The Rundown - Week 18

Wins and losses are starting to mean a lot more to teams fighting for playoff spots and playoff positioning. Dropping games one is expected to win gives everyone else a chance to make a move, so every point counts. Especially when you lose points after winning games as Lethbridge found out. As you'll see, each conference has a battle on their hands as we inch towards the playoffs so let's get to the rundown!

Canada West Results

MOUNT ROYAL at REGINA: The battle of the two Cougars teams took place in Regina, and it would be the visiting Cougars who opened the scoring. Sarah Weninger's shot would pinball off a couple of bodies in front of the net with the man-advantage and the puck would find its way past Toni Ross to put Mount Royal up at 16:37.

The second period would see a flurry of goals scoring in the final five minutes. Regina's Tessa Wilson had the puck deflect off her as she took position at the side of the net, and the ricochet would land behind Jess Ross to tie the game at 1-1 at 15:15. Mount Royal would jump ahead 1:19 later when Talia Terry wired a shot over Toni Ross' glove after a turnover to put the Alberta-based Cougars up 2-1. However, the Saskatchewan-based Cougars would tie the game again after Kylie Kupper's shot from the high slot wasn't seen by a screened Jess Ross at 18:51 to make it a 2-2 score.

Alexis Larson would put the Regina Cougars up for the first time in this game as she knocked in a rebound off a Kylie Gavelin wrap-around for the 3-2 lead. From there on, Ross and Ross would match one another save for save leading to the 3-2 Regina Cougars win. Toni Ross stopped 22 of 24 shots for her CIS-leading 14th win of the season while Jess Ross suffered the loss in this game.

MOUNT ROYAL at REGINA: The second-half of the back-to-back wasn't as close as the opening game. There would be no scoring in the opening stanza, but Regina's Kylie Gavelin would find the back of the net past Jess Ross at 3:39 of the second period. Regina would keep coming in the third period as Jaycee Magwood struck at 6:27 and again at 9:21 to put Regina up 3-0. Sarah Weninger got one back at 11:50, but Stephanie Sawchuk would ice the game with 18 seconds to play for the 4-1 Regina Cougars win. Make it 15 wins for Toni Ross in her 21-save victory while Jess Ross takes her second-straight loss.

ALBERTA at CALGARY: The first half of the home-and-home was played in Calgary, and these two Alberta teams battled through five periods to find a winner! Regulation and the first overtime period couldn't solve this game, but Calgary's Sasha Vafina would make the 3-on-3 overtime count. Kate Lumley's shot from the left side deflected onto the tape of Vafina who buried the puck behind Dayna Owen for the 1-0 victory! Hayley Dowling stopped 35 shots for the shutout win while Owen took the loss.

CALGARY at ALBERTA: The two teams would meet in Edmonton for the second-half of the series, but this one would only go 60 minutes. Alberta's Janelle Froheler opened the scoring at 12:18 with her goal on Hayley Dowling to put the Pandas up 1-0. Calgary would knot the game up at 1-1 when Iya Gavrilova found the back of the net past Lindsey Post at 5:49 of the second period, meaning one team would have to take a lead in the third.

Alex Poznikoff gave the Pandas that very lead at 14:08 when she beat Dowling, and Lindsey Cunningham finished off the Dinos at 17:57 with her goal. Alberta takes the second game by a 3-1 score. Post picked up the 21-save win while Dowling was on the losing end of the score.

SASKATCHEWAN at MANITOBA: The Huskies would open the scoring when Shyan Elias banked a centering pass off a Manitoba defender into the net past Rachel Dyck at 8:45, and Lauren Zary would make it 2-0 when she broke in on a 2-on-1 and ripped a wrist shot high on Dyck's glove side that found the twine. Brooklyn Haubrich would make it 3-0 in the middle frame when she eluded several poke-checks to find some open room to zip a shot past Dyck at 5:05.

The only question was whether the seemingly-disinterested Bisons would find a way onto the scoreboard, and they came out looking like an entirely different team in the third period. Crashing the crease began to work for the Bisons as Cassidy Hendricks seemed a little bothered by the distractions, and Venla Hovi would find Alanna Sharman cross-crease who buried it in the back of the net at 11:09. It would be the only blemish on the night for Hendricks as the Huskies took this game by a 3-1 score. It was a 22-save effort for Hendricks' win while Dyck took the loss.

