Dan Falloon
Looking at the Greenway Raiders’ bench, Saturday night’s match-up with the host Muskies appeared to be a foregone conclusion.
And it was.
The Raiders brought only 10 skaters and a goalie, who were overmatched by the black-and-gold, who rolled with 16 skaters and two goalies in an 8-0 exhibition win at the Ice For Kids Arena.
The win was the fourth-straight for Fort High, who won all three of their games at the annual Hilltopper Classic tournament in Duluth last week.
Muskie forward Brett McMahon opened the scoring just 42 seconds into the game when Greenway goalie Erikur Amason couldn’t track down a loose puck and McMahon tapped in a short two-footer.
Fort High captain Jamie Kaun made it 2-0 just 51 seconds later when he blazed up from the defensive zone and snapped a wire past a screened Amason.
But the Muskies weren’t done yet as Devin Ball gathered up the puck off the ensuing face-off and sailed a shot over a beleaguered Amason a mere five seconds after Kaun’s tally.
Amason settled down from there and held off the black-and-gold’s attack until Davis Smith beat him off a face-off to extend the lead to 4-0.
Nick Jourdain then rounded out the first-period scoring on the following shift when he slid a dribbler through Amason’s five-hole.
Greenway captain Nick Adams had the Raiders’ best scoring chance of the first frame when he shot up from his own zone and fired a shot that was handled by Devin Stromness.
McMahon’s second goal of the game was the only scoring in the second as he took a pass from Jeff Davis and beat a screened Amason.
In the third period, Tyson McLean’s point blast found its way in at 4:06 before Davis capped the scoring at 5;45 when he knocked in an unassisted marker.
The Muskies are back in action tomorrow when they host the International Falls Broncos at Ice For Kids Arena at 7:30 p.m.
Fort High will be looking for revenge after falling to the Broncos 4-3 here on Boxing Day.
“Hopefully we’re hitting on all cylinders,” said Muskie coach Shawn Jourdain. “American teams are always good skating teams and our guys have to play at that pace.
“We have to play like that all time,” he stressed.
“I know it’s not realistic, but with teams like that, we’re going to have to play at that pace.”
