Joey Payeur
It was like somebody stuck the game from two nights earlier in a photocopier.
The Muskie girls’ hockey team again overcame a quiet start to beat the St. Thomas Aquinas Saints (Kenora) 6-1 last night for the second time in three evenings—this time at the ’52 Canadians Arena.
Not only did the score match Tuesday’s outcome in Kenora, the way it unfolded was almost identical.
The teams again played to a scoreless draw through 20 minutes before the Muskies (12-1) scored three times in the second and the third.
“I think we played at the same speed as Tuesday, maybe a little faster,” said forward Annalise Hayes, who led the way with a hat trick last night.
“We moved the puck better last game but we got into the flow of the game better this evening,” she noted.
Janelle Kaemingh (shorthanded), Hanna LeDrew, and Lauren Vold (power play) had the other goals for the Muskies, who outshot the Saints 51-18 while winning their seventh-straight league game.
Kiara Devins had the lone goal for the Saints (8-5), who were playing their fifth game in five nights and now have dropped three-straight.
Sydney Beck had 17 saves to earn the victory.
The two teams will square off again this Tuesday (Feb. 9) at 7:30 p.m. at the ’52 Canadians Arena.
Next door in the Ice For Kids Arena, meanwhile, the Muskie boys’ hockey squad romped to a 9-0 shutout over the Saints.
Fort High (10-0) got stronger as the game wore on—scoring twice in the first, adding three in the second, and then four more in the third against St. Thomas Aquinas (4-7-1-1).
Graeme Kitt was a force all night for the black-and-gold, notching a hat trick while also throwing possibly the hit of the season on an unsuspecting Saints’ foe in the latter stages of the game.
Sully Shortreed added a pair of tallies while Bantam ‘AA’ Canadians call-up Ethan Jourdain scored at 18:35 of the second period on a power-play for his first high school goal.
Jourdain was summoned due to injuries that kept forward Kendyn Faragher (lower-body) and defenceman Max Williams (unknown) out of the lineup.
Cam Gushulak, Cooper Witherspoon, and Chase McGuire rounded out the scoring.
Dylan Ossachuk earned the shutout.
A busy week of action for the Muskies continues tonight at 7:30 p.m. when they host the last-place Red Lake Rams at the ’52 Canadians Arena.
Then they’ll host the Kenora Broncos tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at the ’52 Canadians Arena before reviving their “Border Battle” with the International Falls Broncos on Monday at 6:15 p.m. at the Ice For Kids Arena.