SASKATCHEWAN at MANITOBA: Manitoba was in serious need of some points having dropped four-straight games and falling way down the standings. Caitlyn Fyten put the home side up midway through the first period while on the power-play as her blast beat Cassidy Hendricks at 9:19.

The second period would go scoreless as these two teams tightened up the defence, but Charity Price put the Bisons up 2-0 when she found daylight behind Hendricks at 1:53. Lauren Keen would put this game out of reach with her goal at 10:20, and the Bisons would take the second game by a 3-0 score. Amanda Schubert stopped all 21 shots she faced for the shutout while Hendricks ended the weekend with a split.

UBC at LETHBRIDGE: There were all sorts of goals in the opening game of this two-game set. Haneet Parhar opened the scoring on the power-play for UBC at 7:54. Keely Chalk tied the game up at 12:08 with her goal for the Pronghorns. Kathleen Cahoon would give UBC the lead through the intermission when she found the back of the net at 18:54.

Lethbridge would tie things up early in the second period while playing short. Sarah Spence found twine while shorthanded at 2:54, and Lethbridge took the lead at 5:17 when Kirsten Reeves put the Pronghorns up 3-2. UBC would find the equalizer at 15:40 when Nicole Saxvik's shot found the back of the net.

The third period saw Aislinn Kooistra score with 3:44 to play as the Pronghorns looked to be on the verge of a victory, but UBC never said die as they rallied and got a second goal from Cahoon at 18:54 - on the same net at the same time as the first period! - to tie the game at 4-4. We'd see overtime, and it would be in the 3-on-3 second overtime period where Tricia Van Vaerenbergh scored for the Lethbridge win!

Or not? UBC appealed the game based on the fact that the officials neglected to have the teams change ends after the first overtime. Canada West heard the appeal and, based on evidence, ruled in favour of UBC as the two teams hadn't, in fact, switched ends. That meant that the two teams would have to replay overtime again on Saturday!

On Saturday, both teams went scoreless through the two overtime periods which meant it was off to the shootout to determine a winner. Kathleen Cahoon scored on UBC's second shot while Danielle Dube stopped all three Lethbridge shooters she faced for the 5-4 UBC win! Dube made 26 saves in the shootout win while Alicia Anderson lost in the skills competition. It should be noted that Lethbridge is appealing the replay based on the fact that no advantage was evident by not changing ends. Canada West will rule on this later in the week, but UBC escapes the first game with two points right now.

UBC at LETHBRIDGE: Saturday's game literally took place right after the conclusion of the Friday game on Saturday afternoon. Confused? Don't worry about it. Here's the second game's results. Kirsten Reeves scored at 3:50 of the second period to open the scoring and put the Pronghorns up 1-0. We wouldn't see another goal until midway through the third period when UBC was skating with the man-advantage and Haneet Parhar scored at 13:01 to make it 1-1. However, Lethbridge was not going to be denied on a second day as Reeves would score her second of the game while on the power-play with 24 seconds to play as the Pronghorns took this one by a 2-1 score. Alicia Anderson allowed just the one goal in the win while Danielle Dube was on the wrong side of the win in this game.

CWUAA WOMEN'S HOCKEY

School	Record	Points	GF	GA	Streak	Next
British Columbia	11-7-4-2	43	58	43	L1	vs REG
Regina	11-8-4-1	42	64	54	W3	@ UBC
Alberta	13-8-0-3	42	54	37	W1	@ SAS
Saskatchewan	9-9-3-3	36	52	55	L1	vs ALB
Manitoba	11-11-0-2	35	47	41	W1	@ CAL
Lethbridge	9-11-2-2	33	46	59	W1	@ MRU
Mount Royal	7-12-3-2	29	46	56	L4	vs LET
Calgary	6-11-3-4	28	51	73	L1	vs MAN

As a result of this week's play, UBC, Regina, and Alberta all clinched playoff spots. Saskatchewan and Manitoba can clinch with two wins each in next week's play. The top-six teams in Canada West make the playoffs with the top-two teams earning first-round byes.

