The first period started off as a defensive struggle as neither side seemed very content with letting their opponents get any sort of chances to score. As this stalemate wore on, UBC found itself with a couple of power-play opportunities in the second-half of the period, but were unable to cash in on those chances. Through one period of play, the two teams went to the room still knotted up at 0-0, but UBC held a 6-3 edge in shots.
UBC looked more dangerous in the early going of the middle frame, but it would be Calgary who would splash ink on the scoresheet in the second period. Jordyn Burgar, a transfer to the Dinos program from the ACAC's Red Deer College over the summer, finally got her first U SPORTS goal when her long wrist shot found its way through a couple of UBC defenders and under the glove of Micklash at 6:36 to put the Dinos up 1-0! The goal seemed to give Calgary some life as they began finding ways to get pucks to the net, and they would continue to do so on a power-play just past the midway point of the period. Laine Grace's slapshot from the point caught Micklash looking around the wrong side of traffic in front of her, and the shot found the twine on the inside of the left post before Micklash could react at 15:12 for the power-play marker and the 2-0 Dinos lead! Through 40 minutes, the Dinos held the two-goal lead and had an 11-9 lead in shots.
With his team needing a spark, UBC head coach Graham Thomas opted to start Reese Hiddleston in the UBC net to begin the third period. While the sentiment was good, the Dinos and Thunderbirds continued to play stalemate on the scoreboard in this period. However, a power-play late in the period saw Thomas call Hiddleston to the bench to go 6-on-4, but Roberts and the Dinos' penalty-killing units did well to kill the penalty. Late in the game with the net empty, Sara Craven would ice the game with a yawning-cage goal as the Calgary Dinos downed the UBC Thunderbirds by a 3-0 score. Kelsey Roberts picked up her third shutout and 11th win of the season with a 15-save blanking of UBC while Tory Micklash stopped nine of 11 shots she faced in her 40 minutes of play. For the record, Reese Hiddleston was 4-for-4 on saves in the third period in her 16:32 of time in the blue paint.
Highlights of this game are below!
SATURDAY: With UBC's shutout streak now up to 277:36 of time, there had to be some urgency from the T-Birds in the second-half of the two-game set if they were going to break out of this funk. Calgary, meanwhile, was looking to keep the good times rolling in order to lock down a playoff spot, so points were key for both sides in this final game of the season series. Reese Hiddleston, after her play one night earlier, got the start for the UBC Thunderbirds as someone other than Tory Micklash started for UBC for the first time this season while Calgary remained with their ace as Kelsey Roberts was back in the blue paint for Calgary.
It was pretty clear that UBC came to play from the puck drop in this game as they pushed the play early on, but Chanreet Bassi was whistled for hooking at 2:47 that slowed the Thunderbirds down. It wouldn't help that Elizabeth Lang chipped a puck to Taylor Beck who returned the puck to Lang as she blew by a defender for a clear look at Hiddleston, and she made no mistake going high on the glove side at 4:07 for the power-play goal to put Calgary up 1-0! UBC, though, regrouped and resumed their attack only to be undone by a giveaway by Rylind MacKinnon that ended up on the stick of Lang at the UBC blue line, and she ripped another wrist shot glove-side on Hiddleston past two UBC defenders at 7:06 to make it a 2-0 game for Calgary! Despite UBC getting initial shots through, there wasn't much in the way of rebounds or second chances in the final 13 minutes of the frame. The teams would go to the dressing rooms with Calgary up 2-0 while UBC led 14-8 in shots.
Early in the second period, the Dinos would catch the T-Birds flat-footed as Taylor Beck broke in on a 2-on-1 with Kira Makuk. A tape-to-tape pass from Beck to Makuk gave Makuk all the time she needed to go low on the stick side past Hiddleston to give Calgary a 3-0 lead and end the night for Hiddleston as Tory Micklash got her gear on and relieved her goaltending partner. UBC would find the spark they needed following that goal as they upped their defensive game which helped them get their wheels turning on offence. UBC would finally end the goalless drought when Chanreet Bassi's initial shot was stopped by Roberts, but the goalmouth scramble saw Bassi eventually find her own rebound and shovel it past a prone Roberts in the crease at 14:44 to make it a 3-1 game! That score would hold through the intermission with UBC holding a 23-11 advantage in shots!
