March 21, 2009
NO. 2 GOLDEN HAWKS TO PLAY FOR GOLD AT CIS WOMEN'S HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP
ANTIGONISH, N.S. - All-Canadian forward Andrea Ironside of Collingwood, Ont., scored a hat trick and added an assist as the No. 2-seeded Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks advanced to the CIS women's hockey final for the fourth time in five years with a 5-3 victory over the No. 4 Moncton Aigles Bleues, Saturday afternoon, at the Keating Centre on the campus of St. Francis Xavier University.
The Golden Hawks, who beat No. 6 Ottawa 6-1 in the championship opener on Thursday, finish round-robin play in first place in Pool B with a 2-0 record and will play for CIS gold Sunday at 8 p.m. Atlantic (The Score Television Network and SSN Canada webcast: two-hour tape delay to 10 p.m. Atlantic). Their opponents from Pool A are still unknown as No. 1 McGill (1-0), No. 3 Manitoba (1-1) and No. 5 StFX (0-1) are all still in contention.
In three previous appearances in the CIS final, Laurier defeated Alberta 4-1 in 2005 to capture the lone title in team history, lost to Alberta 2-1 in 2006, and was blanked 2-0 by McGill in 2008.
Championship website: www.universitysport.ca/e/championships/w_hockey/2009
"Playing McGill in the championship game would be a nice opportunity at redemption from last year, but we aren't getting ahead of ourselves," said Ironside, a member of the second CIS all-star team this season who had found the back of the net once against Ottawa on Thursday. "We're just happy to be back in the gold-medal game."
The Aigles Bleues, who edged Ottawa 2-1 in overtime Friday, will play for bronze at 2 p.m. Atlantic Sunday, and are already assured of improving on their fifth-place finish from 2007, which marked their only previous trip to the CIS tourney.
"Despite the loss, this is a good experience-building game for us and we will look to play a strong 60 minutes in tomorrow's bronze medal game, no matter who our opponent is," said Moncton head coach Denis Ross. "Playing for the bronze medal is a good opportunity and possibly taking home a medal would be a big accomplishment."
"I think in the final 20 minutes our girls proved to themselves they could play with one of the top teams in the CIS and I'm pleased with the way we responded after being down three goals after two periods."
Laurier seemed in perfect control after 40 minutes against Moncton, taking a 3-0 lead into the third period after outshooting its AUS rival 12-4 in the opening stanza and 22-2 in the middle frame.
But the Aigles Bleues opened the third with two quick goals by freshman Janie LeBlanc (Balmoral, N.B.) and third-year forward Marie-Hélène Plourde (Coteau Road, N.B.) to pull back to within one, marking the start of a five-goal flurry in a span of 6:20.
Sophomore Katherine Shirriff (Carrying Place, Ont.) and Ironside, with her third of the day, scored at 7:17 and 8:03, respectively, to restore the Hawks' three-goal lead, but first-team all-Canadian Mariève Provost (Laval, Que.) made it a two-goal affair once again at 10:13.
"It was one of those games where we were rolling early and were able to maintain that momentum throughout the majority of the game," Ironside said. "When Moncton got within a goal early in the third, we just tried to stay positive and keep playing our game. We felt we controlled most of the game up to that point and if we stuck to our game plan it would be fine."
Ironside opened the scoring 3:27 into the game after converting a pass from Kate Psota (Burlington, Ont.). She beat AUS MVP Kathy Desjardins (Loretteville, Que.) with a high shot from the point over the blocker shoulder for the only goal of the first period.
The AUS champion Aigles Bleues had four power play opportunities in the opening period but we unable to find the back of the mesh.
Kaley Powers (Kingston, Ont.), who scored twice Thursday against Ottawa, had a shorthanded breakaway with six minutes left in the period but was denied by Desjardins. Moncton's best chance came a few minutes later when Aigles Bleues captain Kristine LaBrie (St-Quentin, N.B.), who scored the overtime winner Friday, had a high shot on net which Laurier netminder Liz Knox (Stouffville, Ont.) deflected up with the puck landing on top of the net.
The Aigles Bleues ran into penalty trouble in the second stanza, fighting off two consecutive minor infractions to start the frame.
The Golden Hawks continued to pepper Desjardins with shots following the power plays and Ironside scored her second of the game at the 6:07 mark, picking up a rebound in front of the net and trickling the puck past Desjardins. Lauren Barch (Burlington, Ont.) and Powers assisted on the play.
Desjardins was kept busy as Moncton's penalty woes continued and the Golden Hawks controlled most of the play in the middle period.
Psota made it 3-0 with her first goal of the championship when she banged in the puck off a rebounded shot from the point at 9:50. Ironside and Barch earned assists.
