CIS women's hockey Saturday roundup: No. 4 X-Women roll to 5-0 win over Tigers

The CIS ranked No. 4 StFX X-Women shutout the Dalhousie Tigers 5-0 Saturday afternoon in Antigonish N.S.  Alex Normore continued her torrid pace to the year, lighting up the Tigers for 1 goal and 3 assists, while Janelle Parent and Suzanne Fenerty each scored two goals apiece. Katie Greenway earned the shutout win in nets for the X-Women.

In the first period both teams were tentative starting out. The X-Women created a lot of chances but were not getting the quality shots that they were looking for. On the other end the Tigers played strong defense, holding the X-Women to six shots in the period. The score remained 0-0 after one period of play.

In the second period the X-Women were able to find what has made them so successful this season and that is their scoring touch, as Janelle Parent opened the scoring at the 1:02 mark, banging away a loose puck in front of the Tigers net. Brittney Perkins and Rebecca Traversa picked up assists. The second frame rolled around slowly after Parent's goal until CIS leading scorer Alex Normore found the back of the net for her 18th of the season at the 13:01 mark. Perkins and Suzanne Fenerty had the helpers on the play. The X-Women took the 2-0 lead into the third period.

The momentum from the X-Women transferred  into the third period as StFX's Fenerty opened up the game with two consecutive power play goals 24 seconds apart to take a commanding 4-0 lead in the hockey game. Fenerty's first goal came on a 5-on-3 advantage at 9:03 as Jenna Pitts and Normore assisted on her shot from the point. On her second goal, also with the extra attacker, Normore and Parent assisted.

Parent then put the icing on the cake with eight seconds left in the game on a goal assisted by her line mates, Normore and Perkins.

StFX outshot the Tigers 30-19 in the game. Katie Greenway was solid in nets for the X-Women, turning aside 19 shots for the shutout victory as she improved to 7-3-0 on the season. Brittney McMacken had 25 saves in the losing effort for the Tigers. X-women captain Suzanne Fenerty was named Subway Player of the Game for her 2 goals, 1 assist effort.

The first place X-Women (15-3-0) resume action next Wednesday, February 1st at home against third place UPEI (9-7-0) at 7:00 pm. Meanwhile, the sixth place Tigers (5-10-2) travel back to Halifax tonight for a tilt against seventh place Saint Mary's (1-14-1) tomorrow afternoon.

Source: StFX Sports Info

OTTAWA - A week after pulling off one of the greatest victories in the program’s history, the Carleton University Ravens women’s hockey team was thumped 10-0 by the McGill University Martlets at home on Saturday.

On Jan. 22, the Ravens beat the Martlets for the first time ever. But right from puck drop, the Ravens were out of this contest.

Kim Ton-That (Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que.) opened the scoring four minutes in, before Katia Clement-Heydra (St-Bruno-de-Montarville, Que.) scored the first of her four goals with just over eight minutes left to put McGill up 2-0.

Gillian Ferrari (Thornhill, Ont.) and Ioanna Cagianos (Montreal) would then seal it with two goals less than a minute apart late in the first period.

Melodie Daoust (Valleyfield, Que.) helped pace the Martlet attack, compiling five assists in the dominating effort. Ann-Sophie Bettez (Sept-Iles, Que.) and Ton-That both finished with a goal and three assists.

The Ravens were foiled consistently by Olympian Charline Labonte (Boisbriand, Que.), who picked up her sixth shutout of the year.

Carleton will have to regroup quickly, as the Ravens hit the road to play the UdeM Carabins on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 2 p.m.

Source: Carleton Sports Info

GUELPH, Ont. - The Guelph Gryphon’s women’s hockey team matched up against the Ryerson Rams today (Jan 28th) at the Gryphon Centre.  After a slow first period the Gryphons finally turned up the heat and took the game 6-1. Goals came from Adrianna Prosdocimo (Brampton, ON), Jody Hodgins (Stayner, ON), Gina Murray (Lucknow, ON), Jessica Pinkerton (Oshawa, ON), and two from Kaitlyn Mora (Guelph, ON).

