2006 Esso Women's Nationals

POOL A

NEW BRUNSWICK STUNS TEAM QUEBEC

The day of round robin play in Pool A saw one of the biggest upsets of the tournament to date as New Brunswick handed Team Quebec their first loss.  New Brunswick made the most of their scoring chances in the first netting three unanswered goals in the opening period.  Robin Thompson, Celested Doucet and Kristine Labrie all tallied to give New Brunswick a 3-0 lead.  Then, only 7 seconds into the second, Chelsea Gilbert gave New Brunswick a 4-0 lead and effectively chased Quebec starting netminder, Jennie Lavigne from the game.  Her replacement, Charline Labonte came in and stopped 15 of 16 shots in the final two periods.   Cathy Chartrand, Quebec’s player of the game and Quebec leading scorer Annie Derosiers scored Quebec’s only goals.  Goaltender Emily Hobbs was awarded player of the game honours for Team New Brunswick as she turned aside 41 of 43 shots in the 5-2 win.

TEAM ALBERTA CRUISES TO 6-0 WIN OVER TEAM BC

Team BC came up short in their bid to record their first win of the tournament as Team Alberta continued their strong play with a 6-0 victory.  BC, struggled to generate any scoring chances and were shutout for the first time in the tourney.  Alberta on the other hand made the most of their chances early on as Heather Logan, Laura Fridfinnson, Rebecca Russell and Tristan Desmet all scored for BC giving them a commanding 4-0 lead after the first.  Kaley Hall and Desmet added to BC’s lead in the second and third periods respectively.  BC netminder Amanda Tapp made 12 saves for the shutout.  Logan was named her Alberta’s Player of the game thanks to her two point effort while Melanie Chue was BC’s player of the game. 

NEW BRUNSWICK ADVANCES WITH WIN OVER BC

Hockey New Brunswick continued their strong play defeating Team BC for the second straight day, this time by a 3-0 score. With the win, New Brunswick advances to Saturday's semi-final and earns a spot in the medal round. New Brunswick didn't miss a beat after their morning's win against Quebec and opened the scoring at 4:37 on a goal by Stephanie Roy. Despite being outshot 11-5 in the first, New Brunswick took their 1-0 lead into the second where Kristine Labrie added an insurance goal early in the second. Melinda Kaye sealed the win for Team New Brunswick scoring later in the second period. The loss marked the second straight shutout loss for Team BC having previously lost to Team Alberta 6-0 in their morning tilt. Emily Hobbs made several key saves, 23 in total, to record the shutout and her teammate Carole Leblanc was named New Brunswick's player of the game. Lindsay Curtis was named BC's player of the game. New Brunswick will now face Team Quebec in Saturday's semi-final whily Team BC will play to avoid relegation on Saturday afternoon.

 

POOL B

MANITOBA EXACTS REVENGE ON TEAM PEI

After falling to PEI 5-4 in overtime during their round-robin matchup, Team Manitoba took advantage of solid goaltending to exact their revenge and defeat PEI 3-1.  Team Manitoba was a motivated club in the first period and scored three un-answered goals to give them a 3-0 lead after the first period.  Jill Fast, Vanessa Borton and Ashley Van Aggelen all scored for Manitoba.  Team PEI’s coach must have said something quite motivating in that first intermission as they came out and dominated Team Manitoba from there on out.  Their relentless pressure finally paid off late in the second as Jennifer Sullivan scored her first of the tournament cutting the lead to 3-1.  However, Manitoba goaltender Carissa Schettler shut the door from there, stopping 13 shots in the third and 39 overall en route to player of the game honours.  Forward Amber Sullivan who was buzzing around the net all afternoon was Team PEI’s player of the game.

CROSS-OVER GAME

TEAM NOVA SCOTIA FALLS TO ALBERTA

Team Alberta defeated Nova Scotia 5-2 on Friday night effectively securing their spot in the semi-finals on Saturday afternoon. Team Nova Scotia came on strong early in the first and Melissa Welton opened the scoring early in the first. Because on some un-disciplined play, Nova Scotia could not uphold their moment and Alberta capitalized scoring 5 unanswered goals, two on the power-play. Chantal Laroque and Heather Logan each socred their fourth goals of the tournament while Megan Walton, Monica Dupuis and Kaley Hall also scored for Alberta. Nova Scotia's Catherine Gavin got one back late in the second to make it 5-2, but the deficit proved too large and Nova Scotia could not keep any momentum due to untimely penalties. Melissa Welton was named Nova Scotia's player of the game while Laroque was honoured for Team Alberta. Nova Scotia will face Team BC on Saturday morning with the winner guaranteed a spot in Pool A of the 2007 Esso Women's National Championship while the loser will play in Pool B. Alberta moves on and will face Ontario in tomorrow's semi-final.