When all was said and done, the Aigles Bleues were happy to have escaped the second period with allowing just the two Golden Hawks goals, as Wilfrid Laurier outshot them 22-2.
Moncton regrouped for the third period and LeBlanc got the Aigles on the board 3:53 in. Valérie Boisclair (St-Léonard d'Aston, Que.) and Plourde picked up assists on the play.
Just over two minutes later, Boisclair picked off the puck in neutral territory while the Aigles Bleues were shorthanded, and got it over to Plourde who beat Knox on a breakaway, bringing Moncton to within one goal.
The one-goal lead did not last long however, as the Golden Hawks went on to score two consecutive markers, the first from Shirriff, assisted by Laura Bartolini (Mississauga, Ont.), and the second by Ironside on a nice one-timer pass from Barch on a quick 2-on-1 play in front of the net. Andrea Bevan (Collingwood, Ont.) also assisted on the play.
Provost rounded out the scoring on a breakaway, beating Knox up high.
Ironside was named Laurier's game MVP and Plourde was the choice for Moncton.
Knox made 12 saves for the win, while Desjardins stopped 26 pucks.
Both teams were blanked on the power play, Laurier going 0-for-8 and Moncton 0-for-5.
SCORING SUMMARY
Wilfrid Laurier 5, Moncton 3
FIRST PERIOD
SCORING:
1. WLU Andrea Ironside (2) (Kate Psota), 3:27
PENALTIES:
Abby Rainsberry (WLU) body checking, 0:46; Laura Bartolini (WLU) interference, 5:08; Jill Stockton (UdeM) holding, 5:39; Abby Rainsberry (WLU) body checking, 9:06; Heather Fortuna (WLU) slashing, 12:18.
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING:
2. WLU Andrea Ironside (3) (Lauren Barch, Kaley Powers), 6:07
3. WLU Kate Psota (1) (Andrea Ironside, Lauren Barch), 9:50
PENALTIES:
Jill Stockton (UdeM) body checking, 0:24; Kayla Landry (UdeM) cross checking, 2:32; Marie-Pier Plourde (UdeM) holding, 6:35; Marie-Pier Plourde (UdeM) holding, 12:20.
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING:
4. UdeM Janie LeBlanc (2) (Marie-Hélène Plourde, Valérie Boisclair), 3:53
5. UdeM Marie-Hélène Plourde (1) (unassisted), 6:01 SH
6. WLU Katherine Shrriff (1) (Laura Bartolini), 7:17
7. WLU Andrea Ironside (4) (Lauren Barch, Andrea Bevan), 8:03
8. UdeM Mariève Provost (1) (unassisted), 10:13
PENALTIES:
Janie LeBlanc (UdeM) slashing, 1:42; Dominique LeBlanc (UdeM) slashing, 5:10; Stephanie Crarey (WLU) tripping, 13:25; Marie-Ève Couture (UdeM) boarding, 19:56.
GOALS (by period)
UdeM: 0-0-3:3
WLU: 1-2-2:5
SHOTS ON GOAL (by period)
UdeM: 4-2-9:15
WLU: 12-22-7:41
POWER PLAY:
UdeM: 0-5
WLU: 0-8
GOALTENDERS
UdeM – Kathy Desjardins (L, 1-1, 41 shots, 36 saves, 60:00)
WLU – Liz Knox (W, 2-0, 15 shots, 12 saves, 60:00)
PLAYERS OF THE GAME:
UdeM: Marie-Hélène Plourde
WLU: Andrea Ironside
REFEREE: Melanie Bordeleau
LINESMEN: Valerie Vuillemot, Molly Simon
ATTENDANCE: 650
SCHEDULE & RESULTS (All times LOCAL: Atlantic Time)
Pool A
1. McGill
3. Manitoba
5. StFX
Pool B
2. Wilfrid Laurier
4. Moncton
6. Ottawa
Thursday, March 19
Pool B #1: No. 2 Wilfrid Laurier 6, No. 6 Ottawa 1
Pool A #1: No. 1 McGill 2, No. 3 Manitoba 1 (OT)
Friday, March 20
Pool B #2: No. 4 Moncton 2, No. 6 Ottawa 1 (OT)
Pool A #2: No. 3 Manitoba 2, No. 5 StFX 1 (SO)
Saturday, March 21
Pool B #3: No. 2 Wilfrid Laurier 5, No. 4 Moncton 3
19:30 Pool A #3: No. 5 StFX vs. No. 1 McGill (SSN Canada webcast)
Sunday, March 22
10:00 5th Place: No. 6 Ottawa vs. TBD (SSN Canada webcast)
14:00 Bronze: No. 4 Moncton vs. TBD (SSN Canada webcast)
20:00 Final: No. 2 Wilfrid Laurier vs. TBD (THE SCORE * / SSN Canada webcast)
* 2-hour tape delay to 10 pm Atlantic / 9 pm Eastern
Source: CIS Communications
The Golden Hawks, who beat No. 6 Ottawa 6-1 in the championship opener on Thursday, finish round-robin play in first place in Pool B with a 2-0 record and will play for CIS gold Sunday at 8 p.m. Atlantic (The Score Television Network and SSN Canada webcast: two-hour tape delay to 10 p.m. Atlantic). Their opponents from Pool A are still unknown as No. 1 McGill (1-0), No. 3 Manitoba (1-1) and No. 5 StFX (0-1) are all still in contention.
