Muskies expecting physical series against Dryden

The Muskies expect Dryden to use a physical style of game when the two teams open the best-of-three NorWOSSA final here Friday night.
But it remains to be seen whether the Eagles will have any more success than the Kenora Broncos did against the black-and-gold in the semi-finals over the weekend.
“[Kenora] tried to play physical with us but the boys, I thought, were very disciplined,” Muskie assistant coach Ken Christiansen said prior to Monday afternoon’s practice.
“If I was coach of them, it would be a style I would use, too.”
But it didn’t pay off on the scoreboard. The Muskies, who dominated the regular season with a 16-0 record, dumped fourth-place Kenora 10-3 here last Friday night, then downed the Broncos there 5-2 on Sunday to advance to the final.
Third-place Dryden moved on after sweeping the second-place Sioux Lookout Warriors 6-5 and 3-2.
“[Kenora] had a game plan to be very physical and I think that was good for our kids,” noted Muskie head coach Glen Edwards.
“Dryden, I don’t think they can skate with us and they can’t pass with us but they check well,” he added. “Dryden’s going to have to play very well to beat us.”
The Eagles have virtually no chance of winning if they get into an ol’ fashioned shootout with the Muskies but do have a shot if they keep the score down to a 2-1 or 3-2.
That, of course, hinges on how well starting goalie Derrick Lecocq plays.
On the other side of the coin, the Muskies will have to do a better job of finishing off their scoring chances–something they didn’t do early in Sunday’s game against Kenora.
In fact, the black-and-gold only led 2-1 in the second period (on goals by Jesse Rodrigues and Jeff Savage) before David Lloyd and Savage staked them to a three-goal cushion.
Ross Anderson iced the game with a third-period goal. Eric Hnatiuk and Linden Penner replied for Kenora.
“I’m still worried that we don’t score enough,” Christiansen admitted.
“Sooner or later, it’s going to catch up with you, especially against good teams,” agreed Edwards. “[But] I think if you get a lot of scoring chances, those chances are soon going to go in the net.”
The Muskies certainly did a good job of that in Friday’s win, jumping out to a 4-0 lead on goals by Dan Redford (two), Lloyd, and McTavish before the game was 12 minutes old.
Kenora fought back to 4-3 on goals by Dan Rudkevitch (two) and Hnatiuk but the Muskies then reeled off six-straight goals–by Steve Niskala, McTavish, Savage, and Tom Rose (three)–to close out the scoring.
Game two of the final goes Sunday in Dryden, with game three here Tuesday if necessary. The winner advances to the all-Ontarios in Sudbury later this month.
On the injury front, defenceman James Asplund is doubtful to suit up against Dryden.
In related news, the Blueline Club announced ticket sales for the league final will be made available to season-ticket holders only tonight from 5-8:30 p.m. at the arena.
Any remaining tickets then will be made available to the general public tomorrow from 5-8:30 p.m.
If any tickets are still left, they will be available before Friday’s game starting at 6 p.m.