The Gryphons now move up to a 16-3-1 record maintaining their OUA second place standing, while the Ryerson Rams stay in last place with 1-20-1.

The Ryerson Rams are a young team, who just joined OUA competition this season. With over 15 rookies on the roster, the Rams still managed to hold their own in the first period against the Gryphons. Rams goalie Emma Crawley (Herring Cove, ON) saved 14 shots on net in the first, which helped her team stay afloat despite the disadvantage.

The Gryphons captured their first goal of the game in the last minute of play when Prosdocimo closed in on Ryerson’s net and she fired it past Crawley. The Rams responded only seconds later with a goal of their own, when Emily Rose Galliani- Pechhia (Toronto, ON) caught the Gryphons off guard. The first period finished 1-1 with the Ryerson Rams ending on a strong note.

Both teams battled it out on the rink in the second, but with most possession and shots on net coming from the Gryphons. The Rams began to lose their steam in the last few minutes of the period and Guelph took advantage with a goal from Mora at 15:28. Two minutes later Hodgins followed up with an unassisted goal after she stole a failed pass between the Rams.

The Rams seemed to have lost their strength in the third, and despite a change in goalie, the Gryphons benefited three goals from easy access to Ryerson net. Guelph’s fourth came from an amazing set up by Jacalyn Sollis (West Vancouver, BC) who wrapped around the Rams’ net and passed to the perfectly positioned Murray – firing it past Dana Carson (London, ON).

Pinkerton contributed a goal for the Gryphons after being assisted by Jenna Lanzarotta (Mississauga, ON) and Prosdocimo at 8:49. The final Guelph goal came from Mora – her second of the game, when she scored off of a rebound at 15:43. The game finished 6-1 for the Gryphons.

The Gryphons next play the Brock Badgers in Guelph on Febuary 2, at the Gryphon Centre. The game begins at 7:30pm.

Source: Guelph Sports Info

ST. CATHARINES , Ont. – The Brock University women's hockey team (11-10-1 OUA) lost 4-3 to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues (12-9-1 OUA) Saturday afternoon at the Seymour-Hannah Centre.

Prior to the game, the Badgers honoured their five fourth year seniors; Courtney Stevens (Ottawa, Ont.), Amber Wilson (Brantford, Ont.), Maja Samborski (Toronto, Ont.), Hailey Webb (Orillia, Ont.) and Kristen Dewsbury (Oshawa, Ont.).

The Badger also presented the annual scholarships from the Alphie's Golf Tournament run by women's hockey supporter Paul Dwyer. This year's scholarship recipients included Stevens, Webb, Brianne Veale (Sault Ste Marie, Ont.) and Leigh Vanderveen (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.)

In attendance to make these presentations were Paul Dwyer, head coach Jim Denham, Assistant Athletic Director Chris Critelli and women's hockey supporter Ian Gordon.

The Badgers opened the scoring 2:37 into the game when rookie defenceman Brittney Cabral (Hamilton, Ont.) set up junior forward Sara Brady (Thunder Bay, Ont.) for her third goal of the season.

A minute later, the Badgers doubled their lead when Webb scored her sixth of the season on assists from Veale and Katie Howlett (Burlington, Ont.).

The Varsity Blues cut the lead in half 6:50 into the second period when Jacqueline Scheffel (Waubaushene, Ont.) banged a rebound past Badgers freshman goaltender Emily Kelly (Port Elgin, Ont.).

The Badgers made the score 3-1 on the powerplay at 11:42 of the second period when sophomore-sensation Jessica Fickel (Fort Erie, Ont.) scored her team-leading 13th goal on an assist from Vanderveen.

At 17:52, Varsity Blues fifth-year senior Karolina Urban (Kamloops, B.C.) narrowed the gap to 3-2 with a powerplay strike.

The Varsity Blues tied the game midway through the third period when fifth-year forward Brenley Jorgensen (Kingston, Ont.) beat Kelly with a shot from the slot.

