The Rundown - Week 15
This game started with great pace as the two teams went up and down the ice looking for chances. Luckily for the goalies, the defences came to play, limiting shots to initial chances without rebounds on most of the rushes. We'd see our first goal late in the period as Annaliese Meier won a puck battle along the left half-bounds, chipping the puck forward where Chelsea Court picked it up. She circled the net looking for a centering pass, spotting Brooke Dennett after a bad switch by the Pronghorns defenders, and Dennett wristed the puck glove-side past Anderson at 17:02 to put Calgary up 1-0! 1:52 later with Lethbridge on the power-play, Mila Verbicky tried to set up Alli Borrow in front of the Calgary net, but the puck went off a defender to the far side where Madison Porter streaked in and chipped the puck past Roberts to make it 1-1! We'd go to the break with that score intact and Calgary holding an 8-7 margin in shots.
Early in the second period, Calgary would use a power-play of their own to regain the lead. A puck battle along the half-boards on the right side was won by Lethbridge, but the scrum saw the puck pop loose to Trechelle Bunn who used a defender as a screen as she tore a shot through her check's legs and high on Anderson's glove side for the power-play marker at 2:22 and the 2-1 Dinos lead! Calgary continued to pour on the offence throughout this period as they took over, but Anderson was just as good as she did her part in preventing the Pronghorns from pulling away in this game. The few shots that Kelsey Roberts did face didn't cause any harm for the Dinos, and we'd go into the intermissions with Calgary leading 2-1 on the scoreboard and 23-12 in shots.
The third period saw the Pronghorns come to life once more as they were looking to ruin Calgary's night, but the early chances they had were denied by Roberts. Those saves proud fortuitous when a Lethbridge clearing attempt was stopped at the line by Dana Wood who got the puck to Taylor Beck, and Beck fed Sara Craven in the left face-off circle who cut to the middle and backhanded a shot high over Anderson's glove as the netminder went down to make it 3-1 at 8:04! With three minutes left in the game and Calgary on the power-play, Craven's point shot was stopped by Anderson, but Sage Desjardins fought through a check out front to chip the rebound high glove-side on Anderson to make it 4-1 with 2:52 to play as the Dinos seemed to have the book on Anderson by scoring four times on her glove side. When the final horn sounded in Lethbridge, the Dinos were halfway to their goal with the 4-1 win. Kelsey Roberts stopped 19 shots for her 15th win of the season while Anderson absorbed the loss despite making 29 saves.
Highlights of this game are below!
The first period saw the teams trade chances, but neither would find twine with pucks sent towards the net. Lethbridge did direct more pucks on the Calgary net than Calgary did on Lethbridge's net, but Roberts was good on a couple of great chances to keep this game tied at 0-0 through one period of play with the Pronghorns up 8-5 in shots.
The second period would see the Dinos come to life as they began to pepper Anderson with shots. However, Eryn Johansen would carry the puck down the right wing and cut to the net where Roberts stopped her drive to the front of the net. Madison Porter whacked at the rebound that Roberts couldn't cover, and Kianna Dietz would finally poke it by Roberts on the third attempt at 6:20 to put the Pronghorns up 1-0! 1:45 later, though, we'd find this game tied once again Elizabeth Lang was the recipient of a backdoor pass from Chelsea Court on the power-play, and Lang made no mistake in burying the puck into the undefended left side of the net to tie the game at 1-1! Calgary wouldn't let up for the remainder of the period, but Anderson was outstanding in keeping this game tied. At the end of 40 minutes, the 1-1 score would hold, but Calgary owned a 21-11 advantage in shots.
