Dan Falloon
Even though the Muskie boys’ hockey team already has handily won the NorWOSSA regular-season race, it’s hard not to notice the rest of the pack gearing up for the next stage.
The Dryden Eagles, in particular, have come on as of late—subduing the black-and-gold 5-2 here Tuesday night.
Fort High dropped to 9-1-1 in NorWOSSA play, with both losses (including one in overtime) coming to the Eagles, who evened their record to 5-5.
“We just got outworked,” lamented Muskie coach Shawn Jourdain. “We’ve got to shore up our own zone.
“We were letting guys go and not skating,” he stressed.
The black-and-gold dug themselves a hole early, falling behind 3-0 after the first period.
Ethan Egli revved up the Eagles in the early going, taking a centering pass from Jared Statford and wiring one past Muskie goalie Wes Brown at 4:06.
Dryden went up 2-0 two minutes later when Blair Dingwall got into a scramble in front of the Muskie net and snapped a shot through Brown’s legs.
Ryan Lobreau then picked off a clearing pass in the Fort High zone and broke in on Brown. Although his initial shot was stopped, Lobreau gathered up the rebound and backhanded it in at 17:32.
The Muskies came out rejuvenated in the second period, getting on the board early in the frame.
With Dryden shorthanded, defenceman Jamie Kaun broke into the zone and centered to fellow blueliner Dustin Brown, who slam-dunked the feed past Eagles’ goalie Zack Lake.
Fort High was unable to capitalize on a pair of prime chances later in the second, with Colton Spicer’s redirect clanging off the iron while Donovan Cousineau’s wrister on a partial break sailed wide of the net in the dying seconds.
The Eagles regained their three-goal cushion in the third period when Dingwall struck again, taking a pass from behind the net and wristing one past Brown at 6:36.
The Muskies tightened things up in the final minute when Brendan Cawston’s tip slid through Lake’s wickets to make it 4-2.
But Dryden sealed the deal with 14 seconds to go when Brendan Angeconeb lofted one into the Muskies’ empty net.
Cousineau assisted on both Muskie goals.
After the disastrous first period, the Muskies tightened up for the rest of the game—allowing only the one goal past Brown while mustering some offensive pressure.
“In the second and third period, we played a lot better,” noted Jourdain. “We had some chances, but we just needed to capitalize on them.”
Fort High will finish off the season with a pair of road games, completing their NorWOSSA schedule at Kenora next Tuesday (Feb. 16) before crossing the border to face International Falls in exhibition action on Feb. 19.
The NorWOSSA playoffs are set to start Feb. 26.
