Joey Payeur
The Dryden Eagles officially are off the Kenora Broncos’ Christmas card list.
After having their 21-game NorWOSSA winning streak ended by the Eagles last week, the Muskies rebounded emphatically with a 14-1 rout of the visiting Broncos last night.
“The girls came to play,” said Muskie head coach Scott Clendenning.
“You get into a game like this, the main goal is to keep the girls focused,” he noted.
“This is a great game to get every line involved and give confidence to every line.”
Blueliner Mallory Payne said there definitely was a bitter aftertaste to having Dryden end the Muskies’ stretch of NorWOSSA success.
“We needed that kick in the ass to make us go harder,” the Grade 12 veteran stated bluntly.
“We needed a loss to come back and show each other what we have.”
Kenora rarely saw the Muskies’ end of the ice as Fort High (3-1 in NorWOSSA play) turned a close 2-0 game after 20 minutes into a rout .
Their seven-goal outburst in the second chased Broncos’ starting goalie Keesha Hopkins.
Annalise Hayes scored 1:08 into the game to unleash a flurry of stuffed animals from the crowd as part of the Muskies’ annual “Teddy Bear Toss,” then netted her second at 10:43.
Kaily Greengrass revved her game up early in the second, dashing in from centre all the way to the net to flip the puck past Hopkins at 1:44.
She then tried a wraparound attempt that left a rebound which Hayes cashed in for the hat trick at 3:40.
Jessica Coran and Hayes made it 6-0 before Jenna Clendenning scored her first career NorWOSSA goal at 15:29 by pouncing on a rebound of Hayes’ shot and stuffing it behind Hopkins.
“It’s pretty exciting,” the Grade 9 forward said about netting her initial league tally.
“I just decided to go to the net and screen the goalie and wait for a rebound,” she recalled.
“I definitely think I’ve been improving as the season has progressed, especially with the more experienced girls on the team letting me know where I have to improve,” Clendenning added
Claire Sandelovich (on a great cross-ice feed from Rachel Jean) and Coran boosted the lead to 9-0 before the period was out.
Brianna Aarrestad relieved Hopkins to start the third, but got no relief from the Muskies’ offensive blitz.
Emma Noga made a terrific rush and poked home her own rebound just 37 seconds into the final frame.
Sam McKinnon wired a shot glove side to make it 11-0 before Jess Ricklefs finally gave the Broncos a chance to cheer at 7:33 with a cannon blast from the right circle that became the only puck to elude Muskie goalie Kate Parsons all night.
Coran avenged her netminder by scoring her hat trick goal only 12 seconds later, then combined with Hayes to set up Amy Penner 1:02 later for a 13-1 advantage.
Hayes completed a magnificent nine-point performance when she tucked in a shot from the doorstep behind Aarrestad at 13:41.
The Muskies next head to Kenora today for the start of the K-Town Christmas Classic, with games scheduled against the St. Thomas Aquinas Saints at 2:30 p.m. and the Westwood Collegiate Warriors (Winnipeg) at 6:30 p.m.
As for the Muskie boys, they kicked off the Victoria Inn High School Hockey Tournament in Brandon last night with a 6-0 shutout of the Northlands Parkway Collegiate Nighthawks (Winkler, Man.)
“I think we caught them off guard,” said Muskie head coach Jamie Davis.
“I don’t think they’re as bad a team as the score showed . . . we didn’t score until the second period,” he noted.
Graeme Kitt notched a pair of goals for the black-and-gold while Carter Brown, Jarred Taylor, Hunter Koles, and Mike Drouin added singles.
Jordan Carlson earn the shutout in goal.
The Muskies play the Westwood Collegiate Warriors (Winnipeg) today at 2 p.m. in their final preliminary-round game at the 24-team event.
The playoff round begins tomorrow.