Ontario Results

UOIT at LAURIER: A rare Thursday night game in the OUA saw just one team hit the scoresheet with both goals coming in the third period. Kaitlyn Hatzes scored at 3:35 and Jessica Prevette added another at 13:53 as Laurier picked up the 2-0 victory over UOIT. Amanda Smith picked up the 33-save shutout while Cassie Charette suffered the loss.

YORK at NIPISSING: York used the power-play to take the lead in this game. With Nipissing's Alexane Papineau sitting for tripping at 11:25 and Stacey Henshaw sitting for roughing at 11:57, the Lions scored on the 5-on-3 when Jenna Gray beat Sabrina Picard at 12:57 for the 1-0 lead. They would use the remaining power-play time as well when Amy Locke ripped a shot past Picard at 13:54 for the 2-0 lead.

The Lakers would mount a comeback in the second period. Brooklyn Irwin beat Megan Lee with her shot at 9:31 to make it 2-1, and Stacey Henshaw would make up for her penalty in the first period with a power-play goal of her own at 16:53 to make it 2-2 through 40 minutes of play.

The only goal in the third period came off the stick Taylor Murphy with 58 seconds to play, but it was enough for Nipissing to take the game by a 3-2 score! Sabrina Picard earned the victory while Megan Lee took the loss.

WESTERN at TORONTO: Toronto's Meagan O'Brien ripped a shot past Kelly Campbell to put Toronto up early at 2:52 of the first period. Western would rally back as Amanda Pereira found daylight behind Valencia Yordanov at 8:04, making it a 1-1 game. We jump ahead to the second period where O'Brien made her presence felt again as she dented twine at 18:16 to make it 2-1 for the Varsity Blues. The two netminders would hold the forts in the third period, but Toronto held the 2-1 lead when the final horn sounded. Yordanov claimed the win with a 16-save performance while Campbell took the loss.

WINDSOR at RYERSON: Windsor got the jump on the Rams as Shawna Lesperance beat Sydney Authier at 8:31 for the 1-0 lead. We jump to the second period where Emma Rutherford found room past Hanna Slater for the Rams to tie the game at 1-1. Windsor's Krystin Lawrence would put the Lancers up 2-1 on the power-play at 8:01, and the Lancers would take a two-goal lead into the intermission after Erinn Noseworthy dented twine at 17:40. Neither team would find the back of the net in the third period as Windsor earns the 3-1 victory. Slater stopped 22 of 23 shots she faced for the win while Authier took the loss in her first start of the season.

WESTERN at RYERSON: Things didn't get any easier for Ryerson. April Clark scored at 17:07 of the first period and she would add a second goal on the power-play at 12:34 of the third period to give the Western Mustangs the 2-0 win. Kelly Campbell stopped 23 shots in the shutout victory while Sydney Authier took her second loss in as many days.

GUELPH at QUEEN'S: One team would get credit for goals in this one. Averi Nooren scored at 1:07 and Karli Shell added a second goal at 7:44 of the second period, and Ashlee Lawrence scored at 10:09 of the third period to lead the Guelph Gryphons to the 3-0 win over the Queen's Gaels. Valerie Lamenta was perfect on 21 shots while Caitlyn Lahonen was on the losing end of this game.

YORK at LAURENTIAN: Emma Leger got things started for the Voyageurs with her goal at 3:18 to put Laurentian up 1-0. Amy Locke would respond at 12:52 for the Lions to tie the game at 1-1, but Marie-Pierre Pelissou would restore the one-goal lead on the power-play at 15:38.

Cynthia St-Cyr would tie the game at 10:56 in the second period, and both Laurentian's Emmily Toffoli and York's Megan Lee were perfect through the remaining 29:04 of the game. It was off to overtime for these two teams, but it would take the second overtime period to find a winner. Julie Hebert ripped home the winner past Lee for the 3-2 Laurentian win! Toffoli stopped 22 of 24 shots she saw for the win while Lee suffered her second loss of the weekend.

BROCK at NIPISSING: All the scoring would come in the third period. The Lakers went out in front at 4:56 when Natalie Graham beat Stephanie Loukes, but Brittany Gillmor would tie the game for the Badgers with her shot that found room past Sabrina Picard at 15:42. This game would remain tied through regulation and both overtime periods, so it was off to the breakaway competition for the winner. Gillmor would score on Brock's second shot while Loukes stopped all three shooters she faced for the 2-1 Brock shootout win! Loukes made 29 saves in regulation for the win while Picard took the loss despite stopping 27 of 28 shots in regulation time.

