Muskie girls rally for win

Perseverance often is rewarded.
The Muskie girls’ hockey team overcame a slow start and rallied from two goals down in the third period to beat the Kenora Broncos 4-3 last night at the ’52 Canadians Arena.
“Our girls played hard and as the game went on, we had more chances and we came through at the end today,” Muskie co-head coach Chris Hill said.
Hill added the never-say-die attitude displayed against Kenora has become a hallmark of the Muskies in recent years.
“The last couple of years we’ve really had teams that have fought back and tried to make a game of it,” he noted.
The Broncos opened the scoring at 14:27 of the first period when a 40-shot from Nicole Riediger beat Muskie goalie Sara Trendiak through the five-hole.
Kenora extended their lead to 2-0 just 11 seconds into the second when Lindsay Agnew pounced on a rebound and fired it past Trendiak.
The Muskies cut the deficit to a goal at 4:33 when Taylor Meyers found Lauren Krukoski parked in front of the Bronco goal, who one-timed the puck past Kenora goalie Amanda Kowalik.
The Broncos restored their two-goal advantage before the period ended when captain Jennifer Meisner beat a screened Trendiak low and to the glove side.
The Muskies pulled to within a goal on a bizarre play early in the third period when Kowalik was caught out of the Bronco net after she’d gone to the bench to change sticks during play.
Meyers collected the puck and deposited it into the yawning cage to make the score 3-2.
The hosts tied the game just over six minutes later on a spectacular coast-to-coast goal from Kristen Penner. The Muskie forward came down the left side, beat the defender, cut through the crease, and then slid the puck past a sprawling Kowalik.
Lindsey Roehrig drew the assist.
The dramatic comeback was completed when Krukoski scored her second goal of the game on a 25-foot shot that found its way through a crowd in front of the Bronco net with only 30 seconds left in regulation time.
The black-and-gold were coming off a tough weekend that saw the team lose 4-1 to the Roseau Rams on Friday night before tying and losing to the Altona Aces in back-to-back games Saturday.
The Rams took advantage of the travel-weary Muskies in the first period of Friday’s game, building an early lead.
The black-and-gold found their legs in the second period but by that point the damage was done as the home side skated to a comfortable 4-1 victory.
Erika Anderson scored the lone Muskie goal on a pass from Krukoski.
The Muskies then played to an exciting 4-4 tie with the Aces in Altona on Saturday afternoon.
Cortney Caldwell, assisted by Taylor Meyers and Krukoski, got Fort High on the board in the second period.
Krukoski earned her second point later in the period after scoring on a pass from Carly Holt.
Roehrig tallied for the black-and-gold in the third period after taking a pass from Penner before Krukoski got her second goal of the game—an unassisted marker—later in the frame.
In the nightcap, the Aces shut out the Muskies 2-0.
The Muskies return to action next Tuesday (Nov. 28) when they travel to Kenora to face the Broncos.