CIS women's hockey Friday roundup: Crago tallies three points in Laurier victory

OTTAWA - Friday night’s game against the McGill Martlets at the uOttawa Minto Sports Complex was the ideal setting for the Gee-Gees to make a statement to the challenging RSEQ division. However, the visiting Marlets proved to everyone in attendance why they are in possession of first place.

The Gee-Gees lived up to their name, stampeding out of the gate and scoring the first goal of the game only 2:57 into the first period with a slap shot by third year forward Dominique Lefebvre (Cantley, Que.) that went bar-down past  McGill goaltender Charline Labonte.

However, the early Gee-Gee goal catalyzed a Martlet offensive onslaught, during which they scored seven unanswered goals that spanned the rest of the game. McGill goals were scored by Jordanna Peroff, Melodie Daoust, Lesle Oles, Katia Clement-Heydra, and Adrienne Crampton.

“We had a great first period, we really could have escaped the first with the lead,” explained Gee-Gees head coach Yanick Evola. “But that’s a very strong team at the other end, they find a way to score goals and create their own luck, and in that second period we saw why they [can be] first in the country.”

Four of the Marlet goals came from within 20 feet of the net, a common trend that Evola picked up on immediately.
“There were a couple goals where we were a little soft on defense and we stood back a bit,” said Evola. “But, this is a team game and we all have to take responsibility for that.”

McGill forwards Ann-Sophie Bettez and Melodie Daoust, number one and two in league scoring respectively, increased their lead in the RSEQ scoring race, contributing on three goals each. Bettez had three helpers, giving her a league best 32 points, and Daoust pitched in with two goals and an assist, giving her a total of 30 points on the campaign.

The Martlets were also able to capitalize on two of three power play opportunities given to them, bringing their total to 21 on the season, good enough for fourth in the country and first in the RSEQ division.

“You have to be careful with a team like McGill because when they have the chance to score, you know they are going to take advantage of that because they have a great scoring touch,” said coach Evola.

The Gee-Gees will try to rebound from the loss to McGill on Sunday afternoon when they travel to Concordia to face off against the Stingers at 3:00 p.m.

Source: Ottawa Sports Info

WATERLOO, Ont. - The No. 1 Nationally ranked Wilfrid Laurier women's hockey team solidified their new top ranking with a 6-0 victory of the cross-town rival Waterloo Warriors on Friday night. After moving up one spot in the national rankings, Laurier pushed their record to 20-0-1 on the season.

Laurier had a strong first period, outshooting Waterloo 14-5 and took a 3-0 lead after the first frame. Jessie Hurrell of Palgrave, Ont., scored her third goal of the season with six minutes remaining in the first to give the Hawks to lead, and Brittany Crago's (Stouffville, Ont.) powerplay goal four minutes later put Laurier up by two. Third year defenceman Maureen Mommersteeg of St. Thomas, Ont., scored her first goal in a Laurier uniform with just over twenty seconds remaining in the first period.

The purple and gold didn't let up in the second period as Katherine Shirriff of Carrying Place, Ont., and Laura Brooker of Fergus, Ont., added to Laurier's lead. Brooker's tally was her 16th of the season. Waterloo only managed to put three shots on net in the period.

The third period saw the Hawks dominance continue as they outshot Waterloo 14-2 in the frame. Paula Lagamba of Toronto, tallied her 12th goal of the season for the Hawks.

Six Laurier players recorded multi-point games on the night. Brittany Crago had three points while Lagamba, Brooker and Shirriff all had a goal and an assist. Abby Rainsberry of Petrolia, Ont., and Alicia Martin of Etobicoke, Ont., both had had two assists in the win.

Erika Thunder of Buffalo Point, Man., needed to make only 10 saves for her 13th win and fourth shutout of the season.
Laurier (20-0-1) is back in action on Saturday as they host the York Lions (11-8-1) at 7:30 p.m. Waterloo (8-9-4) hosts York Sunday afternoon.