WINDSOR at TORONTO: Shawna Lesperance put the Lancers up 1-0 just 2:42 in as her shot beat Valencia Yordanov. It became 2-0 when Krystin Lawrence scored on the power-play for Windsor at 12:10. Toronto, though, began the comeback in the second period as Kristi Riseley beat Ingrid Sandven on the power-play at 3:47 and Meagan O'Brien tied things up at 13:51.

We wouldn't get another goal before the end of the third period, so it was off to overtime. We didn't have to sit long as Sonja Weidenfelder's shot at 1:17 beat Sandven for 2-1 overtime win for Toronto! Yordanov stopped 15 shots to preserve the win while Sandven was the loser on this day.

WATERLOO at LAURIER: Laurier got the jump on the Warriors at 17:26 of the first period when Haley Bazter beat Rebecca Bouwhuis with her shot. From there, it was onto the third period where Waterloo's Alison Hanson scored on Amanda Smith at 9:13. Laurier, though, would take a lead they wouldn't relinquish as Cassandra Calabrese scored at 14:29, and the Golden Hawks would take this game by a 2-1 count. Smith earned the win in making 24 saves while Bouwhuis suffered the loss.

BROCK at LAURENTIAN: Only one team put points on the board. Laura Neu scored while shorthanded at 12:44 of the second period and Maggie Spratt-Mallick added a second goal at 7:47 of the third period to help the Brock Badgers down the Laurentian Voyageurs 2-0. Stephanie Loukes stopped all 32 shot she faced for the shutout while Laura Deller was on the losing end in this one.

UOIT at QUEEN'S: This was a tale of two games. UOIT built a lead off a Jenna Carter power-play goal at 3:54 and a Victoria MacKenzie marker to put them up 2-0 after one period. The Ridgebacks would go up 3-0 at the 3:06 mark of the second period when Shalyn Pavlisko beat Caitlyn Lahonen.

Cue the comeback for Queen's. Katrina Manoukarakis scored at 10:43 and added a second goal on the power-play at 18:50, and it was a 3-2 game for UOIT. The third period saw Kyla Crouse score on Cassie Charette at 17:03, and this game would go to overtime tied at 3-3. The first overtime period solved nothing, but Manoukarakis completed the hat trick at 3:27 of the 3-on-3 overtime period to give Queen's the comeback 4-3 overtime victory! Lahonen stopped 27 of 30 shots in the win while Charette stopped 50 of 54 shots in the loss.

OUA WOMEN'S HOCKEY

School	Record	Points	GF	GA	Streak	Next
Guelph	13-2-3-1	46	58	22	W6	@ YOR/vs WIN
Nipissing	10-5-1-5	37	41	38	L1	vs QUE/UOIT
Waterloo	10-6-2-1	35	54	30	L1	vs TOR/@ YOR
Western	11-7-1-0	35	49	26	W1	@ LGH/vs BRO
Toronto	8-4-3-3	33	44	35	W3	vs RYE/@ WAT
Queen's	9-5-2-2	33	38	30	W1	@ NIP/LAU
Laurier	10-7-1-1	33	37	35	W3	@ WIN/vs WES
Laurentian	8-8-3-2	32	43	51	L1	vs QUE/UOIT
Brock	6-10-2-1	23	29	37	W2	vs RYE/@ WES
Windsor	6-10-1-2	22	51	65	L1	vs LGH/@ GUE
York	3-8-4-3	20	33	40	L2	vs GUE/WAT
UOIT	4-13-1-2	16	37	65	L5	@ NIP/LAU
Ryerson	2-15-0-1	7	18	58	L5	@ TOR/BRO

Quebec Results

McGILL at MONTREAL: This was an outstanding game that needed extra time to decide it. After an early tripping penalty called on Montreal, McGill's Melodie Daoust found room past Marie-Pier Chabot on the power-play 49 seconds into this game for the 1-0 lead. A body-checking penalty was called on McGill less than a minute later, and the Carabins would find the equalizer with the man-advantage as Audrey Gariepy beat Taylor Hough with her shot at 1:51. Montreal would strike again nearly two minutes later when Catherine Dubois ripped a shot past Hough to make it a 2-1 game.