The third period was very quiet with just eight shots in total for both teams combined. Calgary seemed very content to just let the time tick off the clock on their 3-1 lead, and the final would sound with the Dinos taking this game over the T-Birds by that 3-1 score. Kelsey Roberts was good on 25 of 26 shots for her 12th win of the season while Reese Hiddleston suffered the loss in her first official start after stopping six of nine shots in 22:34 of action. Micklash, for the record, was perfect on all seven shots sent her way in the 36:58 she played. On a brighter note, the UBC shutout streak ended at 312:20 with the Bassi goal on Saturday!
Highlights of this game are below!
The first period had lots of back and forth, but the two netminders saw very little of the puck as the defences of both teams were effective in thwarting the offences. The handful of chances at either end were turned away in what was an entertaining-yet-shot-suppressed period by both teams as the 0-0 score held through 20 minutes with Saskatchewan holding a 6-4 edge in shots thanks to a power-play opportunity.
An early interference penalty in the second period on the Huskies sent Alberta to the power-play, and the conference's most lethal unit did its damage. Alex Gowie's initial shot as she skated from the left face-off circle into the slot was sent wide, but Autumn MacDougall chipped the puck back into the slot where Gowie got a second chance and she buried the power-play marker at 2:39 to put the Pandas up 1-0! Saskatchewan, though, would respond less than two minutes later when Shyan Elias spotted Kate Ball all alone breaking into the Pandas zone as she got behind her check, and Ball would shoot stick-side on Oswald inside the post to tie the game at 1-1 at 4:17! The Pandas would answer right back, however, as Madison Willan toe-dragged past Emma Nutter before roofing a wrist shot high past Vance at 6:42 to put the Pandas up 2-1! The scoring would slow as the period pressed on, but the chances were still there as both teams played some wide-open hockey over the middle frame. At its conclusion, Alberta still held the 2-1 lead, but has evened the shot total to 16-16.
The third period was a more controlled version of the second period as both squads got good looks at each other's nets, but there were less shots overall that found their way through to the netminders. Saskatchewan would pull Vance for the extra attacker with 56 seconds to play, but they'd get no closer as the Alberta Pandas skated to the 2-1 victory over the Saskatchewan Huskies to open 2020! Halle Oswald made 23 saves for her sixth win of the season while Jessica Vance made 19 stops in the loss.
Highlights are below!
SATURDAY:With Alberta taking three points on Friday, Saskatchewan needed a split to keep pace with the Pandas. Alberta was looking to widen the gap between them and Saskatchewan to six points with a sweep, so this game could mean a lot when it comes to how the standings look at the end of the season. The teams would switch out their netminders today as Camryn Drever got the start for Saskatchewan while Kirsten Chamberlin tended the nets for Alberta.
As they did one night earlier, both Saskatchewan and Alberta played some end-to-end hockey with little to show for their efforts as shots were blocked or missed the net. The one shot that did hit the net that mattered most came off the stick of Abby Shirley after she swooped in and hammered home a blind centering pass from Kate Ball over the glove of Chamberlin at 8:56 to put Saskatchewan up 1-0! The five shots that Alberta had in the frame had no effect on the score, so it was a 1-0 Saskatchewan lead through 20 minutes with the Huskies leading 6-5 in shots.
The second period saw caution thrown to the wind once more as the teams opened up the game just as they did the night before. Shots seemingly were taken from all angles, forcing the goalies to be on their toes. Alberta, though, would find the equalizer six minutes into the period when a puck was intercepted at the Alberta blue line and passed up to Alex Poznikoff who skated in alone on Drever before going forehand-backhand-shelf on the deke to tie the game at 1-1 at 6:40! 1:12 later with Alberta on the power-play, the Huskies failed to clear the defensive zone leading to a gorgeous three-way passing play featuring Poznikoff, Kennedy Ganser, and Autumn MacDougall who finished off the sequence after starting it by going high over Drever's right shoulder for the power-play marker and the 2-1 Alberta lead! Saskatchewan, though, wasn't finished scoring on their side as they used a power-play of their own to even the score when Bailee Bourassa skated across the line, into the high slot area, and let a wrist shot go that appeared to hit her check's stick, causing the puck to change direction and find the top-left corner past Chamberlin at 13:04 to tie this game up at 2-2! That score would hold into the intermission with the Huskies leading 18-16 in shots!
