Joey Payeur
The team at the north end of Highway 502 really is starting to get under the skin of the Muskie girls’ hockey team, no matter which province the two sides square off in.
The Dryden Eagles improved to a perfect 4-0 this season against the black-and-gold thanks to back-to-back victories at the John Taylor Collegiate Piper Classic Tournament of Champions at the MTS Iceplex in Winnipeg over the weekend.
First, it was a 3-2 shootout victory in the final game of the preliminary round, which gave Dryden (2-1) third place in the standings ahead of fourth-place Fort Frances (1-1-1).
Then to make things worse for the local squad, the Eagles turned the trick again in the bronze-medal game with a 2-1 win.
“We haven’t had a full team this year,” noted Muskie head coach Mel Langtry in defending his team’s inability to solve Dryden so far this season.
“We’ve had a number of players missing due to injuries or illnesses this year,” he remarked. “It’s hard to get chemistry when you’re not playing the same people together all the time and that’s what were lacking right now.
“It’s hard to match lines with the opposition because of that,” he added.
The absenteeism story remained in place at the Piper Classic. One of Fort High’s offensive leaders this season, Shae-lynn Smith, stayed behind in Fort Frances after illness sidelined her for the weekend.
Another top point producer, Danielle Jean, then was sidelined for the bronze-medal game.
In that contest, neither side hit the scoresheet in the first period. Dryden then jumped ahead with two goals early in the second against Muskie goalie Melissa Payne and Fort High could never recover.
“We weren’t playing good whatsoever,” lamented Langtry. “We didn’t have our usual jump.
“And to be without Shae-lynn and Danielle, that’s a big part of our offence.”
Shelby Tymkin put the Muskies on the board six minutes into the second but the Eagles’ defence went into lockdown mode after that and kept Fort High at bay, although the black-and-gold outshot Dryden 32-25 by the end of the game.
In the earlier shootout defeat, Katie Sinclair had put the Muskies up 1-0 eight minutes into the game before Hailey Clendenning doubled that advantage with two minutes left in the opening stanza.
But the Eagles halved the lead with 51 seconds remaining in the frame, then tied the game 12 minutes into the second.
A scoreless third period set the stage for the shootout, with Dryden prevailing 3-2 after the five-round breakaway showdown.
The teams tied 25-25 in shots during regulation time, with Dana Cridland getting saddled with the loss between the pipes.
The Muskies had opened their tournament run with a 9-5 pounding of the College Jeanne-Sauve Olympiens (Winnipeg) last Thursday.
Jillian Langtry, who finished tied for second in tournament scoring with eight points overall, was unstoppable during a five-goal performance.
“She did really good and showed what she can do when she puts her mind to it,” Langtry said of his daughter, who has been the Muskies’ most potent offensive weapon the past two seasons.
“We got up 5-0 and then let up a bit in the second and they got a couple back before we put it away in the third,” Langtry added.
Sinclair and Tymkin each added a pair of markers while Cridland earned the win in goal.
But any confidence gained from the win quickly was obliterated the next day by the St. Mary’s Academy Flames (Winnipeg), who cruised to a 5-1 win.
The Flames, who went on to capture the six-team tournament with a 2-1 win over the Kenora Broncos in the final, proved too much to control for what Langtry saw as a tired group wearing Fort High jerseys.
“Maybe we used up all our gas the day before,” reasoned the bench boss, whose team was outshot 38-22 by St. Mary’s.
“We just didn’t show up for that one.
“I was surprised with the letdown,” Langtry admitted. “We’ve been playing really good in tournaments this year.
“It’s something we pride ourselves on.”
St. Mary’s netted a pair of goals against Payne in the first before Jillian Langtry replied before the end of the frame.
The Flames then notched another goal in the second and two more in the third to seal the deal.
The Muskies—1-6 in regular-season play—were back in NorWOSSA action last night when the St. Thomas Aquinas Saints (Kenora) invaded the Ice For Kids Arena (the score was not known as of press time).
It was the first meeting of the year between Fort High and the Saints, who finished second at the Muskies’ home tournament earlier this season.
“They have got a very good goalie and will be a tough group to play against,” Langtry warned Monday.
“They’re champing at the bit to play us,” he noted.