We jump ahead to the second period where a great individual effort by McGill's Pamela Psihogios drew the two clubs even at 2-2 at 9:02. The power-play would strike again for the Carabins as Alexandra Labelle potted a goal at 13:05 after Brittany Fouracres was sent off for hooking, and the Carabins held the 3-2 lead. Nine seconds after Labelle's goal, Melodie Daoust would pick up her second goal of the game when she beat Chabot again, and it was a 3-3 game heading into the third period.

The Carabins appeared to wrap this game up on the power-play once more as Alexandra Paradis scored with 2:25 remaining to put Montreal up 4-3, but the Martlets wanted to play a little longer. Gabrielle Davidson found the back of the net for McGill at 18:49, and this game would need extra time. Overtime solved nothing, so it was off to the skills competition. Montreal's Laurie Mercier scored on the third shot and Chabot stopped all five shooters she faced to give Montreal the 5-4 shootout victory! Chabot stopped 19 shots in the win while Hough stopped 37 in the loss.

CONCORDIA at OTTAWA: Ottawa opened the scoring on the power-play at 13:56 when Camille Pauck-Therrien's shot got by Briar Bache for the 1-0 lead. And then the second period happened where the Stingers opened up a sizable lead. Goals by Sophie Gagnon at 1:34, Carol-Anne Gagne at 9:03, Claudia Dubois on the power-play at 16:04, and Marie-Joelle Allard with two seconds to play put Concordia out in front by a 4-1 count. Laura Turcotte would get one back for Ottawa at 8:05 of the third period, but Stingers' second-period blitz was enough for the 4-2 win. Bache stopped 38 of 40 shots she faced for the win. Maude Levesque-Ryan took the loss after allowing four goals on 19 shots in the second period, stopping 31 of 35 in total.

CARLETON at MONTREAL: This one was ugly. Montreal saw goals in the first period from Catherine Dubois on the power-play at 5:06, Audrey Gariepy at 8:45, and Maude Gelinas at 11:57 to stake a 3-0 lead. The second period saw Montreal add to their lead on goals by Catherine Dubois at 13:41 and Ariane Barker on the power-play at 19:21 for a 5-0 lead. Jessica Cormier scored at 6:23 and Alexandra Labelle added a power-play goal at 16:40 as Montreal trounced Carleton by a 7-0 score. Elodie Rousseau Sirois made just eight saves in the shutout. Katelyn Steele took the loss in giving up five goals on 30 shots in 40 minutes of work while Hailey Perreault allowed two goals on 22 shots in her third period of action.

RSEQ WOMEN'S HOCKEY

School	Record	Points	GF	GA	Streak	Next
Montreal	12-3-1	25	56	24	W8	vs McG/@ OTT
McGill	9-4-2	20	40	25	L2	@ MON/vs CAR
Ottawa	9-5-1	19	42	40	L1	vs CAR/MON
Concordia	6-8-2	14	27	39	W3	BYE
Carleton	3-13-0	6	15	52	L6	@ OTT/McG

Maritime Results

UPEI at MONCTON: It was all Moncton in this one. Goals by Brittany Poitras at 8:09 of the first period, Marie-Pier Arsenault at 8:18 and Katherine Dubuc on the power-play at 18:16 of the second period, and Arsenault again at 4:49 of the third period led the Aigles Bleues to the 4-0 victory. Gabrielle Forget was perfect on the 26 shots sent her way while Marie-Soleil Deschenes took the loss in this one.

SAINT MARY'S at ST. FRANCIS XAVIER: Hayley Halilihan put the Huskies on the board when she beat Sojung Shin just 2:29 in for the early 1-0 lead. The X-Women would respond a few minutes later as Daley Oddy's shot got through Justine McIntosh at 5:19, and we were tied up at 1-1.

The Huskies would take over in the second period. Caitlyn Schell found the back of the net at 3:44 and Breanna Lanceleve would make it 3-1 at 9:43. Nicole Blanche would add another goal at 8:31 of the third period, and Saint Mary's skated to the 4-1 victory. McIntosh picked up her second win of the season while Shin suffered her seventh loss.

