Muskies pumped for all-Ontarios

Now that the OFSAA boys’ hockey championship is almost ready to go, with last-minute loose ends being tied up, the schedule finished, and seeding determined, there’s only one question left that needs to be answered.
How is the Muskie boys’ hockey team feeling about the upcoming event?
Although most of the players will admit to feeling pressure, they’re just pumped up for the most part.
“I feel really pumped up and I just want to go,” said defenceman Alex McQuarrie. “I just want to get out there.”
Hosting the all-Ontarios is one thing forward Brian White feels will work to the team’s advantage. That is, of course, if they receive the right reaction from Muskie fans.
“Cheer us on,” urged McQuarrie. “It feels so good to go out there and you can’t even hear yourself think because all you can hear are the fans. It makes a big difference.”
The heat is on, for some more than others on the team. For his part, Muskie goalie Richard Wieringa admits to feeling the stress.
“There’s definitely a lot more pressure because if you make one little mistake and miss that one shot, you let your whole team down,” he remarked. “I just try not to think about the pressure.”
When asked what they would say to their fans if given the chance, most of the Muskies just wanted to ask for support.
“We love you,” White joked. “We just need the support because you never know what could happen out there.”
Most of the players have stayed with their own routines in order to prepare for OFSAA. However, White admitted he’s been eating healthier and going to bed earlier at night.
But besides physical health, the black-and-gold think the most important thing is ensuring their mental game is intact.
“Obviously our head wasn’t in the game in our two games we lost to Kenora [during the NorWOSSA final], so definitely our mental game is important,” said Mike McCaig.
“We can’t have a mental barrier in our mind.”
McQuarrie said it’s all about being prepared. “We need to give 120 percent all the time,” he stressed.
With all the pressure and excitement the team is experiencing as the competition creeps up, the players are looking at the situation maturely.
“I hope the team takes it really seriously and that we capitalize this time,” said White.
McQuarrie agreed. “We came in our first year and we didn’t know what to expect. Last year we really did well,” he noted. “It really doesn’t matter where you’re ranked because every team is going to be good.”
The Muskies are ranked 12th after their NorWOSSA loss to Kenora last week. That seeding is an improvement from last year but they’re not letting a number determine how they will finish in the race.
“I think losing NorWOSSA kind of brought us closer as a team and gave us sort of a bond,” said McCaig. “We just want ‘Blister’ [head coach Shane Bliss] to be happy and we just ourselves to be happy.
“That’s our expectation. We want to be happy as a team.”
The players explained hockey is a team sport, and admitted the team part was a bit of a concern during NorWOSSA. But they all are confident that will change come the all-Ontarios.
“You can’t really shake the loss off [to Kenora],” said McQuarrie. “You want to remember that feeling of losing because you never want to feel it again.”