The third period saw that Calgary momentum continue as they continued to pound the Lethbridge net with shots. Four minutes into the period, Erin Armstrong's shot from the point went wide on the right side, but the carom came out to Sage Desjardins on the left side, and she sniped a shot under Anderson as she slid across and couldn't close the five-hole at 4:33 to put the Dinos up 2-1! With the onslaught continuing on Anderson, Lethbridge was trying to find an equalizer, but it simply wasn't going to happen with how aggressive the Dinos were on this night. With 51 seconds remaining, Taylor Beck flipped a backhander over a diving Pronghorns defender into the empty net to ice the game at 3-1 as Calgary earned the three points from the Pronghorns. Kelsey Roberts picked up hr 16th win of the season after making 14 saves while Alicia Anderson would lose her final game despite deserving a better fate in her 32-save performance.
Highlights of this game are below!
It didn't take long for the Bisons to find their skating legs as they came out and pressured the Pandas early in this game. That would pay off when Halle Edwards checked a Pandas defender, allowing Jordy Zacharias to pick up the loose puck in the slot, pass it to Kate Gregoire, and Gregoire slid her shot under Oswald at 3:08 to put the Bisons up 1-0! This period went by pretty quickly with few stoppages, no penalties, and just the one reset at center ice as the Bisons made their way into the intermission with the one-goal lead and the shots sitting at six apiece.
The second period saw Manitoba to continue to press the Pandas, but the Pandas would use their top-ranked power-play to pull even. Midway through the frame, Madison Willan hit Autumn MacDougall with a pass, and MacDougall made a great cross-ice pass to Kennedy Ganser who was on the backdoor, allowing Ganser to chip the puck past Fargey who couldn't get across fast enough as the Pandas pulled even at 1-1 at 12:13! The goal, however, didn't deter the Bisons as they stuck to their game plan in keeping the pressure on the Pandas. While it wouldn't result in any further goals in the second period, the Bisons had to be happy to be tied 1-1 with the Pandas through 40 minutes with the Pandas leading 18-15 in shots.
Manitoba continued to serve up pressure on the Pandas as the plan seemed to be working, and this up-tempo game helped them set up their second goal at the period's midpoint. Chloe Snaith sent the puck out of the Manitoba zone to Jordy Zacharias after Manitoba gained possession in their own zone, and Zacharias left Kiara Machry in her rearview mirror as she sped down the ice on a 2-on-1 with Kate Gregoire. The remaining defender tried to play Zacharias, but she sent the pass across to Gregoire who fired a puck inside the near post that Oswald had vacated as she slid across, and the Bisons were up 2-1 at the 10:00 mark! The Pandas would turn the heat up on the Bisons for the next few minutes, but Jordy Zacharias would find some room as the Pandas retreated to dump the puck from the blue line into the empty net that Oswald had vacated to make it 3-1. A late power-play goal by Ganser off a nifty pass from Willan with 41 seconds remaining made it a 3-2 game, but the Pandas could not find the equalizer after that as the Manitoba Bisons shock the fifth-ranked team in the nation in the Alberta Pandas with the 3-2 final! Erin Fargey was solid in her 24-save performance to pick up her sixth win of the campaign while Halle Oswald stopped 23 shots in the loss.
Highlights of this one are below!
SATURDAY: There had been rumours that had the Pandas won on Friday, Sydney McCluskey was going to start on Saturday. However, with the Pandas still needing that all-important one point, head coach Howie Draper opted for his ace in today's game. With it being her last game, the Bisons went with their graduating goaltender in their crease as this game only mattered for that single point. In saying that, Kirsten Chamberlin got the start for the Pandas while Amanda Schubert got her final start at the Canada West level in today's game.
While the Bisons appeared to start this game with the same plan as the night before, it was clear that whatever coach Draper had said to his squad put them in a business-like attitude as they not only matched Manitoba's pace, but had them back on their heels at times. An early power-play saw that lethal player-advantage unit step onto the ice and strike once more as Danielle Hardy's initial shot was stopped by Schubert, but the rebound came out to the slot area as Schubert lost sight of it, allowing Abby Benning to bank the puck in off Schubert's pad as she tried to recover at 4:33 of the opening frame as the Pandas went up by a goal. 14 seconds later, it became a two-goal lead when Cayle Dillon's shot from the point was tipped down by Madison Willan, allowing the puck to skip over the pad of Schubert for the 2-0 lead! The Pandas would continue pressing all period long, but the Bisons' defence and Schubert would settle things down after that early goal outburst by the Pandas. The unfortunate part is that the Pandas used that aggressive play to also stifle the Bisons' attack as the Pandas took that 2-0 lead into the intermission after having outshot the Bisons 13-3 in the period.
