CIS women's hockey: Host Blues finish fourth

TORONTO (CIS) – Third-year forward Casandra Dupuis was the overtime hero as the top-seeded Montreal Carabins edged the host University of Toronto Varsity Blues 1-0 on Day 1 of the CIS women’s hockey championship, Thursday night at Varsity Arena.

Championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wice/index

A native of Sherbrooke, Que., Dupuis banged home a Janique Duval (Val d’Or, Que.) rebound with 1:42 remaining in overtime to notch the game’s lone tally for the RSEQ champions.

The Carabins will vie for a spot in the gold-medal game when take on the No. 4 UBC Thunderbirds, appearing in their first national championship in program history, on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. Toronto looks to rebound and get in the win column versus UBC tomorrow, also at 7:30 p.m.

“We expected U of T to give us some trouble,” said Carabins head coach Isabelle Leclaire. “The only thing we didn’t expect was to shoot the puck 54 times and only score one goal. We didn’t come out strong enough and you have to give credit to their goaltender.”

Third-year U of T netminder Nicole Kesteris of Aurora, Ont., posted a career-high 53 saves on the night.

“Nicole was amazing,” commented Varsity Blues head coach and three-time Olympian Vicky Sunohara. “She stepped up and did everything she needed to do. We had some chances but you can’t expect to win a game without scoring. We have to control the things that we can control and come out fighting tomorrow night.”

The Carabins came out ready to go in their first-ever meeting with Toronto, outshooting the home team 13-2 through 20 minutes of action. Toronto gained some momentum through the second frame but was unable to solve Montreal goalie Élodie Rousseau Sirois despite two powerplay chances. The Pohénégamook, Que., native ended the night with 23-save shut out performance.

Kesteris continued her dominant play through the third period with 19 saves to help the Blues force overtime. Montreal wore down the No. 6 seeded Blues with 10 shots in extra minutes before Dupuis found the back of the net.

TORONTO (CIS) – Rookie forward Taylor Dale scored with 2:05 remaining in overtime to lift the StFX X-Women to a 2-1 victory over the OUA champion Queen’s Gaels on Day 2 of the CIS women’s hockey championship Friday afternoon at Varsity Arena.

Championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wice/index

A native of Oromocto, N.B., Dale tipped in a Jenna Downey point shot that ricocheted off teammate Abigail Laking to beat Gaels goaltender Karissa Savage (Calgary) and give StFX their first win of the tournament.

The X-Women, who fell to the No. 5 Calgary Dinos 4-0 in their first game, await the results of Game 3 in Pool B action to determine when they play on Sunday.

“We played a very tough game last night and at times we didn’t have our legs,” said X-Women bench boss David Synishin. “But I think the third period and overtime were indicative of the team that we are this year. They pushed us to our limits but our goaltender played very well.”

The Gaels will have to bounce back versus the Dinos tomorrow at 4 p.m. A Queen’s win in regulation time over Calgary would advance the No. 3 seeds to the gold-medal game. 

“StFX is a good, solid team after proving themselves champions out East year after year,” said Gaels head coach Matt Holmberg. “It was a close and exciting game but unfortunately we came out on the wrong end.”

Queen’s forward Brittany McHaffie (Guelph) opened the scoring when a loose puck found her stick in the high slot and a quick release beat St FX netminder Katie Greenway just 2:50 into the contest.

A native of Guelph, Ont., Greenway stood tall and posted 28 saves in the win.

The second period went back-and-forth, with neither team able to find the back of the net. The Gaels went 0-for-3 on the powerplay in the middle frame, outshooting the X-Women 10-6, and maintained the one-goal lead heading into the third.

StFX finally got on the board and notched their first goal of the championship four minutes into the third period. Third-year defencemen Alex Pitts of Antigonish, N.S., skated in off the blue line and sent the puck through traffic to beat Savage. 

Both squads had chances to bury the go-ahead goal midway through the frame. Downey, the StFX team captain, rang a point shot off the post, before a Queen’s shot from CIS all-Canadian Morgan McHaffie bounced off the cross bar and hit Greenway’s back 30 seconds later.
The teams continued to trade scoring chances up until the final buzzer as Greenway robbed a point-blank shot from Queen’s captain Kristin Smith and Savage denied X-Women all-Canadian Alex Normore on a fast break the other way in the last minute of regulation.

