The Muskie boys’ hockey team will see their first on-ice action of the season at the annual “Scrimmagefest” in Warroad on Friday and Saturday.
About 20 Minnesota high school squads will join the Muskies for the weekend used by coaching staffs to make their final cuts before their respective league schedules begin.
The Muskies are in their third week of practices. Close to 30 students have come out so far, with head coach Glen Edwards and assistant coach Ken Christiansen looking to trim their roster after this weekend.
Each team will play four 50-minute scrimmages with no official scoring and no referees on the ice. Instead, coaches will be allowed to skate on the ice.
“We use Warroad to have a final look at players we’re not sure about. We’ll probably make our final cuts Saturday afternoon,” Edwards said.
With only four players—forwards Nathan Miller and Donald Kellar, and defencemen Lorne Koski and Jon Woodgate—returning from last season’s ‘A/AA’ OFSAA gold-medal winning performance, Edwards said the scrimmages will be a learning experience for many of his rookies.
“It’s a testing ground for the kids. It’s good for us because Minnesota hockey is very quick, it’s quicker than NorWOSSA,” he said.
“Believe me, there’ll be a lot of pressure. A lot of our guys are rookies and aren’t used to the speed they’ll be seeing this weekend.
“It’ll be a really strong test.”
In related news, the Muskie girls’ hockey team will play their first exhibition game Friday at 7 p.m. at the ’52 Canadians Arena against the International Falls Broncos.
The boys will host their annual exhibition tilt with the Broncos here Nov. 27.
Regular NorWOSSA league play for both the boys and girls begins Tuesday (Nov. 20) in Kenora, with their home openers set for Dec. 7 against Red Lake.