The second period was a tale of two periods as the Pandas started the frame strong similar to how they ended the first period followed by Manitoba pulling up their socks and coming back at the Pandas in the second-half of the period. Chances were had at both ends as the teams looked for goals, but both Chamberlin and Schubert were good in the creases as they kept all pucks from getting into the cages behind them. The 2-0 score would hold in favour of the Pandas as we moved to third period with Alberta leading 20-10 in shots.
The third period felt like the second did as both teams looked for chances only to be denied by the opposition netminder while the defences took care of the rest. An Alberta penalty midway through the frame saw the Pandas strike as Regan Wright tore up the ice to recover a puck banked off the boards by Chloe Snaith, and Wright's shot would be stopped by Schubert's left pad but her backwards momentum carried the puck under her and into the net as Wright gets credit for the shorthanded marker and the 3-0 lead at 11:16! On the same power-play and with nothing to lose, head coach Jon Rempel opted to pull Schubert for a 6-on-4 opportunity, but an errant pass went off Molly Kunnas' skate, Autumn MacDougall grabbed the loose puck, and she'd loft it into the yawning cage for the shorthanded, empty-net goal at 12:02. And in a move that likely should have happened after the Wright goal, Howie Draper did pull Chamberlin with 5:31 to go, allowing Sydney McCluskey some time in the Pandas' net before the season ended. Her five minutes saw her make a few saves, but the Bisons couldn't solve any of the Pandas' netminders on this night as Alberta skated to the 4-0 victory. Kirsten Chamberlin picked up her 11th win of the season while unselfishly sacrificing her own shutout in her 14-save effort over 54:29 of work while Amanda Schubert's Canada West career came to a close with a 25-save night despite the loss to the Pandas. For the record, Sydney McCluskey was three-for-three on stops in her 5:31 of work!
Highlights of this game are below!
The first period saw both teams play a little tentatively in the opening frame as neither side was willing to give up the first goal. Midway through the frame, Tianna Ko looked like she was going to break the goose egg, but Tory Micklash made an outstanding save to deny the Cougars from taking the lead. There were a couple of other chances at both ends, but Micklash and Ross preferred to keep their perfection intact as the period closed with the score tied at 0-0 and Mount Royal leading 8-5 in shots.
The second period felt a lot like the first period did with the only difference being the two power-plays that each side received. That allowed for more shots, but it also meant there were more saves as both Micklash and Ross had no interest in goals being scored behind them. For a pair of teams needing wins, finding a single goal might be all that would be needed on this night as the game remained tied at 0-0 through 40 minutes despite MRU holding a 17-11 edge in shots.
The third period got underway with both teams looking for victory, and a turnover at the UBC blue line would be the catalyst for the first goal. Mikayla Ogrodniczuk tried to throw a puck to her teammates from the right half-boards through the middle, but the puck was picked off by Anna Purschke who had all sorts of open space to head-fake Micklash to freeze her and sweep it by her pad on the forehand to make it 1-0 for the Cougars at 6:53! Six minutes later, the Cougars would double their lead on the power-play when Kate Hufnagel hit Emma Bergesen who came off the bench, and Bergesen fired a laser to the top corner glove-side on Micklash for the power-play marker at 13:50 and the 2-0 lead! Late in the third period with the net empty, UBC won an offensive zone face-off back to Rylind MacKinnon who fed Mackenzie Kordic on the left side for the one-timer, and her blast went off Laura Cook in front and past Ross for the goal to give UBC life with 1:11 to play! Despite bringing all sorts of pressure in the final minute, the T-Birds could not find another goal as the Mount Royal Cougars win a big game by a 2-1 score over the Thunderbirds. Kaitlyn Ross earned her seventh win of the season with a 17-save effort while Tory Micklash suffered the loss despite making 24 saves on this night.
