Joey Payeur
The scoreboard said it was an easy night but the bodies of the Muskie girls’ hockey team told a different story when they woke up this morning.
“We’ve got quite a few bumps and bruises today,” noted head coach Todd Hamilton after his squad’s 13-1 romp over the host Sioux Lookout Warriors in NorWOSSA action last night.
“Sioux Lookout is a tough team to play against,” he said. “They played physical and they didn’t stop until the end of the third [period].
“They didn’t take a lot of penalties but they were tough,” added Hamilton.
“And when they get a deeper roster [only 12 skaters last night], they’re going to be even harder to play against,” he warned.
Fort High, which improved to 8-1 to tighten its grip on first place, had to find its footing early, with goalie Sydney Beck making some big saves in the opening minutes.
“We gave up a couple of breakaways last night and without Sydney, the score could have been a lot different,” Hamilton remarked.
Muskie captain Rachel Jean got the ball rolling less than four minutes in by scoring twice in a 17-second span.
Emma Noga followed with back-to-back goals of her own later in the frame before Jenna Clendenning and Siobhan Mackintosh made it 6-0.
Hanna LeDrew, Rylee Redford, and Mackintosh tallied second-period goals to extend the lead to 9-0.
Annalise Hayes made it 10-0 just over two minutes into the third before Katie Gervasi spoiled Beck’s shutout bid at 6:34.
Clendenning, Kelsey Langtry, and Taylor Croswell then rounded out the scoring.
Blueliner Lauren Vold chipped in with four assists last night after leaving Tuesday’s game in Dryden after two periods still battling a recently-dislocated shoulder
“Lauren is on a day-by-day basis but she felt good to go,” said Hamilton.
“We mixed up the lines a bit last night and got offence from all four groups, as well as from our defence,” he added.
The team stayed overnight in Dryden before heading to Thunder Bay today for four exhibition games in three days.
First up is a meeting with former captain Amy Penner and the Confederation College Thunderhawks tonight.
Then the Muskies will go up against what Hamilton said will be an exceptionally tough foe in the Thunder Bay Minor Midget ‘AA’ Queens tomorrow.
“We’ve been discussing playing something like the neutral zone trap in that one,” he remarked.
“We’ll see how things go early but we’re going to have to work hard to keep it close,” he stressed.
The Muskies will take on the ‘A’ Queens later tomorrow, then face the Lakehead University Thunderwolves on Sunday.
Fort High’s next game in the local area is the annual cross-border exhibition battle against the International Falls Broncos, which is set for Jan. 26 at Bronco Arena.
