Sunday, 24 November 2019

The Rundown - Week 8

It's the final week of the season before the schedule "repeats" itself with the exception of change of venue meaning that the teams will start to face one another for the second time while playing in the opposite arena from the first meeting. With all the teams having seen one another for a weekend, it gives us a pretty good idea who may finish where based on this first-half schedule. There were some intriguing match-ups this week as a few teams were looking to climb the standings while others were looking to strengthen their positions within the conference. Who beat who this week? Let's dive into the action from this past weekend on The Rundown!

We'll start with the top team in conference as the UBC Thunderbirds played host the Mount Royal Cougars. UBC came into the game having earned points in ten-straight games as they vaulted up through the standings to claim first-place for at least a week. The Cougars, meanwhile, seem to have struggled in recent weeks and found themselves in the middle of the pack. With a couple of wins, MRU could be right back in the thick of the battle for first-place, but UBC's stout defence and stellar goaltending was looking to keep them atop the standings. Cassie Shokar would stand in the blue paint for Mount Royal while Tory Micklash was back between the pipes for the T-Birds.

As they had done in recent home games, the Thunderbirds came out with guns a-blazing as they peppered Shokar in the first period with shots from all over the offensive zone. Shokar, however, was unwilling to allow UBC to take a lead as she stopped all pucks sent her way. Micklash was far less busy in her zone as the UBC defence kept chances to a minimum, and we'd go into the first break tied 0-0, but with UBC leading in shots at a 12-4 count.

Early in the second period after the Cougars were whistled for too many players, the UBC power-play went to work. Shay-Lee McConnell's shot from the point was deflected in front by Ashley McFadden and past Shokar at 2:24 for the power-play marker and the 1-0 lead! From there, the Cougars re-invested themselves in defence, limiting the chances that UBC had on the next pair of power-plays they earned. UBC continued to play solid defence in front of Micklash, and at the second break the T-Birds held the 1-0 lead and an 18-8 advantage in shots.

The third period was more of the same as the two teams opened the frame playing tight defence, but a penalty to the Thunderbirds was the chance that MRU was seeking. 25 seconds into the power-play, a high shot by Emma Bergesen was deflected down by Anna Purschke and past Micklash as she was hunting for the high shot with her glove, and that goal at 6:43 would tie the game at 1-1! The teams opened up the game after that, finding chances at both ends of the ice, but both Shokar and Micklash were equal to the task. The final horn sounded on the game with the score tied 1-1, so we'd move to free hockey to find a winner!

In the first overtime frame, Nicolette Seper escape a checked and eluded another in the offensive zone before unloading a shot from the high slot that went off a UBC defender and past Micklash for the overtime winner as Mount Royal prevailed 2-1! Cassie Shokar earned her second win with a 28-save effort while Tory Micklash helped her team earn the overtime point after 18 saves.

Highlights of this game are below!

SATURDAY: With points in 11-straight games, UBC continued their climb in the standings. However, the loss snapped the T-Birds' winning streak, so they looked to start another on this day. Mount Royal's overtime win saw them grab two big points off the top team as they climbed back into the conversation for a home playoff date and a possible bye in the opening round, and they looked to sweep the Thunderbirds with a second win in enemy territory. Cassie Shokar got her second-straight start for the Cougars while Tory Micklash started her 14th consecutive game for the Thunderbirds.

This game was far more physical as there was a steady parade to the sin bin for both teams. That parade would benefit the Cougars midway through the opening period when Nicolette Seper walked out of the right corner to the hash marks, let a shot go that went off a defender's stick, and over Micklash's shoulder at 9:31 for the power-play goal and the 1-0 Mount Royal lead! The teams would trade power-play chances later in the period to no avail, and the Cougars would hit the intermission with the 1-0 lead, but trailing 9-7 in shots.

The second period saw the UBC Thunderbirds get a two-player advantage early in the period, but the Cougars escaped the danger with no harm. UBC continued to press in the frame as they looked to find the equalizer, but those chances were stifled by Shokar while secondary chances were swept aside by the MRU defence. Through two periods, the 1-0 Mount Royal lead held with UBC leading in shots by a 20-12 margin.

Another early power-play in the third period was killed off by the Cougars as opportunities passed by the Thunderbirds. Chances were had once again through this period, but both goalies were sharp as time ticked down. With 2:41 left in the third period, Micklash went to the bench for the extra attacker as the Thunderbirds aimed for the equalizer, but Shokar and the Cougars prevented any goals on this day as the Cougars captured victory by the 1-0 score! Cassie Shokar earned her third win and second shutout of the season with 28-save performance while Tory Micklash suffered the loss in a 16-save night.

