Defending champs blank X-Women in tournament opener
GAME 1 POOL B: CIS women’s hockey championship
TORONTO (CIS) – Hayley Wickenhesier’s marker 5:13 into the game proved to be the winner as the fifth-seeded Calgary Dinos upset the No. 2 StFX X-Women 4-0 to kick off the 2013 CIS women’s hockey championship on Thursday afternoon at the University of Toronto’s Varsity Arena.
Championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wice/index
The CIS defending champion Dinos took full advantage of an early 5-on-3 as Russian Olympian and Canada West all-star Iya Gavrilova of Krasnoyarsk found Wickenheiser in front of the net. The Shaunavon, Sask., native one-timed it past StFX netminder Kristy Garrow (London, Ont.) to give the Canada West silver medalists an early lead.
Dinos team captain Tanya Morgan of Wembley, Alta., tallied one goal and two assists, while Gavrilova, Wickenheiser and fifth-year forward Elana Lovell of Kamploops, B.C., each notched one goal and one assist in the victory.
“We knew it would be a battle today, StFX is a team that isn’t used to losing,” said Dinos bench boss Danielle Goyette. “We knew that they can bounce back, so we really had to tie them up in the defensive zone and not give them any opportunities. The girls played well today, and the longer the game went on the better we played.”
The Dinos earn a day off and look to book a ticket to their second consecutive CIS final against the No. 3 and OUA champion Queen’s Gaels on Saturday at 4 p.m. The X-Women’s win streak ends at 17 as they battle Queen’s tomorrow, also at 4 p.m.
It was the second time the two teams met on the national stage after Calgary defeated the X-Women 5-1 in the 2001 tournament to claim fifth-place.
“They are a very good hockey team and if you don’t take advantage of your opportunities early on it’s really hard to come back,” said X-Women head coach David Synishin. “We have to reset. The thing about this tournament is that if you win one game you’re in the bronze-medal game and I think that’s a very legitimate goal for us.”
StFX nearly evened the score with two short-handed opportunities late in the first period, including an Abygail Laking break away; however, Lovell batted a loose puck out of the air to find the back of the net and gave Calgary the two-goal lead at the first intermission.
The X-Women came out hungry to score in the second, but were unable to convert on any of their four powerplay opportunities and still trailed by two heading into the final frame.
Calgary peppered Garrow with shots early in the third but the AUS second team all-star denied everything that came her way. Gavrilova finally solved Garrow, adding an insurance marker off a Lovell rebound at 9:30 in the third period and Morgan rounded out the scoring with just 4:46 remaining.
Garrow posted 41 saves, while Calgary goaltender and Canada West all-star Amanda Tapp made 17 saves in the shut out win.
SCORING SUMMARY
Complete boxscore: BOXSCORE
Calgary 4, StFX 0
FIRST PERIOD
SCORING:
1. CGY Hayley Wickenheiser (1) (Iya Gavrilova, Tanya Morgan), 5:13 (PP)
2. CGY Elana Lovell (1) (Jenna Smith, Tanya Morgan), 17:10 (PP)
PENALTIES:
Jenna Downey (StFX) slashing, 1:06;
Jenna Pitts (StFX), body checking, 3:19;
Jenna Downey (StFX) cross checking, 4:04;
Alyssa Hennigar (StFX) cross checking, 4:44;
Alyssa Hennigar (StFX) holding, 15:44;
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING:
(no scoring)
PENALTIES:
Hayley Wickenheiser (CGY) body checking, 0:44;
Erin Davidson (CGY) holding, 5:06;
Kelsie Lang (CGY) interference, 6:23
Stephanie Zvonkovic (CGY) body checking, 11:39
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING:
3. CGY Iya Gavrilova (1) (Elana Lovell), 9:30
4. CGY Tanya Morgan (1) (Jenna Smith, Hayley Wickenheiser), 15:14
PENALTIES:
Jenna Downey (StFX) holding, 9:50
Abygail Laking (StFX) hooking, 13:13
Stephanie Ramsay (CGY) body checking, 17:09
GOALS (by period)
CGY: 2-0-2:4
StFX: 0-0-0:0
SHOTS ON GOAL (by period)
CGY: 16-9-20:45
StFX: 3-10-4:17
POWER PLAY:
CGY: 2-7
StFX: 0-5
GOALTENDERS
CGY: Amanda Tapp (W, 1-0, 17 shots, 17 saves, 60:00)
StFX: Kristy Garrow (L, 0-1, 45 shots, 41 saves, 60:00)
PLAYERS OF THE GAME:
CGY: Iya Gavrilova
StFX: Abygail Laking
REFEREE: Gabrielle Ariano-Lortie
LINESMEN: Andrea Skinner, Jennifer McMahon
ATTENDANCE: 900
SCHEDULE, RESULTS & POOL STANDINGS
Pool A GP W OTW OTL L GF GA PTS
1. Montreal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2. UBC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3. Toronto 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Pool B GP W OTW OTL L GF GA PTS
1. StFX 1 0 0 0 1 0 4 0
2. Queen’s 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3. Calgary 1 1 0 0 0 4 0 3
NOTE (scoring system):
Win in regulation (W): 3 points
Win in overtime or shootout (OTW): 2 points
Loss in overtime or shootout (OTL): 1 point
Loss in regulation (L): 0 point
Thursday, March 7
13:00 Pool B #1: Calgary 4, StFX 0
19:30 Pool A #1: No. 6 Toronto vs. No. 1 Montreal (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
Friday, March 8
16:00 Pool B #2: No. 2 StFX vs. No. 3 Queen’s (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
19:30 Pool A #2: Loser Pool A #1 vs. No. 4 UBC (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
Saturday, March 9
16:00 Pool B #3: No. 5 Calgary vs. No. 3 Queen’s (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
19:30 Pool A #3: Winner Pool A #1 vs. No. 4 UBC (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
Sunday, March 10
12:00 5th Place (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
15:30 Bronze (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
19:00 Final (www.CIS-SIC.tv)