Joey Payeur
Mel Langtry saw his team play seven minutes of lights-out hockey—then watched them fall asleep for much of the rest of the game.
The transition from cruising to snoozing led to the Muskie girls’ hockey team blowing a 3-0 lead and wind up on the short end of a 5-4 decision at the hands of the St. Thomas Aquinas Saints (Kenora) in NorWOSSA action here Tuesday night.
The result was a practice yesterday which featured Langtry sending a clear message to his squad, who fell to 1-7 in the NorWOSSA standings.
“There was not one single puck on the ice the whole time,” said Langtry, who instead put his team through a rigorous 45-minute session of non-stop skating, followed by a quick change of footwear and then a trip to the track circling the ’52 Canadians Arena for another 20 minutes of running.
“That was an embarrassing loss for the coaching staff,” Langtry said. “I had to let the players know I was not happy with them.
“What we do in practice we’re not doing in games,” he stressed.
“So I figured since they didn’t do any skating during the game, they could do some skating at practice and maybe they can take that at least to the game.”
Fort High seemed to have everything under control early in Tuesday night’s affair, with Jillian Langtry netting her ninth of the NorWOSSA campaign at 4:38 to get things started.
Katie Sinclair followed with her third of the season just 56 seconds later before Shae-Lynn Smith, back after missing last weekend’s tournament in Winnipeg, notched her fourth of the year at 6:08 to make it three goals in 1:30.
The Saints owned the second half of the period, though. Melissa White began the comeback with her goal at 10:51, followed by Kaylee Milne connecting at 12:29 and then Lexi Williams notching the equalizer with 52 seconds left in the period.
“That goal was the turning point,” said Langtry. “Our girls’ [enthusiasm] was pretty depleted in the dressing room.”
The black-and-gold looked to have righted the ship when Taylor Dixon netted in her third goal in league play at 2:19 of the second to put the Muskies back in front 4-3.
But the Saints snapped back like a rubber band, scoring two goals in lightning fashion.
Milne potted her second of the game at 7:27 to even the score.
Then just eight seconds later, a defensive lapse by the Muskies off the ensuing face-off led to a 3-on-2 for St. Thomas Aquinas, which was finished off with a rocket from just inside the Fort High blueline off the stick of Caitlyn Williams that beat Melissa Payne for the eventual game-winner.
The third period saw scoring chances at both ends, but Saints’ goalie Emily Vel was up to the task of preserving the lead in the first meeting of the two teams this season.
The Muskies resume NorWOSSA action tomorrow night in Dryden.
Their next home game is Feb. 1, when the International Falls Broncos will invade the Ice For Kids Arena for the teams’ annual exhibition showdown.
