Joey Payeur
One down, three to go to two NorWOSSA crowns.
That’s the deal for both the Muskie girls’ and boys’ hockey teams after convincing victories in the opening games of their respective best-of-three semi-final series here Tuesday night.
The Muskie girls overcame a slow start in the first 10 minutes to rout the St. Thomas Aquinas Saints 8-0 at the Ice For Kids Arena.
Meanwhile, the Muskie boys got four-straight goals from Jarred Taylor in the third period to turn a competitive game into a 9-1 romp over the Kenora Broncos next door at the ’52 Canadians Arena.
“We all clicked tonight,” said Muskie girls’ forward Rylee Redford, who had two goals and an assist in her playoff debut.
“We were moving our feet, the passes were right to the tape, and we were getting lots of shots on net.”
“Overall, I think we played well and every line was rolling,” noted Muskie girls’ head coach Scott Clendenning.
“We’ve made it clear in the room there are no rookies and no seniors,” he added.
“We play as a team.
“The young players stepped up and the veterans are doing a great job leading them,” Clendenning lauded.
Muskie blueliner Lauren Vold had her first two-goal game since the team’s pre-season home tournament, including a much-practised but rarely executed give-and-go with Amy Penner in the second period that Vold finished off to make it 5-0.
“We’ve tried that play a million times,” chuckled Vold, who also scored on a power-play blast from the point to cap the scoring in the third.
“We finally got it to work. It’s a great feeling.”
The line of captain Amy Penner and first-year players Annalise Hayes and Taylor Croswell was especially proficient Tuesday night, with each player getting three points.
Hayes scored twice while Penner and Croswell added singles.
Kate Parsons had a light night of work but did her job in stopping all five shots she faced to post the shutout.
Gilly Derouard made 38 saves for the Saints, who will try to avoid the sweep in Game 2 on Saturday in Kenora.
Game 3, if necessary, will go Sunday at 1:15 p.m. at the ’52 Canadians Arena back here.
As for the Muskie boys, their legion of talented defencemen had an offensive impact in Tuesday night’s win over the Broncos.
Spencer Shortreed’s point shot was deflected in by Hunter Koles to open the scoring in the first period.
Captain Carter Brown scored just over two minutes later, then added a power-play marker for a 3-0 lead.
“It’s a focus every game for us to activate on offence as a defence,” Brown noted.
“We want to help out offensively as much as we can without losing our defensive positioning,” he said.
Blueliner Mike Drouin combined with Chase McGuire to set up Graeme Kitt’s short-handed goal with 49 seconds left in the second.
Drouin then netted his first career playoff goal early in the third to launch a five-goal barrage, with Taylor handling the lamp-lighting duties the rest of the way.
“It was the black tape [on my stick],” joked Drouin about the catalyst for his goal.
“I scored last game with it after I changed from white [tape] and now again tonight, so I guess I’m going to have to stick with it.”
Owen Doerksen spoiled Jordan Carlson’s shutout bid with a power-play goal with 2:20 to go.
But Taylor avenged his goalie by scoring his last two goals within 30 seconds of Doerksen’s tally.
“We were pretty good for most of the night but we took too many minutes in penalties,” noted Muskie head coach Jamie Davis.
“I think we limited their chances pretty good, although we didn’t do a good job late and gave up the goose egg for Jordan,” he added.
Fort High will try to close out the series tonight in Game 2 in Kenora.
Game 3, if necessary, will be back here Saturday at 7:15 p.m. in the ’52 Canadians Arena.