Highlights of this game are below!
SATURDAY: Mount Royal was looking to keep themselves rolling into the playoffs with another win while UBC needed a victory to have a shot at fifth-place after learning that a tie with Mount Royal would do nothing with the Cougars holding the tie-breaker. In order for them to get fifth-place, they'd have to win while hoping that Saskatchewan beat the Regina Cougars, so wins were still important for both teams in this game! We'd see a rematch from the previous night as Tory Micklash and Kaitlyn Ross stood 200-feet apart on the ice tonight.
The teams certainly played more cautiously compared to how they finished the game one night earlier as chances were few and far between for the two clubs. While both had a power-play opportunity in the first period, neither would capitalize in a fairly quiet period. After 20 minutes, the score remained 0-0 with the teams tied in shots at 5-5.
The second period saw UBC play with much more aggression, but that had a yin and yang to it as they generated more shots, but also found themselves serving more penalties. Their first penalty before the six-minute mark would prove costly when Daria O'Neill's one-timer from the right point was deflected in front and floated into the top corner on the blocker side past Micklash before she could locate the deflected puck, and Mount Royal was up 1-0 at 6:30! The Cougars would kill off a penalty midway through the period, but there were few chances seen in the second-half of the frame as the Cougars went into the second intermission with the one-goal lead, but UBC held the 11-7 advantage in shots.
The third period saw Mount Royal increase their presence in the penalty box by taking three minor penalties in the frame, but the penalty-killing units were preventing shots from finding Ross or the net while shorthanded. The one penalty assessed to UBC? It cost them as Anna Purschke deflected the Emma Bergesen point shot past Micklash at 14:19 for the power-play goal and the 2-0 MRU lead! UBC just couldn't get pucks to the net through the remainder of the game, and Mount Royal would end their regular season with a 2-0 victory over the Thunderbirds. Kaitlyn Ross picked up her eighth win and fourth shutout of the season with a perfect 14-for-14 effort in saves while Tory Micklash took her second-straight loss after making 12 saves.
Highlights are below!
The first period was pretty reserved with two penalties that all but cancelled one another out in the middle of the frame before Saskatchewan had a full advantage late, but they generated no goals on that sequence. A rather quiet period would end with the score tied at 0-0 and the teams tied in shots at 5-5.
The parade to the penalty box for both teams continued in the second period as the Cougars were granted some extended power-play time with nothing to show for it before Saskatchewan got the same extended opportunity with the same results. Late in the period, though, Jenna Merk beat Vance to put the Cougars up 1-0 at 15:22! That goal would stand into the intermission with Regina up 13-12 in shots.
Regina survived an early penalty call to maintain their one-goal lead, but that luck would run out when Sophie Shirley found herself on a breakaway, beating Jane Kish with her shot at 9:55 to tie the game at 1-1! Regina would be called for another penalty, but they weathered the storm to survive. The clock ticked down to the final horn with the Huskies and Cougars still tied at 1-1, so we'd go to overtime!
The four-on-four overtime period saw nothing resolved between these two teams, so we'd jump to three-on-three overtime where it took just 59 seconds to find a winner. Bailee Bourassa would end this game when she lit the lamp behind Jane Kish as the Saskatchewan Huskies scored victory with the 2-1 double-overtime score over the Regina Cougars! Jessica Vance picked up her 12th win with a 16-save night while Jane Kish suffered the overtime loss after stopping 19 shots.
There are no highlights because the Regina Cougars opted not to put a camera at the rink tonight despite this being one of the biggest weekends for them in recent history, so there are no highlights. Get it together, Cougars! Highlights make everything better!
These two teams continued their chess match in this game as the first period was more of the scoreless hockey variety despite Regina having a pair of power-play advantages compared to Saskatchewan's lone advantage. Both netminders were on their games, though, and we saw some good saves made in the first frame as the teams opened up the ice and found room to shoot. However, with no pucks denting twine, we'd go to the second period still tied at 0-0 and with Regina leading 11-9 in shots.