Highlights of this game are below!

The inter-provincial battle of Saskatchewan took place this weekend as the Regina Cougars visited the Saskatchewan Huskies on Friday. Regina had been building momentum since their weekend sweep of Manitoba while the Huskies split with the Bisons one weekend ago. Could Regina keep the momentum going and get back into the playoff picture? Would Saskatchewan get back to their winning ways and create some space between them and other teams? Jane Kish started for the Cougars while the Huskies went with Camryn Drever in their crease.

Saskatchewan jumped out to an early lead in this one. Kish mishandled the puck behind her own net, allowing Brooklyn Haubrich to center to Bailee Bourassa who went over the glove of Kish at 4:32 to put the home squad out in front 1-0! Kish, though, would recover after the mishap, looking sharp for the remainder of the period as she denied some additional great chances by the Huskies. At the other end, Drever had a quiet period as she didn't see much action. Through 20 minutes, Saskatchewan held the 1-0 lead and a 9-2 edge in shots.

The second period began as the first period did, and that means we had a goal scored! Jordan Kulbida streaked down the right wing, crossed over the line, and snapped a laser of a shot over Drever's shoulder and under the crossbar to tie the game at 1-1 at 4:31! Saskatchewan upped their game following the goal, but Kish wasn't interested in giving up the lead. Regina did manage a handful of shots in the period, but it was their goal that mattered as the teams went into the second break tied 1-1 with the Huskies leading in shots 20-7.

A late second-period penalty to the Huskies carried over to the third period, and the Cougars would be opportunistic on that remaining time. The Cougars worked the puck around before Tamara McVannel fired a shot short-side on Drever that found room just 41 seconds into the final frame to put the Cougars up 2-1! There were a pile of penalties handed out six minutes into this period, and it seems that Saskatchewan wasn't happy with those results as they negated their own power-play when the bench was penalized. As the teams played evenly, it would a late power-play where the Huskies would strike. Bailee Bourassa sniped a puck past Kish with 4:47 to play as they game was tied at 2-2! The final horn would sound with both teams still looking for the lead, and this game would need extra time to find a winner!

The first overtime period didn't produce a winner as Regina controlled the pace. The second overtime saw the tables turn as Saskatchewan was the aggressor, but no goals would be scored in that frame. It was off to the shootout to find a winner. In Round One, Saskatchewan's Sophie Lalor was stopped, but Jordan Kulbida scored to put Regina up. Round Two saw Abby Shirley of the Huskies and Jaycee Magwood stopped. Round Three saw Bailee Bourassa score to tie the shootout up at 1-1 before Regina's Jenna Merk stepped onto the ice.
Merk's goal powered the Regina Cougars to the 3-2 shootout victory! Jane Kish earned her fifth win of the season after stopping 31 shots while Camryn Drever took the shootout loss after making 16 saves, but only one save in the shootout.

For some reason, the Saskatchewan Huskies failed to produce a highlight package. Let's get on that, Huskies!

The home-and-home series moved south to Regina for the second-half of the weekend series. Regina grabbed two of three points the night before to continue their drive for the playoffs while Saskatchewan needed to find some points to fend off teams who had won on Friday. This was a big game for both teams as Jessica Vance got the start for the Huskies while the Cougars opted for Morgan Baker to defend their cage.

The Huskies, like they did on Friday, started this game with an early goal as Courtney Cormack's initial slap shot was stopped by Baker, but Chelsea Debusschere found the rebound and buried it past Baker at 5:30 to put the Huskies up 1-0! And just as they did on Friday, Saskatchewan would carry the offence through most of the first period, including a power-play late in the period. However, Baker and the Cougars withstood the attack as Jaycee Magwood escaped the sin bin, found the puck, and scored 11 seconds after getting out of the penalty box on an incredible individual effort to beat Vance at 18:00 to make it a 1-1 game! That score would be carried into the intermission as the teams remained tied at 1-1, but Saskatchewan held an 8-3 edge in shots!

The second period was played much more evenly as both squads upped their defensive awareness. Just before the seven-minute mark, Jaydn Kushniruk's shot was stopped by Vance, but Paige Hubbard was in the right spot as she found the rebound and dented twine at 6:43 to put the Cougars up 2-1! The two teams battled through the next five minutes before Regina was called for a penalty, and the Huskies power-play went back to work. On the advantage, the Huskies moved the puck around before Abby Shirley found Rachel Lundberg in the high slot where Lundberg wired home a shot past Baker at 13:03 for the power-play goal and the equalizer as this game sat at 2-2! A couple of power-plays late for Regina produced no additional goals, so we'd head to the second intermission tied 2-2, but with Saskatchewan up 14-7 in shots.

