wasn’t a bad effort, but it still left a bitter taste in all their mouths.”
Due to rules that must be followed by U.S. high school teams, the game ended in a draw as there was no overtime or a shootout allowed, with periods each lasting only 17 minutes instead of the usual 20.
Having played 23 games over the past six weeks, with only a handful of days off with practices included, Davis said the 10-day break from action for Christmas is welcome.
“With the week off, the boys will hopefully return with their batteries recharged,” noted Davis, whose squad returns to the ice for a three-day tournament hosted by Thief River Falls (Mn.) starting Dec. 29.
“We like these Minnesota games,” said Davis, whose team went 1-1-1 at that tourney last year.
“We wish we could get more of them because whether it’s a top-10 team in the state or a bottom-10 team, they have an intensity level that we need to play with every time,” he noted.
“It’s good for our guys.”
The Muskies then were scheduled to host a three-game exhibition series Jan. 2-4 against the St. Paul’s Crusaders (Winnipeg), but the Crusaders had to cancel the opener.
The Jan. 3 game will take place at 7:15 p.m. at the ’52 Canadians Arena, with the finale set for Jan. 4 at 10:30 a.m. at the Emo-La Vallee Arena.