MOUNT ALLISON at DALHOUSIE: The Mounties jumped out in front at 3:17 when Amanda Volcko beat Mati Barrett. That 1-0 score would hold until the third period when Mackenzie Lalonde made it 2-0 with her goal. Dalhousie's Laura Brooks would put the Tigers on the board with her power-play marker at 14:17 that eluded Keri Martin, but Heather Richards would restore the two-goal lead at 16:34 with her marker to make it 3-1. Courtney Sheedy would score with 34 seconds to play to pull Dalhousie within one goal, but that's as close as the Tigers would get as Mount Allison takes this game by the 3-2 count. Martin stopped 22 shots in the win while Barrett took the loss.

MOUNT ALLISON at MONCTON: The Aigles Bleues were all over the Mounties in this game. Marie-Pier Arsenault scored 24 seconds into the game and Natacha Bergeron made it 2-0 for Moncton at 4:41. Kelsey Taylor would get the Mounties within one goal at 15:20, but Cassandra Labrie restored the two-goal lead at 18:29 while on the power-play. Marie-Pier Corriveau would make it 4-1 at 10:06, and Kaitlyn Gallaway would add a power-play goal at 14:23 to wrap up the 5-1 Moncton win. Emilie Bouchard stopped 23 of 24 shots for the win while Keri Martin had a rough night for the Mounties.

DALHOUSIE at SAINT MARY'S: All the scoring would come in the third period in this game. Mary Worndl beat Jessica Severeyns to put the Huskies up 1-0 at 4:01. Dalhousie would tie the game minutes later when Elizabeth MacArthur beat Justine McIntosh on the power-play at 8:27 to make it 1-1. However, Caitlyn Manning at 11:48, Breanna Lanceleve on the power-play at 17:27, and Caitlyn Manning with 15 seconds to play would seal the deal for the Huskies as they took this game by a 4-1 score. McIntosh picked up her second win of the weekend in stopping 16 shots while Severeyns took her fourth loss of the season.

UPEI at ST. THOMAS: One end of the ice saw all the scoring. Jessica McCann put the Tommies up 1-0 off a power-play goal that beat Kristy Brown at 3:51. Emily Francis would make it 2-0 before the period ended with her goal at 17:14. With the teams switching ends, it was time for UPEI to get in on the scoring. Lindsay Johnston beat Taylor Cook at 3:33 to make it a 2-1 game, and Andie Boeckman would tie things up 17:02 with her goal to send the teams into the final period knotted up at 2-2.

Stephanie Ford would put the Tommies up 3-2 at 13:31 of the final frame as she found the back of the net. Despite the pressure from UPEI on a power-play with the goalie pulled, Kelty Apperson would score shorthanded on the 6-on-4 into the empty net at 18:44 to give St. Thomas the 4-2 victory. Taylor Cook moves to 7-5-0 on the season in the win while Kristy Brown fell to 0-2-0 in the loss.

AUS WOMEN'S HOCKEY

School	Record	Points	GF	GA	Streak	Next
Saint Mary's	15-5-0	30	62	39	W2	vs MON/STU
Moncton	13-6-1	27	60	39	W5	@ SMU/vs StFX
St. Thomas	12-7-1	25	52	43	L1	vs StFX/@ DAL
Mount Allison	10-10-1	21	53	60	L2	vs UPEI/@ StFX
StFX	9-9-2	20	44	46	W1	3 games
Dalhousie	7-12-1	15	40	56	L3	vs STU/@ UPEI
UPEI	5-13-3	13	28	56	W1	@ MAU/vs DAL

Thanks to their successes this past week, Saint Mary's, Moncton, St. Thomas, and Mount Allison all clinched playoff spots in the AUS playoffs. The top-two teams earn a bye to the semi-final while third-place will play sixth-place and fourth-place plays fifth-place. With UPEI only having four games left, St. Francis Xavier can clinch a spot with any combination of a win or a loss by UPEI.

Things are getting tight in all of the conferences in terms of playoff spots! And how about that appeal by UBC to earn two points instead of just one point on Friday night? I'll post the result of the Lethbridge appeal, but I can't see that appeal going very far after Canada West ruled in favour of UBC. In any case, we'll have that update next week!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!