The second of the two power-plays carried into the third period, and Regina still couldn't muster up another goal on Vance. That came back to haunt them as the Huskies roared down the ice as the penalty expired, and Bailee Bourassa fired home a setup from Emily Upgang just five seconds after the penalty expired to put the Huskies up 3-2 at 1:36! Just as it did the day before, the third period was played far more wide open compared to the previous two periods, and the room on the ice allowed Elizabeth Salyn to find the back of the net behind Baker on a great individual effort to make it 4-2 Saskatchewan with 6:40 to play! Regina wasn't about to go quietly into the night, though, as Jadyn Kushniruk beat Vance at 17:09 to make it a 4-3 game, but the Cougars couldn't beat Vance again, even with the extra attacker, as the Huskies held on for the 4-3 victory! Jessica Vance made just ten saves to record her fifth win of the season while Morgan Baker took the loss after stopping 20 shots on this night.

I'm not sure if it was a Saskatchewan thing this weekend, but the Regina Cougars decided that no highlights of this game would be produced either. What's with these teams skipping out on highlights?

The Alberta home-and-home series started in Calgary this weekend as the Lethbridge Pronghorns visited the Calgary Dinos. The Pronghorns have flirted with first-place all season long, and beating the Dinos would certainly open up some space between the two clubs. The Dinos were hunting for their own share of first-place with a sweep over the Pronghorns while delivering a serious blow to the Pronghorns' success thus far. With a lot on the line between these two squads, there was no doubt that Alicia Anderson would start for Lethbridge while Kelsey Roberts was in net for Calgary.

Both teams started this game by playing good defence as shots were hard to come by through most of the opening frame. There were chances that neither side could find the net on, but the defences looked good through the majority of the first period. A late penalty to the Pronghorns would prove fruitful for the Dinos as Delaney Frey loaded up the one-timer from the right face-off circle, and her shot beat Anderson who seemed to react slow to the setup for the power-play goal and the 1-0 lead at 17:01! That lone goal would stand as the teams went into the break with the Dinos up a goal and leading 6-5 in shots.

The second period saw the Dinos come out of the tunnel with all sorts of energy as they took the game to the Pronghorns. Anderson was under siege in this period as the Dinos continued to throw pucks at the net and chip at rebounds, and that strategy would pay off. Rebecca Clarke drove into the slot and got a backhander away that Anderson stopped, but Frey chipped the rebound up and over Anderson for her second of the game at 8:33 to make it 2-0! Just nine seconds later, a misplay along the boards allowed Frey and Sara Craven to come in two-on-one. Frey fed Craven, and she went to the backhand, catching Anderson sliding the wrong way, before putting the puck in the yawning cage to make it 3-0 for Calgary! Three minutes later, a turnover in the Lethbridge end would see the puck on Elizabeth Lang's stick, and she fed Holly Reuther in the slot for the one-timer past Anderson at 11:16 to give the Dinos a four-goal lead! If there was anything for the Pronghorns to build off of, it was Alli Borrow's goal late in the period as she skated off the half-boards, chose to keep the puck rather than passing, and went over Roberts' glove to make it 4-1 at 16:08. When the dust settled on the middle frame, that 4-1 lead was still intact and Calgary holding a 21-12 advantage in shots.

The third period was more of the same as it seems the three-goal outburst in the second period killed the life on the Pronghorns bench while energizing the Dinos bench. 57 seconds into the final frame, Merissa Dawson's point shot deflected off a Lethbridge defender and caught Anderson moving the wrong direction as the puck slid into the net to make it 5-1 for the Dinos. From there, it was simply a matter of protecting the lead, and the Dinos would do that en route to the 5-1 victory. Kelsey Roberts earned her ninth win of the season by stopping 16 shots while Alicia Anderson suffered the loss despite making 30 saves in this game.

Highlights of this game are below!

After dropping the first-half in Calgary, Lethbridge returned home knowing they needed to split the weekend if they were going to keep pace with the pack. The Dinos, with a win, had a chance to put a bit of a cushion between them and everyone else. This game meant a lot to both teams, so it's no surprise that Kelsey Roberts started for Calgary once again while the Pronghorns went back to their ace in Alicia Anderson.