Two minutes later, freshman Sonja Weidenfelder (Toronto, Ont.) tipped in a shot to give the Varsity Blues a 4-3 lead.

The Badgers had three powerplays in the last six minutes of the game and created multiple scoring chances but could not beat Varsity Blues goaltender Krista Funke (Regina, Sask.).

In goal, Kelly recorded 22 saves in the loss, dropping her rookie season record to 2-5-0. Funke recorded 31 saves in the victory.

The Badgers will look to bounce back when they hit the road to play the Guelph Gryphons (17-4-0 OUA) on Feb. 2 at 7:30 p.m.

Source: Guelph Sports Info

WINDSOR, Ont. – The UOIT Ridgebacks women’s hockey team got back in the win column on Saturday afternoon with a 5-0 shutout over the Windsor Lancers.

It was two big points in the standings for UOIT (9-13-0) as they sit just two shy of seventh place which is currently occupied by three teams. Windsor (9-10-2), Waterloo (8-9-4) and Western (10-12-0) all have 20 points.

“We played with a lot of confidence throughout the entire game,” said UOIT head coach Karen Nystrom. “We hope to build off this win with a tough challenge ahead of us on Thursday against Laurier.”

Jessica Larabie (Pickering, Ont.) was perfect on Saturday as she stopped all 35 shots to record her second career shutout.

The Ridgebacks had a well-balanced scoring attack with five different players recording goals.

Freshman Jennifer Daly of Ajax led all scorers with one goal and two assists, giving her 19 points on the year. Daly is fourth in OUA freshman scoring.

Jill Morillo and Sarah Worthington, both from Whitby, each finished the night with a goal and an assist. Morillo has 17 goals this season which leads the entire league.

Melissa Berney (Bowmanvile, Ont.) and Breanne Hadley (Belleville, Ont.) rounded out scoring for UOIT. It marked Berney’s first goal of the year.

UOIT was 1-for-3 on the power play while Windsor was 0-for-7.

The Ridgebacks will have back-to-back home games next week, beginning with a game against the No. 1 ranked Laurier Golden Hawks on Thursday night. Game time at the Campus Ice Centre is 7:30 p.m.

Source: UOIT Sports Info

LONDON, Ont. – The Western Mustangs women’s hockey team (10-12-0) edged the Queen’s Gaels (11-7-3) 2-1 on Sat. Jan. 28 at Thompson Arena. The Mustangs beat the UOIT Ridgebacks last night to accumulate a four-point weekend.
 
Casey Rosen and Stacey Scott scored for Western while Morgan McHaffie added the only Queen’s goal.
 
Both teams started the game hard looking to put their respective clubs on the scoreboard first. Despite a closely matched opening period with Queen’s leading the shots 8-7, the first 20 minutes remained scoreless. The Gaels had a goal disallowed with three minutes left in the frame.
 
Rosen put Western ahead 1-0 with 5:39 remaining in the second period. Rosen beat the Queen’s defender in a foot race to the puck and streaked down the right wing. Rosen fired a shot on net that beat Gaels netminder Mel Dodd-Moher before she barreled into the back of the net.
 
Rosen opened the final frame with a golden opportunity to net her second goal of the game, but she was pulled down by the Queen’s defender. Rosen was given a penalty shot opportunity but failed to beat Dodd-Moher.
 
The Gaels rallied back after Western’s penalty shot attempt as they cycled the puck around in Mustangs territory. Gaels’ Alex Cieslowski made a quick pass from behind the net to Brittany McHaffie to the left of the net. Brittany McHaffie threaded a pass to Morgan McHaffie who slipped the puck into the back of the net past Mustangs goaltender Olivia Ross for a 1-1 tie.
 
Queen’s Samantha Regier was called for body checking less than a minute after their goal. Western wasted no time on the powerplay as Scott capitalized on a loose puck in front of the net and beat Dodd-Moher for a 2-1 final.
 
