CALGARY – The ACAC women's hockey final became a best of three affair Sunday after the Mount Royal College Cougars defeated the University of Calgary Dinos 1-0 after over 90 minutes of hockey. This result evens the best of five series at one win apiece.
“Every time you go into a final it isn't an easy game,” commented Dinos head coach Danielle Goyette. “We have to give them credit, they battled back.”
The game opened on a fiercely even note with both teams ripping 11 shots towards the opposing netminder in the first 20 minutes. The period was marked by two powerplays, one for each club, which resulted in great scoring chances that each goaltender turned away.
By the end of the second, the Dinos had taken the lead in momentum but not on the scoreboard, outshooting their opponents 6-2. Each team taking eight shots is an indicator of the defensive pressure during the second despite the fact that the DInos faced the Cougar powerplay four times while the Cougars successfully killed off three penalties.
The intensity rose in the third as both teams, pushed by the spectators that packed the stands, felt the need to score. The Dinos outshot the Cougars 8-4 and were again denied the back of the net. The closest any Dinos got to scoring was on a breakaway by Cait O'Hara that was turned away by the tip of Cougar goaltender Sarah Oswald's left pad. At the other end, Dinos goaltender Katie Urness faced her own scary moment when, with less than two minutes to go, a rebound floated across her crease near an onrushing Mount Royal attacker; miraculously, the puck was deflected by a stick before it hit the net.
The game continued into overtime where both teams posed significant offensive threats only to find both goalies standing on their heads to keep their team playing. The Dinos outshot the Cougars 4-3 in the 10 minute long first overtime despite a penalty at 3:45. Two of Mount Royal's chances came in the dying seconds of the first overtime where Katie Urness became a brick wall, hauling the game into a second overtime.
That second overtime would be identical to the first four periods on the score sheet despite the Dinos dominating effort in the second half. All told, the Dinos outshot their opponents 11-4 in the second overtime and nearly ended the game in the dying minute. The final play of the period saw an exhausted Mount Royal defender on the wrong end of a two-on-one, Tanya Morgan and Erin Davidson were on the right end of that play but in the end couldn't find a way past Sarah Oswald.
With 90 minutes of hockey already played it was only a matter of time before one team got a lucky bounce; that bounce came at 1:28 in the third overtime when Mount Royal's centre, Madison Oulette, managed to win the faceoff for her team and direct a quick shot towards the net; Katie Urness was caught unaware by the play and couldn't react to the five-hole shot in time to prevent the Cougar's victory.
All told Urness turned away 25 shots in the course of 91 minutes while Sarah Oswald responded to 40.
When asked about what needed to change to turn the shots into goals Dinos forward Shannon Davidson replied, “It's about the quality of shots, this ice is so small that you have to take shots from everywhere to make anything happen, so I think when we get on our own ice we can set up nicer plays.”
“I wish it ended differently.” Davidson added after the match. “We played hard and I was really proud of our team.”
“I feel like it was a hard fought battle the whole way,” echoed assistant captain Ali Webb. “When it gets that far into the game a lucky bounce can win it and that's what happened,”
With the series tied at one game apiece the teams will return to the Olympic Oval at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 14 for the third game. The fourth game will take place Saturday, at Centennial Arena with a 7 p.m. puck drop. If a fifth game is required it will take place back at the Olympic Oval the Sunday in an afternoon contest with a scheduled start time of 1:30 p.m.
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