In three previous appearances in the CIS final, Laurier defeated Alberta 4-1 in 2005 to capture the lone title in team history, lost to Alberta 2-1 in 2006, and was blanked 2-0 by McGill in 2008.
Championship website: www.universitysport.ca/e/championships/w_hockey/2009
"Playing McGill in the championship game would be a nice opportunity at redemption from last year, but we aren't getting ahead of ourselves," said Ironside, a member of the second CIS all-star team this season who had found the back of the net once against Ottawa on Thursday. "We're just happy to be back in the gold-medal game."
The Aigles Bleues, who edged Ottawa 2-1 in overtime Friday, will play for bronze at 2 p.m. Atlantic Sunday, and are already assured of improving on their fifth-place finish from 2007, which marked their only previous trip to the CIS tourney.
"Despite the loss, this is a good experience-building game for us and we will look to play a strong 60 minutes in tomorrow's bronze medal game, no matter who our opponent is," said Moncton head coach Denis Ross. "Playing for the bronze medal is a good opportunity and possibly taking home a medal would be a big accomplishment."
"I think in the final 20 minutes our girls proved to themselves they could play with one of the top teams in the CIS and I'm pleased with the way we responded after being down three goals after two periods."
Laurier seemed in perfect control after 40 minutes against Moncton, taking a 3-0 lead into the third period after outshooting its AUS rival 12-4 in the opening stanza and 22-2 in the middle frame.
But the Aigles Bleues opened the third with two quick goals by freshman Janie LeBlanc (Balmoral, N.B.) and third-year forward Marie-Hélène Plourde (Coteau Road, N.B.) to pull back to within one, marking the start of a five-goal flurry in a span of 6:20.
Sophomore Katherine Shirriff (Carrying Place, Ont.) and Ironside, with her third of the day, scored at 7:17 and 8:03, respectively, to restore the Hawks' three-goal lead, but first-team all-Canadian Mariève Provost (Laval, Que.) made it a two-goal affair once again at 10:13.
"It was one of those games where we were rolling early and were able to maintain that momentum throughout the majority of the game," Ironside said. "When Moncton got within a goal early in the third, we just tried to stay positive and keep playing our game. We felt we controlled most of the game up to that point and if we stuck to our game plan it would be fine."
Ironside opened the scoring 3:27 into the game after converting a pass from Kate Psota (Burlington, Ont.). She beat AUS MVP Kathy Desjardins (Loretteville, Que.) with a high shot from the point over the blocker shoulder for the only goal of the first period.
The AUS champion Aigles Bleues had four power play opportunities in the opening period but we unable to find the back of the mesh.
Kaley Powers (Kingston, Ont.), who scored twice Thursday against Ottawa, had a shorthanded breakaway with six minutes left in the period but was denied by Desjardins. Moncton's best chance came a few minutes later when Aigles Bleues captain Kristine LaBrie (St-Quentin, N.B.), who scored the overtime winner Friday, had a high shot on net which Laurier netminder Liz Knox (Stouffville, Ont.) deflected up with the puck landing on top of the net.
The Aigles Bleues ran into penalty trouble in the second stanza, fighting off two consecutive minor infractions to start the frame.
The Golden Hawks continued to pepper Desjardins with shots following the power plays and Ironside scored her second of the game at the 6:07 mark, picking up a rebound in front of the net and trickling the puck past Desjardins. Lauren Barch (Burlington, Ont.) and Powers assisted on the play.
Desjardins was kept busy as Moncton's penalty woes continued and the Golden Hawks controlled most of the play in the middle period.
Psota made it 3-0 with her first goal of the championship when she banged in the puck off a rebounded shot from the point at 9:50. Ironside and Barch earned assists.
When all was said and done, the Aigles Bleues were happy to have escaped the second period with allowing just the two Golden Hawks goals, as Wilfrid Laurier outshot them 22-2.