The Pronghorns flipped the script and came out with all sorts of pucks being sent at Roberts in the opening frame, but the period would start just as the Friday game did. Delaney Frey picked up a bank pass off the boards, skated in the right side, took a shot that Anderson stopped, but she picked up her own rebound and beat Anderson to give the Dinos the 1-0 lead just 5:52 into the game! The Pronghorns went back to work and continued to pepper Roberts, but they'd come up empty in the first period as Roberts stood her ground. The Dinos began to shift momentum later in the period as they got their legs going as well, but Anderson would give nothing else up. At the first break, the Dinos held the 1-0 lead, but were being outshot 14-11.

The second period saw the offensive outburst from both teams continue. Early in the period while on the power-play, Kyra Greig took the puck behind the net and made a beautiful feed to Tricia Van Vaerenbergh as Roberts moved laterally to follow Greig, leaving Van Vaerenbergh an open net to shoot at and she made no mistake to tie the contest at 1-1 at 4:07! 56 seconds later, Tallon Stephenson centered a pass as Kianna Dietz came out of a scrum in the corner, and Dietz outwaited Roberts before slipping the puck behind her to make it a 2-1 Lethbridge lead! That lead was short-lived, though, as 1:56 after Lethbridge took the lead, Merissa Dawson's point shot would be deflected in front by Chelsea Court past Anderson to make it a 2-2 game at 6:59! The two teams would continue to trade chances through next few minutes before Sara Craven spotted a wide-open Elizabeth Lang in front of Anderson, and Lang used her reach to sweep the puck around Anderson at 10:15 to make it a 3-2 game for the Dinos! If you can believe it, that's where the goal scoring ended in this period as the final ten minutes saw Anderson and Roberts pick up their games and deny all chances until the horn. At the second intermission, the Dinos held a 3-2 lead, but Lethbridge was ahead in shots by a 30-20 margin.

The third period started with a quick off a broken play as a turnover in the Calgary zone after dispossessing the Pronghorns of the puck landed on the stick of Sage Sansregret, and she wired a low wrist shot past Roberts from the right hash marks to tie the game at 3-3 at 2:06! That goal seemed to light a serious fire under the Dinos as they nearly doubled their shot total from the previous two periods in the final frame. The problem, however, was Alicia Anderson who came out in third period and put up a wall in front of the Lethbridge net. The final minute of play saw all sorts of glorious chances at both ends of the ice, but neither side could find the twine! When the final horn sounded, the 3-3 tie remained so we were treated to some free hockey!

The first overtime period of four-on-four hockey saw the Dinos carry the play, but no goals were scored. Lethbridge was better in the three-on-three overtime period, but they couldn't find a goal either. That left us with the skills competition where Elizabeth Lang was stopped in Round One, but Kianna Dietz went five-hole on Roberts to put Lethbridge up a goal in the shootout. Round Two saw both Delaney Frey and Alli Borrow stopped, so it came down to Calgary's Brooke Dennett who had to score to keep the shootout going, but Anderson denied her to give Lethbridge the 4-3 shootout victory! Alicia Anderson stopped 40 shots in the 70 minutes of play plus three more in the shootout to win her seventh game of the season while Kelsey Roberts stopped 35 shots in the timed hockey before stopping one of two shots in the shootout for the shootout loss.

Highlights of this one, including that crazy last minute, are below!

In the final games of the weekend, the struggling Manitoba Bisons visited Edmonton where they met the struggling Alberta Pandas. It's no secret that the Bisons are in tough when it comes to scoring goals whereas the Pandas seemingly can't win the five-on-five scoring battle. Can the Bisons find any offence to challenge the Pandas? Can the Pandas tap into their depth scoring? We'd find out on Friday as Amanda Schubert got the start for Manitoba while the Pandas responded with Halle Oswald in their net.

Let's be honest: the Pandas always bring their game when Manitoba visits, and Friday was no different. Danielle Hardy buried a puck that bounced out front as Manitoba's Jordy Zacharias tried to backhand the puck around the boards, and Alberta was off and running 1:15 into the game with the 1-0 lead. Hardy would also end the period with a goal when she swept the rebound off Abby Benning's point shot under Schubert at 19:50 to send Alberta into the intermission with a 2-0 lead and a 14-2 advantage in shots.

