Joey Payeur
Jordan Sinclair believes had he been told before the weekend that his Muskie boys’ hockey team only would give up four goals in five games, and just one of those at even strength, he could have seen his troops hoisting a championship trophy.
The Kelvin Clippers (Winnipeg) had other thoughts on the matter, as did the men in stripes.
Two power-play goals—combined with what seemed like a sure goal by the Muskies waved off—led to a 2-1 victory for Kelvin on Sunday in the championship bracket final of the Crocus Plains Victoria Inn tournament in Brandon.
The turning point came in the second period after Eric Pitkanen had given Fort High a 1-0 lead in the first.
Chase McGuire looked to have scored—so much so that he and his teammates already were sharing hugs.
But for reasons unexplained, the referee signalled no goal. That led to on-ice chaos and eventually Brandon Kocuiba’s elbowing penalty that negated a Muskie power play.
Then with Kocuiba still in the box, Kelvin executed a backdoor one-timer to knot the game and grab the momentum.
“Apparently [the referee] didn’t see it but he seemed to be on the wrong side of the net to make the call,” said Sinclair.
“Our guys are celebrating and then, 10 seconds later, we get a penalty and they scored on the power play.
“That was the difference in the game but we did get our share of chances after that,” he conceded.
Sinclair also wasn’t pleased with the officials’ inclination for dishing out penalties, giving 14 minors combined to both teams.
“I’m a big believer that you earn your breaks,” he remarked.
“But there were so many penalties, and questionable ones on both sides, there was no flow to the game.
“We had guys not getting out there because of there being either power plays or penalty-killing, and that benefitted [the Clippers] more than us,” Sinclair noted.
“We were a better hockey team and the 5-on-5 play was controlled by us,” he continued.
“I’m a big believer that you play everybody and we were able to do that most of the tournament.
“But in this case, we had the same guys out there constantly and they were getting worn out.”
The Clippers won the game with just under 14 minutes left in the third with another power-play goal—again on a backdoor play that once more left Muskie goalie Matt Booth no chance.
“Kelvin’s goalie played a good game, but we had lots of opportunities and hit a couple of posts, and had some other scoring chances that we didn’t cash in on,” noted Sinclair.
“It’s tough for kids to understand in an 8-0 game when they miss those because they think it’s no big deal,” he reasoned.
“But when you get a game like you had in the final, those have to go in.”
The Muskies opened the tournament with a 6-1 win over the Neepawa Tigers.
Byron Stewart, Kocuiba, Mike Drouin, Kaden Nelson, McGuire, and James Gushulak all scored while Booth got the win in net.
McGuire’s hat trick then led to an 8-0 romp over the Stonewall Rams.
Cam Gushulak added a pair while Cole Allan, Stewart, and Pitkanen added singles.
Spencer Murphy earned the shutout.
Their 2-0 record was good enough for the Muskies to win Pool #2 in the 24-team event and advance to the Victoria Inn Division, where they blanked the Virden Golden Bears 5-0 in the quarter-finals.
Brett Kenny, Pitkanen, James Gushulak, Brent Jourdain, and Landon Woods had a goal apiece, with Booth earning the shutout—despite one particular play.
“Like in the final, we thought we had scored and the guys were all in the corner celebrating and here’s Virden coming down on a 5-on-0,” chuckled Sinclair, who watched the Golden Bears then make the curious choice of going for a wraparound try that Booth stopped.
“I think their guy must have fell asleep or something to do that,” he added.
“I’d never seen a 5-on-0 before.”
In what was a grinding affair, the Muskies skated to a 4-1 win over the Garden City Gophers (Winnipeg) in the semi-finals.
McGuire, Drouin, Woods, and Kocuiba got the goals while Murphy earned the win between the pipes.
Forward Sheldon Kelly Jr. missed the tournament due to injury, but was expected to possibly rejoin the team sometime this week.
The Muskies (3-0) hosted the St. Thomas Aquinas Saints (Kenora) last night at the ’52 Canadians Arena, with the outcome unavailable at press time.
The squad then will visit the Red Lake Rams tonight before heading to Sioux Lookout to face the Warriors on Sunday night and again Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, the first game of this season’s exhibition border battle with the International Falls Broncos goes next Friday (Dec. 23) at Bronco Arena.
The Muskies next home game isn’t until Jan. 10 against the Kenora Broncos.