Saskatchewan was doing a good job at both ends of the ice in the third period, generating shots and blocking them in the defensive zone, but nothing they put on Chamberlin got through her or past her. A bodychecking penalty with five minutes to play opened the door for the Pandas. Alex Poznikoff picked up a loose puck in a scrum in the right Saskatchewan corner, and she wheeled out to the hash marks where she roofed a wrist shot past Drever for the power-play goal at 15:32 to put Alberta up 3-2! Despite some late chances after Drever went for the extra attacker with 41 seconds remaining, the horn sounded on that 3-2 Alberta victory over Saskatchewan! Kirsten Chamberlin recorded her sixth win in a 24-save performance while Camryn Drever made 17 stops in the loss.
Highlights without sound, for some reason, are below!
The opening period was a solid stalemate as neither side offered up many chances despite both teams looking to start 2020 quickly. The Bisons had the only power-play opportunity of the period, but they couldn't find the back of the net as Manitoba continues to struggle with the player-advantage. With nothing happening of note in the first period, we'd hit the intermission still tied 0-0, but the Bisons held the 5-3 advantage in shots.
The second period saw Manitoba start the frame with an early power-play before the Cougars took over thanks to four-straight minor penalties by the Bisons. The difference in this period, though, was Amanda Schubert who stonewalled the Cougars on all four advantages to keep this game at even terms. After 40 minutes, the teams were still tied at 0-0, but Mount Royal now led in 13-9 in shots.
Another early power-play for the Bisons fell to the wayside as the teams looked for a goal, but we'd get one nearing the midpoint of the third period. Breanne Trotter forced a turnover behind the net, Kate Hufnagel threw it out front, and Andrea Sanderson cleaned up the slot area by burying the puck past Schubert at 8:45 to put Mount Royal up 1-0! The Cougars continued to play their stingy defence in this one, preventing the Bisons from getting good looks at Ross all night, and Hufnagel would ice the game with 35 seconds to go with an empty-net goal from center ice as the Mount Royal Cougars opened 2020 with a victory over the Manitoba Bisons. Kaitlyn Ross stopped all 15 shots she faced for her third shutout and fifth win of the season while Amanda Schubert stopped 20 shots in the loss.
Highlights are below!
SATURDAY: There's no sugar-coating this: Manitoba needs points if they have any hope of making the playoffs. Mount Royal, meanwhile, was still on the hunt for a home playoff date or, possibly, a first-round bye. Points were meaningful for both teams in the second-half of the weekend set. Amanda Schubert was back in the net for the Bisons while Cassie Shokar took to the crease for Mount Royal.
Both teams came out firing in this game as the pace was entirely different from the night before. An early penalty to Manitoba was killed off before Mount Royal killed the next two minor penalties off. While the shots were plentiful, the goals were not once again as the two teams went to the intermission tied 0-0, but with Manitoba leading the shot tally by a 13-9 margin.
The second period would see the teams continue to find chances at both ends of the ice, but no goals would be found through the opening half of the frame. The teams traded unsuccessful power-plays, but a face-off in the Cougars zone with less than five minutes to go in the period would get us a goal! Jordy Zacharias won the face-off back where Mekaela Fisher picked up the puck as she curled behind Zacharias off the left wing, and her wrist shot through traffic from the high slot beat Shokar at 15:20 to put Manitoba up 1-0! The Bisons would withstand a late flurry of shots from Mount Royal as Manitoba carried the 1-0 lead into the intermission while leading 23-15 in shots.
