Dan Falloon
The Muskie boys’ hockey team made short work of a depleted Greenway Raiders’ roster during an exhibition game here Saturday night.
The Raiders’ 10 skaters and a goalie were no match for the black-and-gold, who rolled with 16 skaters and two goalies en route to an 8-0 whitewash at the Ice For Kids Arena.
The win was the fourth-straight for the Muskies, who had won all three of their games at the annual Hilltopper Classic tournament in Duluth last week.
“We just wanted to keep things moving,” said Muskie coach Shawn Jourdain. “[We were working on] finding guys in holes, making sure we weren’t making any blind passes, getting the shots off a little quicker.”
Jourdain was pleased Saturday’s win was a team effort, with offence coming from all of his lines.
“All four lines rolled again,” he noted. “I don’t know who scored on the scoresheet, but I think all lines got in on it.”
Jourdain admitted he wasn’t sure what Greenway would bring to the table, noting they traditionally provided fairly stiff competition.
“Usually, in the past, they’ve had good hockey teams,” he said. “I think they’re just short bodies on their roster.”
Brett McMahon opened the scoring just 42 seconds into the game when Greenway goalie Erikur Amason couldn’t track down a loose puck and the Muskie forward tapped in a short two-footer.
Fort High captain Jamie Kaun made it 2-0 just 51 seconds later when he blazed up from the defensive zone and snapped a wire past a screened Amason.
And the Muskies weren’t done yet as Devin Ball pounced on the puck off the ensuing face-off and sailed a shot over a beleaguered Amason a mere five seconds after Kaun’s tally.
Amason settled down from there and held off the black-and-gold’s attack until Davis Smith beat the netminder off a face-off to make it 4-0.
Nick Jourdain then rounded out the first-period scoring on the following shift when he slid a dribbler through Amason’s five-hole.
Greenway captain Nick Adams had the Raiders’ best scoring chance of the period when he shot up from his own zone and fired a shot that was handled by Muskie goalie Devin Stromness.
McMahon’s second of the game was the lone scoring in the middle stanza as he took a pass from Jeff Davis and beat a screened Amason.
In the third period, Tyson McLean’s point blast found its way in at 4:06, then Davis capped the scoring at 5:45 when he tallied unassisted.
The Muskies were back on the ice last night when they hosted the International Falls Broncos for a second time (the score was unavailable at press time).
Fort High was looking for revenge after falling 4-3 to the Broncos on Boxing Day here.
“Hopefully we’re hitting on all cylinders,” Jourdain said before the game.
“American teams are always good skating teams and our guys have to play at that pace.
“We have to play like that all time,” he stressed. “I know it’s not realistic, but with teams like that, we’re going to have to play at that pace.”