Early in the second period, Benning's shot from the point off a face-off in the Bisons zone pinballed off Lisa Lloyd to Chelsea Dearsley, and she went over Schubert's glove at 2:58 to put Alberta up 3-0. Just before the midpoint of the period, Kennedy Ganser and Autumn MacDougall played give-and-go as Ganser got free, and she sniped a shot high over Schubert's left shoulder to make it 4-0 at 9:36. Minutes later, Benning sent Alex Poznikoff off to the races as she split the defence and pulled away from the Bisons before slowing up, putting a deke on Schubert, and went high on the backhand under the bar as Schubert sprawled to make it 5-0 at 11:18. Manitoba would find a goal with 5:09 left in the period off a goalmouth scramble that saw Mekaela Fisher jam the puck under Oswald to make it a 5-1 game. Through 40 minutes, that score would hold while Alberta held a 27-10 edge in shots.

There would be no comeback for the Bisons on this day as Danielle Hardy wrapped up the scoring at 10:35 by picking up a Poznikoff rebound and burying it behind a prone Schubert for the hat trick and the 6-1 lead. When the final horn sounded, that score held up as the Pandas skated to victory on this night. Halle Oswald had a quiet night with 14 saves in picking up her fourth win of the season while Amanda Schubert made 35 saves in the loss.

Highlights are below!

SATURDAY: Alberta was looking for the sweep after a big win over the Bisons one night earlier. The sweep would put the Pandas right back into the thick of the race for first-place in Canada West. The Bisons, meanwhile, would take a win in any way, shape, or form at this point. Saturday's game saw the Bisons start Erin Fargey while the Pandas went with Kirsten Chamberlin.

While the Bisons played a better game today, the scoreboard didn't reflect that. A first-period goal by Alex Gowie, second period goals by Alex Poznikoff, Regan Wright, and Gowie again, and a third-period goal by Poznikoff was more than enough offence needed by the Pandas. Manitoba did play a much better third period as they outshot the Pandas for the first time in six frames by a 12-10 edge, but the 5-0 score would be the final when the horn sounded after sixty minutes.

Kirsten Chamberlin picked up her fourth win and second shutout of the season in stopping all 19 shots she faced while Erin Fargey stopped 29 shots in this game.

Highlights of this game are below!

School Record Points GF GA Streak Next
27 30 23
British Columbia
26 27 26
vs ALB
23 42 19
Mount Royal
23 23 16
23 23 23
vs MRU
21 29 35
15 22 33
vs CAL
10 12 33
vs LET

The Last Word

We've seen every team play every other team over a weekend now, so we truly should start getting an accurate picture of who will make the playoffs, who will not, and who may finish where. Let's start with the teams that might be in trouble when it comes to post-season dreams.

If we're looking at trends, both teams that missed the playoffs one year ago - Calgary and Lethbridge - had nine regulation losses to their names after playing every team. In 2017-18, Mount Royal has 10 losses after 14 games while Calgary had eight losses, but Mount Royal made the playoffs despite dropping four-straight games to finish the season after Lethbridge lost an unfathomable 14-straight games while Calgary went 3-10-1-0 over their last 14 games to miss by three points. In 2016-17, both Calgary and Lethbridge had ten and nine losses at this point in the season, respectively, and both missed the playoffs.

If we're basing our predictions on current trends, both the Manitoba Bisons and the Regina Cougars appear that they will miss the playoffs this season. Manitoba shouldn't be included in any playoff discussion after three goals in a game this season just once while being shutout in seven of their first 14 games. Don't even mention "Manitoba" and "playoffs" in the same sentence from this point on.

Regina is the second-lowest team when it comes to scoring, and they have the second-worst goal differential. That combination isn't good when trying to hunt down teams above them, and they are a full six points behind sixth-place right now. Regina started the season slow against some of the better teams in Canada West, so Regina will need to elevate their game to try and close the gap early on the six teams ahead of them. If they fall further behind, their chances of making the playoffs only get smaller.

Defensively, I like UBC to finish in a top-two spot. Yes, they dropped a couple of games against Mount Royal, but there's no denying that were the best defensive team through the first-half of the season outside of that opening weekend against Alberta. I wouldn't count the Pands out of a top-two finish, but they'll be in tough against a very good Calgary team that has exceptional goaltending and solid depth scoring. Mount Royal will be tough down the stretch as they've taken games off all the top teams, but they need to keep their game elevated against the lesser teams. I worry about Saskatchewan and their lack of offence in a season where scoring goals seems just as important as stopping them, and that could be the break that Lethbridge needs to move ahead of them.

Of course, they play the games for a reason, and just as Lethbridge went on that unbelievable streak where they dropped 14-straight games in 2017-18, perhaps one of the teams in Canada West will go on a hot streak that will change the standings dramatically. There's only one week left before the December break, and all eight teams are looking to finish off 2019 on a winning note! Get down to your local arena and catch some Canada West hockey action next weekend!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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