Muskies extend NorWOSSA streak

It took Shane Bliss “about 20 minutes” to write his coach’s comments for the latest edition of the Muskie boys’ hockey team’s newsletter.
“We have shown signs of improvement since we started, although we are still having trouble playing three full periods from game to game,” Bliss wrote. “Once we get a little more consistency, we will be in better shape.”
And though the Muskies didn’t play a full three periods of hockey here last night against the Kenora Broncos, there was little to murmur about as they cruised to a 9-1 win and their fifth-straight NorWOSSA victory.
“I think that we didn’t have a very good start to the game. We were a little sluggish and we weren’t connecting with our passes,” admitted Bliss. “But I thought that we played better and better as the game went on.”
The Muskies only led 1-0 after the first period on a power-play goal by Tyler Pocock (Alex McQuarrie) and the team skated off demoralized as they knew they should have had a few more.
But they took that regret and reversed it into good fortune as they broke out with a three-goal second period.
First, Tyler Miller (Josh Sigurdson) scored on nifty rush on the penalty kill that saw him go one-on-one with a Bronco defender down the middle, fake left with the forehand ,and then veer right to score on the backhand.
Miller then scored again shortly afterwards on a loose rebound in front of the net, with the assist going to Jake Esselink. Brian White (Miller/Justin Larson) scored later in the second on the power play to make it 4-0.
Kenora answered with a questionable goal. Muskie goalie Wade Friesen appeared to have the puck covered but as the whistle blew, a Bronco hacked away at his glove—forcing the puck over the line.
That only seemed to ignite the Muskies even more as they exploded for five goals in the third to ice the win.
Miller scored first, from Kevin Bobczynski and Pocock, to complete his hat trick.
White (Larson/Miller) followed less than a minute later before McQuarrie (Pocoack) made it 7-1. Andrew Easton (Shaun Egan) then got in on the action before Mitch Green (Brock Benjamin/Sigurdson) capped the scoring with just 1.5 seconds left.
“I think that if we’re going to win, it’s going to be a total team effort and if we aren’t going to win, it’s probably going to be because of a lack of team effort,” said Bliss.
“It takes all the boys to be ready, and if we can get all four lines going and have a sharp goalie, then we’re going to have a lot of success this year,” he added.
“Before the game, my friends asked my how many points I was going to get and I said, ‘You’ll find out at the end of the night,’ so I’m happy I gave them those five points,” joked Miller, who jumped from seventh to second in the NorWOSSA scoring race with eight goals and four assists.
The Muskies will play the Broncos again tomorrow (Dec. 16) up in Kenora to close out NorWOSSA action before the Christmas break.
And though they’ve won big over Kenora (7-0 and 9-1) so far, the black-and-gold will be taking it seriously as they try to improve on their 5-1-1 league record, which is good enough for second place.
“It’s a big game [tomorrow]. We obviously want to end on a good note,” said Bliss. “It’s another league game and if you don’t get every point that you can in the season, then it can come back and bite you in the butt.”
The Muskies were coming off a weekend sweep of the Red Lake Rams here over the weekend, winning 3-1 on Friday night before shutting out the visitors 5-0 on Saturday afternoon.
After having lost 4-1 to the Baudette Bears in exhibition action earlier in the week, the black-and-gold were looking to get back on track against the Rams.
And get back on track they did—extending their NorWOSSA winning streak to four games and leap-frogging Red Lake into second place.
“It was a big game for us,” said Bliss after Friday night’s win. “If you’re just a little bit off, then that’s all it takes between winning or losing.
“But the biggest thing tonight was that we wanted to get two points in our league and try to gain some ground on some of these teams,” he added.
With a persistent forecheck backed by a strong defence, the Muskies were rewarded late in the first period on a Miller goal, assisted by Jordan Bale and Larson.
“I came out on top of the slot and just took another backhand and went top shelf again,” Miller recalled.
And it was Miller who extended the Muskie lead to 2-0 early in the second period when he collected a feed from Esselink at the Red Lake blueline, rushed down the middle, then veered right to beat the goalie with another backhand.
The Muskies began to control the game, but untimely penalties hindered their play. A strong effort by the penalty-killers prevented Red Lake from capitalizing, though the Rams did score with less than 30 seconds left in the period.
“We’ve talked and talked about this, but still there a couple of bad ones,” Bliss said of his team’s penalties.
“An untimely penalty can bring the other team back in the game with a power-play goal, so I thought our penalty-killers did a heck of a job,” he added. “They worked their butt off.”
An Esselink goal, which came from the slot on a nicely-placed, top-shelf wrist shot, sealed the game two-and-a-half minutes into the third period.
Green and Sigurdson drew assists.
“All four teams [in NorWOSSA] can play hockey, so this one was big and I told the boys they had a great effort and we got our two points.
“But it’ll be all for nothing if we don’t come back and do it again tomorrow [Saturday],” warned Bliss, who also had positive words about Miller, who came within an inch of scoring the hat trick as his breakaway chance just went over the crossbar.
“He loves the hockey, eh,” said Bliss. “He’s been playing so well for us as of late. He’s been probably our best player on the ice in the last six or seven games in a row easily.
But Bliss also said the team had to start burying a few more shots.
“I’m getting balder every second here. Hair’s falling out,” he joked after seeing the Muskies take a variety of shots on goal but only get three to hit the twine.
The team did a better job preserving their coach’s hairline on Saturday afternoon, dominating almost all facets of the game en route to a 5-0 victory.
Green (Benjamin/Sigurdson) netted the lone goal in the first period, then Esselink ( White/Larson) got a timely one in the second period.
“Every once in a while I just step up a little bit to see what I can do, but it’s all up to the forwards if they get you the puck or not,” said Esselink, a defenceman.
“It’s pretty nice for the defenceman because we usually just sit at the point and don’t do much,” he added. “Every so often we get one and it really jacks the team up because everyone is contributing and not just the forwards.”
The Muskies then sealed the win thanks to third-period goals by White (Miller/Larson), Bobczynski (Lucas Romaniuk/Tyson Romyn, and Matt Redford (Miller).
“I always admire that Red Lake team,” said Bliss. “They always work, work, work and they’re always in the game, and they stay in there by working their butt off.”
“The guys are really happy now,” noted Esselink. “We’re finally starting to come around and everything is starting to go right, and everyone is just clicking. It’s just awesome right now.”
So what’s changed the team from being an unsure group to a confident one?
“Our attitude is way different,” replied Esselink. “Before, we didn’t really come together as a team, but now we definitely are and it’s starting to show on the ice, and hopefully we can keep it going.”