The third period saw Mount Royal whistled for an early penalty, but they killed it off and built some momentum. That would come in handy minutes later when Kate Scidmore stripped a Bisons defender of the puck in the offensive zone and threw it out front where it bounced off Anna Purschke and past Amanda Schubert to tie the game at 1-1 at 8:19! Mount Royal would continue working in and around the net as the period wore on, and they would be rewarded for their persistence just past the midway point of the period. Nicolette Seper's shot was initially stopped by Amanda Schubert, but the puck as loose and Mount Royal continued to whack away at the loose biscuit in the crease. Eventually, Emma Bergesen would push the puck across the line at 11:09, and Mount Royal would take a 2-1 lead despite the protests of Schubert and the Bisons that the netminder had the puck covered! Manitoba would press down the stretch, but they could not get another puck past Shokar on this day as the Mount Royal Cougars picked up the 2-1 victory over the Manitoba Bisons. Cassie Shokar made 30 saves to earn her fourth win of the season while Amanda Schubert stopped 20 of 22 shots in the loss.
Highlights of this one are presented in a weird format below!
The Pronghorns have their fans something to cheer about early as Kyra Greig passed off to Sage Sansregret before busting up the middle of the ice to redirect the Sansregret return pass past Kish at 3:10 to put Lethbridge up 1-0! Regina would find themselves in all sorts of penalty trouble throughout the period, but it would be the fourth power-play where an Alli Borrow wrap-around attempt went off a defender's stick and up and over Kish's right shoulder to find the back of the net at 17:03 for the 2-0 Pronghorns lead! Through 20 minutes, the home team looked strong with the two-goal lead and a 10-9 edge in shots.
The second period saw the parade to the sin bin continue for both teams as two in succession by Lethbridge were followed by three penalties to Regina. As a result, the penalty-killing units spent considerable time on the ice in this period. However, the final penalty of the period to Lethbridge proved costly as Adela Juzkova's shot from the point pinballed its way through traffic to fall just to the left of Anderson where Jordan Kulbida fired it home to make it a 2-1 game! After two period, Lethbridge held the lead and maintained their one-shot margin at 18-17.
I don't know what was said in the intermission by Regina head coach Sarah Hodges, but whatever was said not only lit a fire under the Cougars, but seemingly sparked a powder keg! Regina fired 18 shots in the third period alone in an effort to find the equalizer. In contrast, Lethbridge had just one shot on net recorded in the final frame. Whatever was said seemed to fire up the Cougars, but Alicia Anderson was the riddle that Regina seemingly couldn't solve until late on the power-play when Jaycee Magwood's blast from the circle was stopped, but Shaelyn Vallotton was on the doorstep to tap the rebound home to make it 2-2 game with 2:05 remaining! The final two minutes would see the Cougars press for a winner, but the horn would sound to give us some free hockey in Lethbridge for the first time in 2020!
After a very cautious 4-on-4 overtime period, the 3-on-3 overtime saw chances at both ends that could not find room past Kish nor Anderson. We'd go to the shootout where the first two rounds of the shootout saw nothing dent twine. On the third shot for Regina, Jenna Merk broke in on Anderson, used a bit of a head fake before going forehand-backhand-shelf past Anderson to give Regina the 1-0 lead in the skills competition! Kianna Dietz had to score on Kish to keep the festivities going, but her shot on the five-hole of Kish found nothing but pads and Regina takes the 3-2 shootout victory over Lethbridge! Jane Kish earned her sixth win of the campaign by stopping 21 of 23 shots plus three in the shootout while Alicia Anderson suffered the loss despite making 37 saves in the game.
Highlights of this game are below!
SATURDAY: After allowing Regina to inch a point closer the night before, Lethbridge was looking to take four of six points with a win today. Regina, on the other hand, could make things very interesting with a three-point win of their own as they'd slide within three points of Lethbridge for the final playoff spot. Needless to say, this game had all sorts of intrigue leading up to puck drop. Jane Kish was back in the nets for Regina while Lethbridge went with Alicia Anderson once more.
