The Muskies picked the perfect time to become road Warriors last night in Red Lake, upsetting the Rams 6-4 to win the third, and deciding game, in their best of three semi-final series.
The win capped off a wild comeback for the black-and-gold, who battled back from a 1-0 deficit in the series to win the final two games, including a 6-5 decision here Sunday afternoon.
Aaron Grynol, once again, was the offensive star for the black-and-gold, scoring two goals and adding a pair of assists.
The Muskies got off to a less-than-spectacular start, trailing the Rams 1-0 just 47 seconds into the hockey game when Chris Eady beat Muskie goaltender Mike Glueheisen.
But they battled back and tied the score at 1-1 on a goal by Frank Redford midway through the first.
Head coach Glen Edwards said his club dominated most of the play in the first, with the exception of a five-minute span, but they regained their dominance in the second.
In the middle frame, Muskies’ Ryan Armstrong and Jordan Roy traded goals with Conor Larkin and Ian Kaczmarek in the middle frame to tie the score at 3-3 heading into the third.
And that’s where the Muskies took control, getting goals from Shane Beazley and Grynol to take a commanding 5-3 lead and hand the rams their first road loss of the season.
The Rams weren’t finished, however, and pulled to within one when Eady scoring his second of the game with 1:37 remaining in regulation.
But Grynol iced the victory with an empty-net goal in the game’s final seconds.
“Our guys played very well from our fourth line down to our first line,” said an elated Edwards after the game. “I think Red Lake played better than they had in the first game here and the game Sunday at [Fort Frances], but I think our team is just starting to realize we are the best team in the league.”
“It’s nice to finally win a close game on the road,” he added.
The Muskies now move on to play the Dryden Eagles, first-place finishers during the regular season, in the NorWOSSA final, beginning this Friday up in Dryden.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