The Mustangs play host to Ryerson next Sat. Feb. 4 at 4:30 p.m. and to Toronto on Sun. Feb. 5 at 2 p.m. Both games will be held at Thompson Arena. For tickets please visit http://westernmustangstickets.universitytickets.com/user_pages/category.asp?id=84

Source: Western Sports Info

Sackville, NB - The Mount Allison Womens' Hockey Mounties suffered a 3-1 loss at the hands of the Saint Thomas Tommies on Saturday night.

Even though outshooting the Tommies 41-30, including a 21-10 margin in the 2nd period, the Mounties were unable to capitalize on a great number of scoring chances. Lucky bounces also played an important role, as the Tommies got their third goal on a shot from Kayla Blackmore from behind the net which bounced off a Mountie and in.

The Tommies scored a pair of goals in the first, with Katie Brewster scoring on a breakaway 1:27 in after blocking a shot. Jordan Miller added a powerplay goal with 1:37 remaining in the frame.

A strong second period by the Mounties got started by Ashlyn Somers, whose shot from the left faceoff circle 24 seconds in narrowed the lead to one. The Mounties poured on the offensive pressure for the remainder of the period, but were unable to solve Tommies goalie Julia Sharun once again.

Blackmore's goal 12 seconds into the third period seemed to be the backbreaker for the Mounties, who got quality chances throughout the game from the line of Megan Entwistle and Courtney and Chelsea King. Somers was dominant in the faceoff circle for the Mounties, winning 13 of her 17 draws.

The Tommies now move into a tie for fourth place with the Mounties at 17 points, though the Tommies have played one more game. The Tommies travel to UPEI tomorrow to take on the Panthers in an important game, while the Mounties welcome the second-place U de Moncton Aigles Bleues. Puckdrop in Sackville is 2:15pm.

Source: Mount Allison Sports Info

REGINA - The University of Regina's women's hockey team was on the losing end of a 2-0 goaltending battle with the No. 3 University of Calgary Dinos at The Co-operators Center on Saturday night.

Hayley Wickenheiser provided the game-winning goal with just over five minutes left to play in the third period on a beautiful individual effort, and Tanya Morgan iced the game late after an empty net goal on a feed from Wickenheiser. That was all the offence third-year goalie Jennifer Mallard needed, as she made 16 saves to record Calgary's second consecutive shutout.

The win moves Calgary's record to 16-4-0 as the Dinos catapult past Saskatchewan into first place in the Canada West standings.

Neither team was able to light the lamp in the first period thanks to excellent goaltending from both Mallard and Cougar goalie Jennifer Schmidt. Regina got several early chances on back-to-back power plays in the first ten minutes but were unable to capitalize, while the Dinos also saw some power play time including a short 5-on-3 advantage but couldn't convert. The teams headed into the first intermission scoreless with the Dinos holding a 15-8 shot advantage.

Goaltending continued to be the story of this game in the second as Mallard and Schmidt both made great saves on breakaways. Mallard's came first when Laura Olsen went to the backhand and the Calgary goalie was forced to make a sprawling pad save. Not to be outdone, Schmidt stoned Iya Gavrilova later in the frame when the second-year forward tried to go five-hole after the Cougars mistimed their line change.

A scary moment occurred in the second period when Stephanie Ramsey, the Dinos' top defenceman, crashed headfirst into the end boards, but she was able to get up under her own power and finished the game. The Cougars were again outshot by the Dinos in the middle frame, this time by a 10-2 margin.

The game remained scoreless until Wickenheiser's goal late in the third. She got the puck at blue line from Melissa Zubick, deked around two Cougars, and went blocker side to break the stalemate. The Cougars pulled their goalie late, but Morgan's goal iced the win with 29 seconds late.

Schmidt ended up stopping 33 shots as Calgary outshot Regina by a 35-16 margin. Neither team was able to convert on the power play for the second consecutive night, as Calgary ended up 0-for-5 and Regina was 0-for-2.

Calgary is back in action next weekend against Saskatchewan, while the Cougars will travel to Lethbridge for games against the Pronghorns next Friday and Saturday.

