Joey Payeur
The St. Thomas Aquinas Saints likely will file a request for future girls’ hockey tournaments: no more games against the Muskies.
The black-and-gold dumped the Saints 9-0 to claim the bronze medal at the sixth-annual Portage Collegiate Institute Saints Christmas Classic in Portage la Prairie, Man. on Saturday.
“It was a good weekend of hockey,” Muskie head coach Scott Clendenning said about the nine-team tournament.
“When you’re outshooting teams with 40, 50, or 60 shots to their five or six, it’s tough to play that kind of a game,” he noted.
“But we got to work on a lot of stuff that should help us in the long run.”
Fort High pummelled the Saints 12-0 in their home tournament at the beginning of last month—and unleashed another hurricane-force assault in their second meeting.
Hailey Clendenning’s opening goal against Saints’ goalie Gilly Derouard was followed by back-to-back markers 46 seconds apart by Katie Sinclair, and then another by Rylee Redford 1:26 after that, to make it 4-0 after the first period.
Shelby Tymkin, who matched Sinclair’s team-high four points in the game, sandwiched a pair of goals around one by Shilo Beck to give the black-and-gold a 7-0 advantage entering the third.
Sarah Milling and Clendenning, with her second, tacked on goals in the final frame while Kate Parsons needed to make only a handful of saves to earn the shutout.
The Muskies went into the weekend without the services of veterans Amber Jourdain (shoulder/knee), Jessica Coran (groin), and Lauren Vold (back).
That opened the door for reserve roster players Redford and Emma Noga at forward, and Sydney Johnson on defence, to fill the void, with Redford doing an exceptionally fine job.
“I put Rylee on the line with [Beck] and Amy Penner and she fit right in,” Clendenning said about the rookie, who tied Sinclair for the team’s goal-scoring lead at the tourney with five.
“All three of the reserve players stepped up.”
The Muskies opened play by dousing the St. Mary’s Academy Flames 8-1, outshooting the Winnipeg squad 44-5.
Tymkin, Sinclair, and Redford each scored twice while Penner and Hailey Clendenning added singles.
Calie Clendenning saved all five shots directed her way for the shutout.
Fort High should have kept some of those goals for its second outing, however, as they ran into red-hot goalie C.J. Jolicoeur, who turned aside all 37 shots she faced to lead the Dryden Eagles to a 4-0 upset victory.
“We come out now and everybody wants to beat the Muskies,” said Clendenning, whose team had pounded the Eagles 7-2 in NorWOSSA action in Dryden back on Nov. 26.
“We’ve got to come out fired up every time,” he stressed.
“Jolicoeur made some great stops, and they ended up getting two power-play goals and an empty-netter,” Clendenning added.
“But sometimes you’ve got to lose to learn how to win,” he reasoned.
The Muskies made up for the defeat with a 6-0 blanking of the Sanford (Man.) Sabres.
Fort High rode a four-goal first period to victory as Redford paced the attack with two goals.
Alexis Perreault, Sinclair, Hailey Clendenning, and Beck added the others while Penner chipped in with two assists.
Calie Clendenning made 11 stops for the shutout.
The black-and-gold had tuned up for the tournament by winning “Part I” of this year’s instalment of their annual border battle with International Falls, trouncing the Broncos 6-2 in exhibition action here last Tuesday (Dec. 3).
Beck scored twice for the Muskies while Hailey Clendenning, Sinclair, Kaily Greengrass, and Tymkin added singles.
Hillary Fox and Sydney Raboin replied for the Broncos.
Parsons made 27 saves for the win while Keanna Carlson took the loss for the Falls.
The Muskies were at home last night to face the Eagles in NorWOSSA action (the outcome wasn’t available by press time).
Fort High heads on the road tomorrow to take on the Kenora Broncos, then heads right back there the following day for the start of the Broncos’ three-day home tournament.
The next home action for the black-and-gold is Tuesday and Wednesday (Dec. 17-18) at the Ice For Kids Arena in a two-game set versus the Red Lake Rams.
