CALGARY – A late goal from Allee Gerrard proved to be the difference as No. 4 Mount Royal was able to squeak out a 1-0 win over the Calgary Dinos women's hockey team Saturday afternoon from Father David Bauer Arena.

Saturday's contest was a night-and-day opposite of Friday's showdown that saw MRU finish with a 6-2 win.

"It's an okay answer," Dinos head coach Josh Gosling said. "We're still making simple mistakes that we need to prevent. I think some of our youth shows, but all in all it's something we can build off of."

Both the Dinos and Cougars proved their discipline in the first two periods of play, with a total of only eight penalty minutes for the teams combined, one penalty each per team, per period. With these penalties came the showing of the special teams, where both programs' penalty kill proved effective, as the scoresheet remained empty across the board until the final frame.

Heading into the third, the Cougars had the 24-9 lead in shots on goal. It was just three and a half minutes in when the Cougars finally broke down that barrier, where a scramble at centre ice helped break up the shutout. Athena Hauck drove up into the Dinos' end before shifting the play towards the centre slot, where the puck was picked up and fired by Gerrard, finding the spot behind the previously impenetrable Dinos goaltender Amelia Awad, putting up the sole tally of the game and securing the weekend sweep for the Cougars.

"I think she's given us everything she can," Gosling said about Awad, who turned away 32 of the 33 shots she faced Saturday. "She comes to work every day, she's vowing for us every day, she's doing everything she can for us, we just need to give her a bit more support."

"We need a little bit more desperation on the offensive side. We need to fight through more of the mud, fight through a little bit more in traffic and get more into that crease and to that compete area."

MRU goaltender Kaitlyn Ross tallied 14 saves to secure the shutout.

Both teams will return to the ice Jan. 10 where the Dinos will head up north to Edmonton to battle the University of Alberta, while the Cougars will return to their home ice to face off against the UBC Thunderbirds. Both games begin with a 7 p.m. puck drop. 

-UC-