Joey Payeur
With their head coach sidelined by illness, the Muskie girls’ hockey team delivered its own special get-well-soon card.
Amy Penner had a goal and three assists yesterday to lead the black-and-gold to a 6-0 shutout of the visiting St. Thomas Aquinas Saints to sweep a NorWOSSA night-day doubleheader.
The win, which came on the heels of a 4-2 triumph Monday night, improved Fort High’s league record to 7-2 and kept them firmly in second place behind the undefeated Dryden Eagles (9-0).
But assistant coach Michelle Vanbeek, who ran the bench yesterday along with Todd Hamilton in the absence of head coach Scott Clendenning, said the difference between the two games was significant.
“We played much better defensively [yesterday], especially our backchecking and taking care of things in our own zone,” noted Vanbeek, whose team now has won three-straight wins in NorWOSSA play.
That point was illustrated by the Muskies holding the Saints without a shot in the first period while racking up 21 of their own on the way to a 2-0 lead on goals by Jenna Clendenning and Jessica Coran.
With forwards Emma Noga and Lauren Hamilton, along with blueliner Sam McKinnon, already missing the two-game series due to being on a student trip to Quebec, the Muskies’ lineup further was reduced when Coran injured her shoulder just before intermission and missed the rest of the game as a precautionary measure.
But the Muskies pressed forward, with Annalise Hayes getting her first of two goals at 13:07 of the second.
Saints’ goalie Gilly Derouard eventually withered under the constant barrage she was under—giving up three goals in the third as Fort High finished with a 57-8 advantage in shots on goal.
Penner tallied for a 4-0 edge before Kaily Greengrass and Hayes scored just over a minute apart to round out the scoring.
Meanwhile, Kate Parsons answered every time she was called upon, making eight saves to earn the shutout.
Derouard finished with 51 stops in the game and 97 out of 107 shots during the two-game series.
Should the standings stay as they are, Fort High will face the third-place Saints in the best-of-three NorWOSSA semi-finals that start Feb. 17.
After a sluggish first half of the opening period Monday night, Fort High got rolling courtesy of the 1-2 punch of Greengrass and Claire Sandelovich.
Greengrass’ hustle to track down the puck in the Saints’ zone led to Sandelovich finding her in the slot for a bullet on which Derouard barely flinched.
The Grade 12 forward then used some persistent forechecking to force a turnover by the Saints behind their net.
Greengrass had her wraparound attempt stopped, but Sandelovich wired home the rebound for a 2-0 lead.
Just over a minute later, Lauren Vold’s well-executed pinch at the blueline worked the puck loose to Hayes, who spied Coran lurking in the slot.
Derouard blocked Coran’s shot but was helpless to keep Hayes from cashing in the rebound for a 3-0 advantage.
The Saints battled back in the second period when Alex Williamson beat Muskie goalie Calie Clendenning to make it 3-1.
But Greengrass tormented St. Thomas Aquinas yet again—this time with a short-handed marker to restore the three-goal lead.
Carissa Heino found an opening to put the puck past Clendenning early in the third but the Saints could draw no closer.
“It was not our best game but we still won,” Vold said of Monday night’s game.
“It’s the little things that we have to work on that will make the difference.”
“Those are tough games to play but it’s something we have to get better at,” Scott Clendenning noted Monday.
“T.A. played well and give credit to their goalie, she kept them in the game.
“We’ve got to get more hungry around the net and finish our chances,” Clendenning added.
“We’ve got to start showing up for every game,” he stressed.
“We’ve only got four more games before the playoffs.”
Fort High hits the road tomorrow to take on the Sioux Lookout Warriors for its last away game of the regular season.
The Muskies then will host the Kenora Broncos on Sunday (Feb. 8) in a game rescheduled from Jan. 15.
Then they’ll wrap up their regular season here against Dryden on Feb. 12 in what should be a preview of the NorWOSSA final.
“We’re the defending [NorWOSSA] champs,” Vold stressed.
“We’re the ones that want to be going to OFSAA.”
