LETHBRIDGE — It was a tightly contested battle for three points in the Canada West playoff standings, but the host Lethbridge Pronghorns were unable to hold off the visiting Mount Royal Cougars, losing by a score of 4 – 3.
"Go Horns Go" chants rung strong throughout the game Saturday night, as the Nicholas Sheran Arena was filled with minor female hockey teams in celebration of Female Hockey Day in Alberta. However, the hopeful vibrato was not enough to propel the Horns to a series sweep versus the Cougars, who lost out on a valuable three points in their campaign to secure a playoff spot.
The Cougars were led by strong two-point performances by Breanne Trotter and Tianna Ko, each scoring a goal and marking an assist. Pronghorns Forward Sage Sansregret shone for her side with a goal and team-high three shots.
Lethbridge starter Alicia Anderson started in net for the Pronghorns after some speculation about her condition shortly before the game. Pronghorns play-by-play voice Paul Kingsmith confirmed that flu-like symptoms were the cause for concern and were likely the reason she was relieved by Chloe Marshall after the fourth Cougars goal.
Anderson made 24 saves on 28 shots in her credited loss, while Chloe Marshall made four saves in relief. Mount Royal's Cassie Shokar turned aside 15 of the 18 shots she faced in the win,
Outside of a successful penalty-kill by each club in the opening half-period, neither team generated any substantial chances in their opponent's zone. Mount Royal held the shots lead at that point, but momentum swung both ways early on.
Despite being out-chanced by nearly double nearing the end of the frame, a Lethbridge press in the Mount Royal zone earned them the opening goal. Mikaela Reay won the puck at the half-boards, Kianna Dietz took it behind the MRU goal line, and passed it back to Sage Sansregret who put it behind Shokar.
Sansregret's fourth of the season was the only goal of the frame, despite Mount Royal outshooting the home side 10 – 5. Neither side was able to convert on their multiple powerplay opportunities.
The second period was much more eventful, with the Cougars evaporating the Lethbridge lead inside the first minute of the frame. Tatum Amy kept the puck inside the Pronghorns zone on the shorthand, exchanging it with Breanne Trotter and Mackenzie Butz, the latter of whose screened shots found a way past Anderson to tie the game at one.
At the 7:39 mark into period two, Alicia Anderson surpassed former Saskatchewan Huskie Cassidy Hendricks to become the all-time Canada West leader in minutes played by a women's hockey goaltender.
Shortly after the record-setting mark, Lethbridge restored their lead off a broken play inside the Mount Royal zone, with Eryn Johanson recovering the puck, skating through the neutral zone, crossing it to an open Evan DeBaie who buries her first Canada West goal.
The Cougars responded to the DeBaie tally just two minutes later, as Tianna Ko stripped the Pronghorns defenders of the puck at the centre red line, carried it back into the offensive zone, and fired a pin-pointed shot on the short-side of Anderson.
Mount Royal dominated the rest of the period, accruing a dominant 11 – 4 shots-on-goal tally by the end of the frame, and a 21 – 9 total shots lead through two periods.
Despite a much stronger offensive performance by the Pronghorns to open up the period, Mount Royal tallied two as time approached the final ten minutes. Ko stole the puck in the Lethbridge zone and lined the stretch pass up to Trotter. Trotter deked out both Lethbridge defenders and buried her shot past Anderson to give Mount Royal their first lead of the game.
Less than two minutes later, the Cougars set up a partial two-on-one opportunity heading through the neutral zone. After Amy freed the puck in the Pronghorns zone Anna Purschke took it through the neutral zone and into the Lethbridge end, firing it far-side past Anderson to widen the lead by a goal.
Purschke's goal saw the end of Anderson's night in net, as she was relieved by Chloe Marshall to close out the period.
Lethbridge refused to go away quietly in desperate need of points in the playoff race, forcing their way through the Mount Royal defences to cut the Cougars lead by one. Off a powerplay faceoff win, Kyra Grieg's shot was blocked in front, and Mila Verbicky recovered the loose puck firing it past Shokar to reduce the deficit.
The late Lethbridge push with Marshall out of the net was not enough to score the tying marker, as the Cougars salvage the series split with the regulation win.
With the win, the Mount Royal Cougars (10-13-1-0, 32 pts) move ahead of the UBC Thunderbirds (8-11-1-4, 30 pts) for the final spot in the Canada West conference playoff race, while Lethbridge (7-13-1-3, 26 pts) sit four points back of the sixth-place position.
Mount Royal takes on the Calgary Dinos at the Scotiabank Saddledome next Thursday, while Lethbridge will fly to Vancouver next weekend to take on the UBC Thunderbirds, with direct implications for both sides' playoff hopes. Catch all the action on Canada West TV presented by Co-op