Just as Lethbridge did the night before, they didn't waste any time giving the fans a reason to cheer. Following a penalty to Regina, the Cougars were unable to clear up the boards before a centering pass by Kyra Greig landed on the tape of Mila Verbicky in the slot, and Verbicky went high glove-side on Kish just 2:06 into this game as the Pronghorns jumped out to the 1-0 lead! Regina would storm back with chances of their own after surrendering the goal, but it would be a late power-play where they'd square things up as Jaycee Magwood's long shot through traffic was stopped by Anderson, but the rebound was poked home by Shaelyn Vallotton once again as Regina evened the score at 1-1 with 2:02 to play in the frame! That score would carry into the intermission as Regina held the edge in shots 13-9.
The second period opened with some wide-open hockey as both teams had great chances to score, but the goaltenders were just as good in denying those chances. The teams continued to storm up and down the ice until the four-minute mark when Jadyn Kushniruk brought the puck over the line and into the middle of the Pronghorns zone before firing a shot that hit a body and never made it to Anderson. The problem was that it did make it to Jaycee Magwood, and Magwood used her speed to wrap the puck around the net before Anderson could move laterally to recover, and Regina had a 2-1 lead at 4:08! For the entire period, Kish was rather remarkable in holding that lead for the Cougars as she made a number of highlight-reel saves, and the Cougars would take the 2-1 lead and the 22-17 lead in shots into the second intermission.
The third period was more of the same as both teams continued to press for goals. Anderson and Kish did their jobs admirably, but a late bounce would end the hope of forcing overtime for the Pronghorns. Melissa Zerr's shot went off a defender's skate into the end-boards, but the kick off the boards came right back to her and she beat Anderson up high on the glove side with her own rebound to put Regina up 31 with 45 seconds on the clock. When the horn sounded, the Regina Cougars earned the 3-1 victory over the Lethbridge Pronghorns! Jane Kish stopped 26 shots for her seventh win of the season while Alicia Anderson made 25 saves in the loss.
Highlights of this game are below!
| School | Record | Points | GF | GA | Streak | Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary | 12-4-1-1 | 39 | 42 | 27 | W4 | @ MAN |
| Alberta | 11-6-1-0 | 35 | 51 | 22 | W7 | vs MRU |
| Mount Royal | 9-8-1-0 | 29 | 28 | 22 | W2 | @ ALB |
| Saskatchewan | 8-6-1-3 | 29 | 31 | 29 | L2 | vs LET |
| British Columbia | 7-6-1-3 | 26 | 28 | 36 | L6 | vs REG |
| Lethbridge | 6-8-1-3 | 23 | 34 | 46 | L4 | @ SAS |
| Regina | 4-10-4-0 | 20 | 31 | 42 | W2 | @ UBC |
| Manitoba | 4-12-1-1 | 15 | 18 | 39 | L2 | vs CAL |
The Last Word
Things get very interesting for a few teams this upcoming weekend as Regina has real shot at getting back into the playoff picture if they help themselves against a struggling UBC squad while getting some additional assistance from their provincial arch-rivals in the Saskatchewan Huskies. If Regina was to win both games in regulation, they'd find themselves tied in points with UBC. Assuming that happens and if Saskatchewan gives up two points or less to Lethbridge, Regina officially is back in a playoff spot.It looked like a sinking ship in the first-half of the season, but the Cougars have used a 3-4-3-0 run to build momentum while capitalizing on Lethbridge's current 1-6-1-2 run and UBC's 3-5-1-1 run since November 1. If you're doing the math, Regina has picked up 15 points in their last 10 games compared to just Lethbridge's seven points and UBC's 12 points over that same stretch. With Regina going into Vancouver on a roll and UBC having lost six-straight games, I'd be worried if I were both Lethbridge and UBC right now.
With ten games left on the schedule for all teams, the mathematicians will start figuring out who's in and who's not based on calculations and remaining games. I'm going to say that the playoff cutoff point, based on Lethbridge's, Regina's, and UBC's performances right now, would be around 32-34 points. What that means is that both Calgary and Alberta have likely already clinched playoff spots despite the math saying they could still miss if the bottom was to fall out on them for the rest of the season. Manitoba's season may already be over, but they can still cause some serious problems for a handful for teams looking to improve their playoff spots. Of course, a couple of wins over first-place Calgary on home ice might shake the conference up too, so we'll see what next weekend has in-store for action.
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
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