Source: Laurier Sports Info

LONDON, Ont. – Sydney Kidd’s first goal of the season proved to be the winner Friday night (Jan. 27), as the power play marker helped lift the Western Mustangs to a 6-4 win over the UOIT Ridgebacks at Thompson Arena.

Trailing 3-2 after two periods, the hometown Mustangs scored four times in the final period en route to improving their record to 9-12-0 on the season. Stacey Scott opened the scoring in the third with her 10th of the season, a power play marker at 7:40 to tie the score at 3-3. Sarah Worthington quickly responded for the Ridgebacks, however, netting her eighth of the year three minutes later to regain the lead for UOIT.

But it was all Mustangs after that. Carly Rolph scored her second of the contest at 12:44, and then Kidd notched her first score of the year just over a minute later to give the Western women a 5-4 lead. Katie Dillon put the game out of reach with an empty netter with 50 seconds remaining in the contest.

Rolph and Dillon, who each had two goals for the Mustangs, were named first and second stars of the game. UOIT’s Jill Morillo, who scored four times and had five points in a 5-3 win the last time these two teams met, also scored the first two goals of Friday night's game and finished with four points en route to being named the third star. Tara Cation, meanwhile, had four assists for the Mustangs.

Western goaltender Olivia Ross made 29 saves on the night, while UOIT’s Jessica Larabie stopped 32 shots. The Mustangs went 3-for-8 on the power play, while the Ridgebacks were 1-for-6.

The Mustangs (9-12-0) are back in action tomorrow afternoon, Saturday, Jan. 28, for a 4:30 p.m. game against the Queen’s Gaels (11-6-3) at Thompson Arena. For tickets, click here. That game will also be available via Live Stream at: http://www.ssncanada.ca/game/2965/

Source: Western Sports Info

WINNIPEG - It was a Friday night where the Bisons women’s hockey team came out aggressive but came up empty, as they continue to fight for their playoff lives with the season winding down. The unranked Manitoba Bisons (10-6-3) lost to the Lethbridge Pronghorns (12-7-2) by a 1-0 score at the Max Bell Centre on Friday, January 27.

The story of the night was Lethbridge goaltender Crystal Patterson, who stopped an astounding 30 shots on her way to a shutout. The Pronghorns lone goal was scored by first-year forward Sadie Lenstra just two minutes into the second period.

With the loss, the Bisons are now three back of Lethbridge for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Canada West conference. These two teams split a back-to-back in Lethbridge in November. The loss also snapped a five-game home conference winning streak.

“We didn’t play a full 60 minutes tonight,” said Manitoba Bisons head coach Jon Rempel. “Often times, opposing teams get in a comfort zone when you don’t start playing until halfway through the game. Their goaltender was very good tonight, as we expected she would be.”

The Bisons, slow to start as they were, won the battle in most categories Friday night, only committing two penalties, compared to Lethbridge’s five. They were unable to capitalize though, especially in the second period when back-to-back power plays resulted in a number of good opportunities, and great stops by Patterson.

On a last-ditch effort with five minutes to go, Manitoba was given their best opportunity to score by second-year forward Maggie Litchfield-Medd, who lost control of the puck at the last minute on a breakaway, coming up empty - as was the story of the Bisons night.

When asked about possible adjustments for Saturday night’s rematch, Rempel was quick and to the point.

“We’d like to score a goal.”

The Bisons women’s hockey team will play the second of a back-to-back against Lethbridge Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the Max Bell Centre.

Source: Manitoba Sports Info

REGINA - The University of Regina's women's hockey team dropped a 4-0 decision to the No. 3-ranked Calgary Dinos in Canada West action on Friday night at The Co-operators Centre.

Amanda Tapp made 20 saves to secure the shutout for Calgary, while the Dinos got a pair of goals by Stephanie Ramsay and one each from Jenna Smith and Tanya Morgan. The win improves Calgary's record to 15-4-0 as the Dinos pull into a tie for first place in the Canada West standings with Saskatchewan (14-4-2).

