Mitch Calvert
NORTH BAY—We made it!
After surviving an 18-hour bus ride that started Sunday at 10 p.m. in Fort Frances and ended yesterday at 5 p.m. (local time) in North Bay, the Muskie boys’ hockey team can now turn its attention to preparing to face third-ranked Upper Canada College in the opener of the all-Ontario ‘AAA’ championship tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. (CDT).
The black-and-gold hit the ice this afternoon for one final practice before the big game, using last night to rest and recuperate from the seemingly endless trip on the charter bus.
“No matter how many times you do it, you don’t get used to it,” long-time Muskie assistant coach Ken Christiansen mused of the marathon bus ride.
“But at least when you leave a few days before like this, you can get over it and be prepared for the first game.”
Much of the trip was passed watching inspirational sports movies like “Any Given Sunday,” “Varsity Blues,” and “Blades of Glory” (OK, omit that last one).
“Yeah, if you thought this was bad, you should have seen it two years ago [going to Oshawa] when we couldn’t get any movies to work,” fellow assistant coach Brad Hill noted.
“Last year [Ottawa] was a really long trip also.”
“Way shorter,” agreed veteran forward Taylor Jorgenson, who spent two-thirds of the trip catching up on some shut-eye.
“It’ll be different this year in a smaller town,” he added. “It was cool getting to see the [Ottawa] Senators last year and being in the capital, but I’m looking forward to this.
“It’s more like Fort Frances.”
Here’s a brief rundown of the bus trip:
•10 p.m. (CDT)—Depart Fort Frances from Memorial Sports Centre
•3:15 a.m. (EDT)—Switched drivers in Thunder Bay
•9 a.m.—Breakfast in Hearst
•10 a.m.—Departure from Hearst delayed by train for 15 minutes
•4:30 p.m.—Arrival at Travelodge (unfortunately, it was the wrong one)
•5 p.m.—Final destination found (Travelodge Airport)
After opening against Upper Canada tomorrow, the Muskies will play twice on Thursday, beginning with fifth-ranked St. Marcellinus (Mississauga) at 9 a.m. (CDT).
Then they will meet 15th-ranked Central Algoma (Desbarats) at 3:15 p.m. before wrapping up pool play Friday at 9:15 a.m. (CDT) versus 18th-ranked Senator O’Connor (Toronto).
Be sure to stay tuned to my OFSAA blog at www.fftimes.com for daily updates, as well as up-to-the-minute information from the Muskie locker-room.