The second period saw the stalemate broken early despite the Saskatchewan highlight package providing no evidence of this goal. Regina used an early power-play where Merissa Zerr found room past Jessica Vance on her own rebound after a solid glove save by the netminder, but the damage had been done at 3:59 as Regina took the 1-0 lead! Regina was then assessed the next three minor penalties in this period, but that improved Cougars penalty-kill was good on all three shorthanded situations as the lead remained intact through the to the second intermission with Saskatchewan up 18-17 in shots.
The third period saw the teams looking to add more than one goal to the scoreboard as they went up and down the ice, and the Cougars would commit a foul that allowed the Huskies to find the net. On the power-play, Sophie Lalor and Bailee Bourassa played catch at the top of the circles before Lalor ripped a wrist shot high on the blocker side on Kish at 11:47 to tie the game at 1-1! 3:32 later off a face-off win by the Huskies, Emma Nutter sent the puck across to her defensive partner in Morgan Willoughby, and Willoughby's shot beat Kish in virtually the same spot as the Lalor goal did as the Huskies jumped ahead 2-1! Not content with a loss, the Cougars pulled Kish with 2:30 to play in an effort to at least get to overtime, and they'd find the goal they needed. Paige Hubbard's wrap-around attempt was stopped by Vance, but her second shot chipped the puck up and over the Huskies netminder as the Cougars tied the game with 40 seconds remaining! No other goals would be scored before the horn, so we'd head to extra time for the second-straight night!
The four-on-four overtime period? Zero goals scored. The three-on-three overtime period? Ditto. That means it was time for a skills competition! The first three rounds of the shootout saw the goalies stand tall. In Round Four, Sophie Lalor's shot was denied by Kish, but Jaycee Magwood beat Vance through the wickets to send Regina home with the 3-2 shootout victory! Jane Kish picked up her 13th win of the season with a 34-save performance plus four more stops in the shootout while Jessica Vance drops the shootout after making 26 saves in 70 minutes of play plus three more in the skills competition.
Highlights are below!
| School | Record | Points | GF | GA | Streak | Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | 19-8-1-0 | 59 | 81 | 31 | W1 | BYE |
| Calgary | 17-7-1-3 | 56 | 61 | 42 | W2 | BYE |
| Saskatchewan | 14-7-3-4 | 52 | 55 | 42 | L1 | vs UBC |
| Mount Royal | 12-14-2-0 | 40 | 43 | 44 | W3 | vs REG |
| Regina | 9-13-5-1 | 38 | 48 | 54 | W1 | @ MRU |
| British Columbia | 9-13-1-5 | 34 | 41 | 59 | L2 | @ SAS |
| Manitoba | 8-17-2-1 | 29 | 34 | 63 | L1 | OUT |
| Lethbridge | 7-18-2-3 | 28 | 48 | 76 | L3 | OUT |
The Last Word
The playoff match-ups are set, and they'll look something like this.
The scheduling for these games are as follows:
Friday, February 14 at 7pm ST
Saturday, February 15 at 7pm ST
Sunday, February 16 at 7pm ST (if necessary)
Friday, February 14 at 2:30pm MT
Saturday, February 15 at 2:30pm MT
Sunday, February 16 at 2:30pm MT (if necessary)
We'll go over these match-ups in-depth on The Hockey Show this week on Thursday, so make sure you tune in for that as we break down some numbers and predict who will move on to face either Calgary or Alberta in the semifinals.
Everything is set for the playoffs as four teams will battle this upcoming weekend with the hopes of winning the Canada West Conference while earning a berth into the U SPORTS National Championship. It all starts Friday, so make sure you tune in on Canada West TV to catch all the action or, better yet, head down to either Merlis Belsher Place or Flames Community Arena to cheer on the ladies as they start the "second season" of play!
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
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