Calgary opened the scoring six minutes into the first after a brilliant pass from Erin Rennison sent Ramsay in on a breakaway. Ramsay deked to the backhand and went five-hole on Cougar goalie Lisa Urban to give the Dinos an early lead. The Dinos outshot the Cougars by an 11-7 margin in the first period and took the one-goal lead into the second.

The Dinos added to their lead seven minutes into the second on a 2-on-1 after Smith pounced on a rebound following a Melissa Zubick shot off the post. Calgary extended the lead to three goals with four minutes left in the middle frame when a pass from behind the net from Calaine Inglis found Morgan, who popped her fifth of the campaign. Calgary again had the edge in shots in the second, outshooting Regina 11-4.

The third period was marred by a series of penalties, as the Dinos took four minor penalties and the home side was assessed two. Regina was unable to convert on a 5-on-3 late in the game with Calgary's Erika Mitschke and Hayley Wickenheiser in the box, essentially sealing the win for the Dinos.

Ramsay added her second of the game in the dying seconds of the contest following a feed from Wickenheiser.

Calgary ended up with a 36-20 advantage in shots as Urban ended up with 32 saves between the pipes for the Cougars.

The Cougars will face the same Dinos on Saturday night at The Co-operators Centre. Game time is 7 p.m.

Source: Regina Sports Info

EDMONTON - Third-year forward Alannah Kedra scored a pair of goals to help the No.7 ranked University of Alberta Pandas’ hockey team to a 4-0 win over the visiting UBC Thunderbirds, Friday night at Clare Drake Arena in Edmonton.

Monika Moskalski and Nicole Pratt also scored for the Pandas, while goalie Kaitlyn Chapman recorded her seventh win and second shutout of the season. She leads Canada West in goals against average, 1.11, and also has a sparkling .939 save percentage. Team leading scorer Sarah Hilworth drew an assist on three of the goals to increase her totals to 15 assists and 24 points in 21 games. The fourth-year forward is now tied for second in conference scoring, and is just two points back of first place.

The win improves Alberta’s record to 11-3-7, good enough for 29 points and third place in the conference. Saskatchewan and Calgary are tied for first with 30 points each, however the Huskies are on their ‘bye’ week, which means both Calgary and Alberta can overtake them temporarily at least.

In other action on Friday, the Dinos recorded a 4-0 win over Regina, while Lethbridge beat Manitoba. If both Alberta and Calgary sweep this weekend, the Dinos will move into first place, while Alberta would settle into second place by one point. Only the top four teams make the playoffs with the top two hosting; Saskatchewan has games against Calgary and UBC to close out their regular season, while Alberta will take a ‘bye’ week next week and then close out against Regina. Calgary finishes up at home against the Huskies and on the road in Manitoba. The Lethbridge Pronghorns currently occupy fourth place, but trail the Pandas by just three points, and are only up on the Bisons by three as well.

Moskalski scored Alberta’s first, and game winning goal on Friday night, when she took a pass out of the corner from Katie Stewart and then wristed the puck over the shoulder of rookie Thunderbirds’ goalie Carly Butcher at 15:22.

Pratt, who is second in Canada West defencemen scoring, doubled Alberta’s lead three minutes later when she unloaded a power-play bullet from the top of the face-off circle past Butcher’s glove.

UBC had their best period of the night in the second stanza, but still couldn’t solve Chapman in the Alberta goal. Tamara Pickford, a fifth-year forward from Chilliwack, BC, recorded UBC’s best chance for a goal at 13:30 of the second, when she stepped around an Alberta defender and let go a shot that forced Chapman to make a good save.

The Pandas scored again on the PP in the third period after Hilworth’s initial shot was saved and Kedra was able to bury her second rebound attempt at 11:14. Two minutes and 12 seconds later, Kedra was sent in all alone on a breakaway by Hilworth, and made no mistake, snapping the puck up stairs, glove side for the 4-0 final.

The two teams will go at it again tomorrow night, 7:00pm, in Clare Drake Arena.

Source: Alberta Sports Info