Joey Payeur
An OFSAA berth may not be in play but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to play for.
The Muskies and St. Thomas Aquinas Saints (Kenora) will square off in the best-of-three NorWOSSA boys’ hockey final, which gets underway Sunday at 1:15 p.m. at the Ice For Kids Arena.
Game 2 will be in Kenora on Tuesday, with Game 3 (if necessary) back at the IFK Arena next Thursday at 1:15 p.m.
The top-ranked Muskies advanced to the final by sweeping the fourth-place Sioux Lookout Warriors in their best-of-three semi-final series, including a 4-1 win in Game 1 here Friday night and then a 5-2 triumph in Game 2 there Sunday.
Meanwhile, the third-place Saints upset the second-place Dryden Eagles in the other semi-final–moving on with a 6-1 win in Game 2 to also take that series in two-straight games.
Both teams have their spots in the OFSAA ‘A/AA’ championship here March 20-23 already locked up, with Fort High having an automatic berth as the host team and the Saints becoming the de facto NorWOSSA reps since the Muskies made the league final.
Does that mean the two squads won’t be at peak intensity as the Muskies look for their 10th-straight NorWOSSA crown while the Saints go for their first one in school history?
“I can’t speak for them but since the beginning of the year, we’ve had one goal in mind and that was to win the league and get in the right way,” stressed Muskie head coach Jordan Sinclair, who is two wins away from claiming his first NorWOSSA title as bench boss since taking over for Jamie Davis to start the season.
“I expect the intensity to be the same as we had against Sioux Lookout and higher.
“There’s a rivalry there and there’s been a little bit of nasty in the games we’ve played against them this year, and I expect that to carry over,” he added.
“As competitors, you want to win.”
Fort High looks to have a significant advantage if the season series is taken into account, winning all three games against the Saints by a combined score of 16-5.
“To be honest, it’s not a team you expected to be there,” Sinclair conceded.
“But it’s not surprising, either, if that makes any sense.
“I thought all four teams that made the semi-finals were good hockey teams,” he noted.
“The goaltending was probably the big difference in their series with Dryden and they’ve got some decent players that can put the puck in the net.”
The Saints’ offence is led by forward Skylar Lentz while netminder Brandon Scott stopped 102 out of 106 shots in the semi-final against Dryden.
“We’ve had some success against them although we know their top line is good,” Sinclair said.
“They play on the edge,” he added. “But as long as we don’t get dragged into their type of game, I think our speed is too much for them.
“We [just] have to keep skating and stay disciplined.”
The Muskies took care of the Warriors in short order thanks to corralling the top two scorers in NorWOSSA in Cortez Favot (56 points) and Kendall Schultz (39).
“Our game plan wasn’t solely focused on those two,” Sinclair stressed. “We had to make sure we were skating.
“They’re a team that’s tough to play against because they are physical and get in your face.
“But we knew their skating couldn’t keep up to us, and I told our guys it’s tough for [Sioux Lookout] to be physical if they can’t catch up to us,” he reasoned.
Brent Jourdain, James Gushulak, Landon Woods, and Eric Pitkanen staked the Muskies to a 4-0 lead in Game 1 here Friday before Schultz scored late in the third to spoil Matt Booth’s shutout bid.
Booth was back between the pipes in Game 2, with the Muskies spreading the scoring out among Byron Stewart, James Gushulak, Cam Gushulak, Pitkanen, and Jon Busch.
The Warriors’ goal scorers were unavailable at press time, with Magnus Ray taking the loss in net in both games.
Chase McGuire was back in the Muskies’ lineup after serving a two-game suspension for a hit to the head he delivered against the Kenora Broncos back on Feb. 13.
Defenceman Connor Tibbs, meanwhile, is back skating with the team but is unlikely to play in the NorWOSSA final.
The squad still is trying to determine if the severe headaches Tibbs has been experiencing for weeks now are related to a head injury or problems with his shoulder and neck.
“The chances are not great for Connor to be ready for the final, but it’s more possible that he could be ready for OFSAA,” Sinclair said of his veteran blueliner.
“It’s tough to watch a guy who’s been there [in previous seasons],” he added.
“It’s brutal and there’s nothing you can do for him.”