Source: Regina Sports Info

WINNIPEG - With the Canada West women’s hockey division looking as congested as ever, and the 2011-12 season winding down, the University of Manitoba Bisons needed to make every game count as they hit the ice Saturday, January 28 evening at the Max Bell Centre.

After failing to net a single goal against the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns the night before, the Bisons completely fell apart in the rematch, losing 8-5, despite outshooting Lethbridge 38-23. It was the most goals scored in a game this season by the Pronghorns, and the most given up by the Bisons.

Manitoba scored the game’s first goal early by Addie Miles, but then gave up seven straight, even prompting head coach Jon Rempel to change goalies in between the first and second period. A late third-period comeback ignited the team, but the effort came far too late to close the gap.

The Pronghorns’ goals were scored by Jenna-Marie Durnan (2), Megan Bailey, Glenda Edie, Courtney Minor, Breanna Frasca, Erica Williams, and Ashley Beattie. Netminder Crystal Patterson was sharp in goal for the second night in a row, stopping a total of 33 shots.

The Bisons goals were scored by Miles and Meagan Vestby (2), Kristin Cockerill and Kayla Duna. Goaltender Leiette Klassen allowed three goals on nine shots before being replaced by Tara Lacquette, who made only nine saves over the final two periods.

With the results of the game, the Bisons fall to 10-7-3, and are now five points out of the playoff spot held by Lethbridge, who is now 13-7-2.

“It was a night where we got absolutely no bounces, and they got every bounce,” said Bisons head coach Jon Rempel following the loss. “I think that they probably worked a little harder than us early in the game, and their special teams were better and that turned the game quickly in their favour, and both our goalies had a rough night. Those things happen in sports.”

“They earned it this weekend, and they came in here and got it done. It’s important to play for pride right now, and whatever happens will happen.”

The Bisons looked dominant for the large majority of the first period, and jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead when captain Addie Miles grabbed a rebound and deked Pronghorns’ net minder Crystal Patterson to slide the puck in the cage.

After grabbing the lead, Manitoba controlled the play in to the latter half of the period. Things began to go downhill for the Bisons when Lethbridge’s Jenna-Marie Durnan tied things up after stuffing a rebound past goaltender Leiette Klassen on a power play, with under five minutes to go in the period.

Just over a minute later, Klassen would throw out another rebound, this time to the Pronghorns’ Megan Bailey, who made no mistake in giving Lethbridge a 2-1 lead.  But it didn’t end there.

The Bisons went down two men before the period was through, and the Pronghorns’ Glenda Edie capitalized on the 5-on-3 opportunity, rifling a puck through traffic and into the cage for three straight Lethbridge goals, and the 3-1 lead, which they would take into the second period.

Manitoba goalie Leiette Klassen’s night ended between periods, as Tara Lacquette took her spot between the pipes to start the second period.

Lacquette looked strong in goal in the opening minutes, but despite that, things only continued to get worse for the Bisons. When the puck bounced toward Manitoba’s net, Lethbridge’s Courtney Minor scored a controversial goal after crashing the net, knocking it out of place and putting the puck over the line at the same time. 4-1 Pronghorns lead.

Just when it looked like it couldn’t get any worse, it did. Less than two minutes later, Lacquette struggled to find the puck after facing a shot, and it trickled out behind her where Lethbridge’s Breanna Frasca easily smacked it in to put her team up by a commanding 5-1 score.

The Bisons looked like they might have an opportunity to get back in the game on a 5-on-3 power play, but the Pronghorns ended up killing it off and going on a power play of their own.

With things back to even and time winding down in the second, Lethbridge would strike yet again as Jenna-Marie Durnan grabbed her second of the night on 2-on-1 rush, getting in alone on Lacquette and sniping the shot over her shoulder for the 6-1 lead.

It was just 49 seconds later that the Pronghorns’ Erica Williams crashed the net to jam in a loose puck, and increase their runaway score to 7-1.