The Gaels gained the man-advantage one minute into the extra frame and peppered Greenway with shots; however, the X-Women killed off the penalty and proved victorious six minutes later.

Toronto 5, UBC 4 (OT)

TORONTO (CIS) – Third-year forward Jacqueline Scheffel tallied four points in leading the University of Toronto Varsity Blues to a 5-4 shoot out win over the No. 4 UBC Thunderbirds on Friday night at the 2013 CIS women’s hockey championship.

Championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wice/index

The win marks Toronto’s first on the national stage since defeating Dalhousie to claim fifth place at the 2006 tournament. The Blues await the results of the UBC/Montreal game tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. to determine their fate in the wide-open Pool A standings.

A native of Waubaushene, Ont., Scheffel notched one goal and three assists in the third consecutive game that need extra time at the 2013 tournament. Rookie forward Taylor Day of Ilderton, Ont., added two points, including the game-tying tally with 34 seconds remaining in regulation, while Toronto team captain Kelly O’Hanlon of Markham, Ont., scored the lone goal of the shoot out to secure the win.

“I think we played unbelievable,” said an elated Scheffel after the game. “There were ups and downs but we came back. I had a frustrating game yesterday so I just played as hard as I could and good things came from it.”

Nicole Kesteris of Aurora, Ont., had another solid night between the pipes, posting 32 saves in the victory.

“Nicole has just been so consistent and strong,” said Varsity Blues head coach Vicky Sunohara. “Not only is she stopping the puck but she’s proven to be that pep-up player to the team as well. Nicole is doing it all and she really deserved the win tonight.”

The UBC Thunderbirds, appearing in their first national championship, take on the top-seeded Montreal Carabins tomorrow night. The Canada West champions showed great resilience in the loss, scoring three third-period goals to force the extra minutes.

“We battled back tonight but Toronto worked really hard and wanted it more than us,” said CIS coach of the year Graham Thomas of the UBC. “We weren’t playing desperate enough and our backs are against the wall now. We have to rebound and refocus against Montreal.”

Fourth-year defenceman and Ottawa native Marlie McLaughlin notched Toronto’s first goal of the championship when she sent a low point shot through traffic to beat UBC netminder Samantha Langford (Pense, Sask.) nine minutes into the game. Toronto native Sonja Weidenfelder put the home team up by two five minutes into the second period as she banged home a Callie Bazak (Peterborough, Ont.) rebound on the powerplay.

Toronto got into penalty trouble midway through the game, with UBC receiving two 30-second 5-on-3 opportunities. The Thunderbirds did not disappoint as sophomore defenceman Sarah Casorso of Kelowna, B.C., wired a shot from the high slot past a sprawling Kesteris to cut the deficit to one.

The two teams exploded for five goals in the third frame, starting with a second tally from Casorso on a beautiful wrap around 3:58 into the period.

Scheffel added her third point of the night as she finished off a beautiful 2-on-1 with U of T rookie Taylor Day (Ilderton, Ont.) by roofing the puck over Langford’s shoulder.

The Thunderbirds came storming back to tie it again and notched their third powerplay goal of the night as Kaylee Chanakos banged home a Nicole Saxvik (North Vancouver, B.C.) rebound with 3:22 remaining. Rookie UBC forward Genevieve Carpenter-Boesch (Regina) then gave the Thunderbirds back the lead as she tipped a Christi Capozzi point shot past Kesteris with 1:41 remaining in the game.

With UBC’s Kaitlin Imai in the box and Kesteris pulled, Day forced overtime on the 6-on-4 advantage as U of T crashed the net with 34 seconds remaining.

O’Hanlon opened the shoot out with her signature deke and Kesteris stopped all three UBC shooters to secure the win.

UBC 2, Queen's 1

TORONTO (CIS) – The Canada West champion UBC Thunderbirds upset the No. 3 Queen’s Gaels, 2-1, in the consolation final to claim fifth place at 2013 CIS women’s hockey championship, Sunday afternoon at Varsity Arena.

Championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wice/index

The eventual game-winner was scored by Genevieve Carpenter-Boesch of Regina, Sask., who wired a shot from the high slot into the top corner of the net. Assists on the score came from Rebecca Unrau (Humboldt, Sask.) and Cailey Hay (Oakbank, Man.) and was notched a mere 38 seconds after UBC broke the scoreless tie.

It was the first two-goal lead of the tournament for UBC, who made their inaugural appearance at the CIS championship this season. The Thunderbirds capped off an incredible 2012-13 campaign, going 1-2 after winning their first Canada West title versus the Calgary Dinos a week ago.

