OFSAA gold still top priority

Ask Muskie head coach Glen Edwards if he’s wavered at all in his pre-season prediction of the Muskies winning a provincial championship this year and you get a simple answer.
Not one bit.
“Oh yeah, absolutely. We’ve got a good chance [to win] at the all-Ontarios,” an upbeat Edwards said after his team improved their league-leading record to 14-0 after a pair of victories in Red Lake last weekend.
“Definitely our goal, like it is every year, is win the gold medal,” he stressed.
First, of course, the Muskies have to win NorWOSSA. And while that’s all but a sure thing given their overpowering dominance so far during the regular season, Edwards certainly isn’t taking anything for granted.
In fact, the black-and-gold could face their toughest test of the NorWOSSA campaign tomorrow night against the host Dryden Eagles, who gave the Muskies a scare here just over a week ago.
“I think our first big league test will be [tomorrow] night,” Edwards said. “They played us tough in the Fort, and of all the teams, they probably have played us the best.”
“That game here had to have given them a lift,” agreed assistant coach Ken Christiansen. “We have to beat them, especially in their own rink.”
Edwards also is worried his players don’t have “respect” for the other teams.
“I don’t think they’re playing with respect . . . and you have to respect your opponents,” he stressed. “I think every team has to played scared and do the things that they have to do if they [want] to win.
“Our league has traditionally been quite strong and we have always had a strong team. Right now, we have to get ready for the playoffs and then attain our goal,” he added.
The Muskies didn’t have much problem winning in Red Lake, taking the first game 6-2 on Friday night before routing the Rams 15-1 on Saturday afternoon.
Boomer Redford and Don Kellar each scored twice Friday while Jesse Rodrigues and Steve Keesic also tallied. On Saturday, Jeff Savage led the way with four goals while Ross Anderson added a hat trick.
Steve Niskala had a pair in that one, with Cole Hayward, Keesic, Rodrigues, Clint Pruys, Redford, and McTavish also scoring.
Edwards said he was pleased with his team’s play on the road at both ends of the rink. He also has to be pleased with their balanced scoring attack.
“We juggled the lines to get more scoring and we played well in six of six [periods],” he said, though admitting their power play still needs some work.
“It [the power play] is not where we want it to be,” he noted. “We’re thinking too much out there and not doing automatically what we should be doing.”
Still, Edwards predicted the power play will get better with the return of defencemen James Asplund and Jon Rogoza, both still out with injuries. He said those injuries have affected their power play.
Christiansen agreed having those two starters missing from the blueline has been a big void for them to fill.
“It’s hurt us bad,” he said. “It seems like we’ve had no stability back there.”
Ironically, Edwards felt the fact the Muskies have, at times, been decimated by injuries will help them in the NorWOSSA playoffs and at the all-Ontarios.
Having to play without key players in the lineup during the season will help them just in case they lose somebody during a key game down the road.
“I think that’s true, especially at Warroad with so many players out and we still played well,” he stressed. “We proved to ourselves that we have enough depth and talent.”