After a shocking seven unanswered goals, Meagan Vestby finally got the run stopped after tipping in a shot from the point, and bringing her team to within five, at a score of 7-2 Lethbridge.

With time running out in the second, the Bisons went on the power play and head coach Jon Rempel made a desperation decision and pulled Lacquette from goal for a 6-on-4 advantage. Manitoba got as close as having the puck right on the goal line, but couldn’t get a marker, ending the period at 7-2 Lethbridge.

The first half of the third period went by without a goal, but it was the Pronghorns who struck first, when Ashley Beattie pounced on a loose puck in front of the Bisons’ net, increasing their lead to 8-2.

Manitoba got the last word in, though, as Meagan Vestby got her second of the night in the dying minutes of the third period, bringing the score to 8-3. Next up was the Bisons’ Kristin Cockerill, who streaked down the wing and fired a shot top shelf, closing the gap to 8-4.

Want some more? You got it.  Manitoba’s Kayla Duna ignited the crowd with under a minute to go in the period, getting her stick on a rebound and increasing the score to 8-5.

The three goals were scored in a span of a minute and 43 seconds, but it was too little too late and the Pronghorns walked away with the 8-5 win.

The Manitoba Bisons play next on February 3-4 in B.C., for a weekend series against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds while Lethbridge host Regina on same weekend.

Source: Manitoba Sports Info

EDMONTON - The No.7 ranked Alberta Pandas put forward another dominating performance Saturday night at Clare Drake Arena with a second straight 4-0 shutout over the visiting UBC Thunderbirds.

Fifth-year goaltender Kaitlyn Chapman earned the back-to-back shutouts, making just 13 saves for her third shutout of the season.

Alannah Kedra and Karla Bourke led the Pandas attack with two goals each, while fifth-year defenceman Andrea Boras chipped in with two assists. Bourke also added an assist on the Pandas fourth goal, for a three-point night.

The win vaults the Pandas into second place in the Canada West standings with a 12-3-7 record, while UBC extends their losing streak to a 12 straight games (1-17-2-4). They hold a record of 0-16-2 in their last 18, and haven’t tasted a victory since Oct.15 when they beat the Lethbridge Pronghorns 4-2 on home ice for their only win of the season.

UBC netminder Samantha Langford made 39 saves after making 40 saves one night earlier.

Alberta outshot UBC 82-18 over the two-game series this weekend.

The freshman goaltender was spectacular this weekend and made the Pandas work for everything they got.

“Samantha is a very good goalie. She was literally outstanding, and she gave her team a chance to win,” said Pandas head coach Howie Draper. “She was in a groove tonight, and our whole focus was to stick to the game plan and not get too frustrated.”

Langford’s made several highlight reel saves, one of her best came in the first period when she came across and got a piece of a hard one-timer off the stick of Kedra with her blocker.

Despite the landslide in shots in favour of Alberta, the Pandas weren’t able to break the scoreless draw until Kedra scooped up a rebound and fired a perfect shot over the glove of Langford.

It was Alberta’s 29th shot on goal.

“Once we scored that first goal, you could see a sense of relief come off our bench,” said Draper. “But our message to the girls heading into the third period was to not let up. Keep pouring on the shots and we were able to score some nice goals tonight.”

Anyone looking in the box scores over these two weekend games would have thought it may have been a cake walk for Alberta.

But far too often this year, the Pandas have struggled in close games. They held a slim 2-0 lead in Friday’s contest and were only leading 1-0 on Saturday night.

One mistake and both of these games could have turned out different results.

The Pandas have been looking for those all important insurance markers and they got two from Bourke.

The fourth-year Panda scored her third and fourth goals of the season to break the game open before Kedra would add one late with 18 seconds remaining.

“It was nice to see these two girls get the insurance markers and lead us offensively,” said Draper. “Both of them have been snake bit a little bit this year and they’re starting to heat up. Kedra had a four-goal weekend. We rely on these girls to score goals, and they’re starting to heat up, and that’s a good sign for us as we head into playoffs.”

Source: Alberta Sports Info