Graham Thomas was recognized as the CIS coach of the year for leading the Thunderbirds to one of the biggest turnaround in CIS women’s hockey history following a 1-22-2 record last year.

“They all really wanted it and the one thing that we are extremely proud of is how many goals we met and what we’ve accomplished this year,” said Thomas. “We wanted to win for the first time ever at the national event and represent UBC well.”

The game was scoreless for the first 35 minutes as each team failed to convert on four power plays opportunities apiece. UBC opened the scoring with 4:06 remaining in the second period as Kelsey Halvorson (Armstrong, B.C.) started a pretty passing play from the point, finding Unrau on the left halfboards before Nadine Burgess (St. Catharines, Ont.) found mesh. The third-year forward was in the slot when she tipped the pass just over the glove Gaels netminder Mel Dodd-Moher (Stittsville, Ont.) to give UBC a 1-0 lead.

Each goalie was tested time and time again as special teams played a huge part in the contest. Samantha Langford of Pense, Sask., made 24 stops, while Dodd-Moher had 18 saves on the day.

The teams went a combined 1-for-18 with the extra attacker. The lone powerplay score came on a Gaels 5-on-3 early in the third when Brittany McHaffie found the net on a feed from Katie Duncan and Alisha Sealey.

Langford came up three huge stops in the final minutes, posting three kick saves during a 5-on-3 advantage, to secure the win for the T-Birds.

“It was a physical game,” said Gaels head coach Matt Holmberg. “We had plenty of powerplays but just weren’t able to capitalize. They had a couple of good shots in the second and we weren’t able to finish in front of the net. Overall I’m proud of the way the team played all year long.”

StFX 3, Toronto 2 (OT)

TORONTO (CIS) – Fourth-year forward Erin Brophy scored two goals, including the game-winner, as the StFX X-Women defeated the host Toronto Varsity Blues 3-2 in overtime to claim the bronze medal at the 2013 CIS women’s hockey championship at Varsity Arena.
 
Championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wice/index
 
With StFX on the powerplay, Brophy (Antigonish, N.S.) banged home a Jenna Downey (Stratford, Ont.) rebound with 3:04 remaining in the overtime period to secure the victory. 
 
The X-Women reach the national podium for the second time in program history, after earning the silver medal at the 2011 championship.
 
StFX, appearing in their 11^th CIS tournament, opened the four-day affair with a 4-1 loss to the defending champion Calgary Dinos, before earning a spot in the bronze-medal game with a 2-1 overtime victory over the Queen’s Gaels on Friday afternoon.
 
"It was tremendous what our girls were able to do here,” said StFX head coach David Synishin. “To take home our second medal in three years means so much to this team, our program and our school. I'm thrilled to be a part of it.”

Fourth-year X-Women goalie Katie Greenway of Guelph, Ont., made 24 saves, while U of T netminder Nicole Kesteris posted 27 stops in the loss, bringing her tournament-total to 112. The Aurora, Ont., made a career-high 53 saves versus Montreal on Day 1, and turned aside 32 shots versus UBC on Friday.

Third-year U of T forward Amanda Ricker of Ottawa opened the scoring midway through the second period when Taylor Day sent the puck to her all alone in the high slot and she wired a beautiful wrist shot into the top corner of the net. 

StFX poured on the pressure late in the second frame and it paid off as rookie forward Taylor Dale of Oromocto, N.B., banged in a Megan Innes point shot that was tipped over Kesteris’ head. The game remained deadlocked at 1-1 heading into the third period.

The X-Women notched the go-ahead goal with 12 minutes remaining in the game as Brophy received a rebound off a fellow Antigonish, N.S., native Jenna Pitts point shot and spun around to find the mesh.
Sophomore forward and Toronto native Sonja Weidenfelder evened the score for the Blues with just 2:52 remaining in the game when she took a pass from team captain Kelly O’Hanlon (Markham, Ont.) from behind the net and made no mistake in finding the back of the net.

StFX took back-to-back penalties in the ensuing minutes, giving the host Blues a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:22 with less than two minutes remaining, but Greenway stood tall and carried the X-Women into overtime.

“They played their hearts out,” said Vicky Sunohara, in her second season as Blues bench boss. “I think that we earned some respect at this tournament. They never gave up and we are just so proud of everything our players did this weekend.”