Moncton regrouped for the third period and LeBlanc got the Aigles on the board 3:53 in. Valérie Boisclair (St-Léonard d'Aston, Que.) and Plourde picked up assists on the play.
Just over two minutes later, Boisclair picked off the puck in neutral territory while the Aigles Bleues were shorthanded, and got it over to Plourde who beat Knox on a breakaway, bringing Moncton to within one goal.
The one-goal lead did not last long however, as the Golden Hawks went on to score two consecutive markers, the first from Shirriff, assisted by Laura Bartolini (Mississauga, Ont.), and the second by Ironside on a nice one-timer pass from Barch on a quick 2-on-1 play in front of the net. Andrea Bevan (Collingwood, Ont.) also assisted on the play.
Provost rounded out the scoring on a breakaway, beating Knox up high.
Ironside was named Laurier's game MVP and Plourde was the choice for Moncton.
Knox made 12 saves for the win, while Desjardins stopped 26 pucks.
Both teams were blanked on the power play, Laurier going 0-for-8 and Moncton 0-for-5.
SCORING SUMMARY
Wilfrid Laurier 5, Moncton 3
FIRST PERIOD
SCORING:
1. WLU Andrea Ironside (2) (Kate Psota), 3:27
PENALTIES:
Abby Rainsberry (WLU) body checking, 0:46; Laura Bartolini (WLU) interference, 5:08; Jill Stockton (UdeM) holding, 5:39; Abby Rainsberry (WLU) body checking, 9:06; Heather Fortuna (WLU) slashing, 12:18.
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING:
2. WLU Andrea Ironside (3) (Lauren Barch, Kaley Powers), 6:07
3. WLU Kate Psota (1) (Andrea Ironside, Lauren Barch), 9:50
PENALTIES:
Jill Stockton (UdeM) body checking, 0:24; Kayla Landry (UdeM) cross checking, 2:32; Marie-Pier Plourde (UdeM) holding, 6:35; Marie-Pier Plourde (UdeM) holding, 12:20.
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING:
4. UdeM Janie LeBlanc (2) (Marie-Hélène Plourde, Valérie Boisclair), 3:53
5. UdeM Marie-Hélène Plourde (1) (unassisted), 6:01 SH
6. WLU Katherine Shrriff (1) (Laura Bartolini), 7:17
7. WLU Andrea Ironside (4) (Lauren Barch, Andrea Bevan), 8:03
8. UdeM Mariève Provost (1) (unassisted), 10:13
PENALTIES:
Janie LeBlanc (UdeM) slashing, 1:42; Dominique LeBlanc (UdeM) slashing, 5:10; Stephanie Crarey (WLU) tripping, 13:25; Marie-Ève Couture (UdeM) boarding, 19:56.
GOALS (by period)
UdeM: 0-0-3:3
WLU: 1-2-2:5
SHOTS ON GOAL (by period)
UdeM: 4-2-9:15
WLU: 12-22-7:41
POWER PLAY:
UdeM: 0-5
WLU: 0-8
GOALTENDERS
UdeM – Kathy Desjardins (L, 1-1, 41 shots, 36 saves, 60:00)
WLU – Liz Knox (W, 2-0, 15 shots, 12 saves, 60:00)
PLAYERS OF THE GAME:
UdeM: Marie-Hélène Plourde
WLU: Andrea Ironside
REFEREE: Melanie Bordeleau
LINESMEN: Valerie Vuillemot, Molly Simon
ATTENDANCE: 650
SCHEDULE & RESULTS (All times LOCAL: Atlantic Time)
Pool A
1. McGill
3. Manitoba
5. StFX
Pool B
2. Wilfrid Laurier
4. Moncton
6. Ottawa
Thursday, March 19
Pool B #1: No. 2 Wilfrid Laurier 6, No. 6 Ottawa 1
Pool A #1: No. 1 McGill 2, No. 3 Manitoba 1 (OT)
Friday, March 20
Pool B #2: No. 4 Moncton 2, No. 6 Ottawa 1 (OT)
Pool A #2: No. 3 Manitoba 2, No. 5 StFX 1 (SO)
Saturday, March 21
Pool B #3: No. 2 Wilfrid Laurier 5, No. 4 Moncton 3
19:30 Pool A #3: No. 5 StFX vs. No. 1 McGill (SSN Canada webcast)
Sunday, March 22
10:00 5th Place: No. 6 Ottawa vs. TBD (SSN Canada webcast)
14:00 Bronze: No. 4 Moncton vs. TBD (SSN Canada webcast)
20:00 Final: No. 2 Wilfrid Laurier vs. TBD (THE SCORE * / SSN Canada webcast)
* 2-hour tape delay to 10 pm Atlantic / 9 pm Eastern
Source: CIS Communications
