Lucas Punkari
There was little time for rest and relaxation for both Muskie hockey teams last week as they travelled across the border for tournaments.
The Muskie girls made the trek to Minneapolis to take part in the Schwan Cup, where they reached the Red division consolation final on Friday—falling 3-1 to St. Croix Valley.
“Overall, I was very pleased with how the girls performed,” said head coach Scott Clendenning.
“We went up against some really strong competition and the girls showed up each and every time, and they were rewarded for that with their win over Bloomington,” he added.
The black-and-gold opened the tournament with a 5-2 loss to Chippewa Falls on Wednesday, with Katie Sinclair and Shelby Tymkin scoring the goals.
But the squad rebounded Thursday with a narrow 3-2 win over Bloomington-Kennedy thanks to goals by Amy Penner, Hailey Clendenning, and Mallory Payne.
Then in the consolation final, Shilo Beck netted the lone goal for the Muskies versus St. Croix Valley while goalie Dana Cridland had a standout performance at the other end of the rink.
“She played excellent in the final game of the tournament,” Scott Clendenning noted.
“The shots ended up being 33-10 for them and she was definitely on her game to keep the game as close as it was, and that was great to see out of her,” he added.
Next up for the Muskie girls will be a pair of NorWOSSA games in Kenora next week—facing the Broncos on Tuesday night before squaring off against St. Thomas Aquinas on Thursday.
“We just need to continue to do what we have been doing lately,” Clendenning stressed.
“That is to keep on playing that hard-nosed, gritty kind of game that we have been doing, and we will continue to climb up that mountain as a result,” he reasoned.
Meanwhile, the Muskie boys finished a tournament in Duluth this past week with a 1-2 record, dropping the fifth-place game 5-2 to Rosemount on Thursday.
Fort High was thumped 8-3 by Cloquet 8-3 in their tourney-opener last Tuesday before bouncing back a day later with a 6-0 shutout over Buffalo.
Prior to their return to league action next Friday (Jan. 13) versus the visiting Kenora Broncos, the Muskies will head to Winnipeg this weekend for the annual Piper Classic.
Their first round-robin game is set for Friday morning against the Kelvin Clippers, with the Dauphin Clippers and St. Paul’s Crusaders also awaiting the Muskies in Pool ‘C’ contests slated for Friday night and Saturday morning.
The quarter-finals then will get underway that afternoon, with the semi-finals and the final taking place Sunday.
