Game Summary

MERCIER SCORES SHORTHANDED GAME-WINNER TO GIVE HOST TEAM EDGE OVER ATLANTIC

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Saguenay, Que. – The noisy crowd energized its favourite team again Thursday night, cheering the Québecers on to a 2-1 win over Atlantic in what was an exciting and evenly played matchup.

The opening period saw intense play on both sides, but neither team could crack the scoreboard. Despite ten shots, Québec was left frustrated by Abigail Clarke (Springdale, N.L.) throughout the first.

The blue and white host time finally got on the game sheet at 7:31 in the second, when Sarah Lefort (Ormstown, Que.) put the puck over the Atlantic goal line. A few minutes later, Laurie Mercier (Rouyn-Noranda, Que.) capitalized on a powerplay to mystify the east coast defence and make it 2-0 on a beauty marker.

Motivated by the speech of their head coach Maryelle Hannan (Bridgetown, N.S.), Atlantic came out on fire during the third, pulling out all the stops to attempt a comeback. Breanna Lanceleve (Middle Sackville, N.S.) was able to narrow the gap to one goal just 44 seconds into the period.

Despite added pressure on Ann-Renée Desbiens (La Malbaie, Que.), the Québec netminder shut down several strong shots off the Atlantic sticks, for 17 stops total in the game. Atlantic’s Clarke also played a great game between the posts, with 32 saves.

Atlantic will take on Ontario Blue on Friday (1 p.m. ET), while Québec will be back on the ice against Saskatchewan (8 p.m. ET). Come out to the Centre Georges-Vézina to catch the action for yourself, or if you can’t make it to the rink, check it out online at hockeycanada.fasthockey.com.

Game Information
Game Number	8	Round	Preliminary
Arena	Centre Georges-Vézina	City, Country	Saguenay, Que.
Month / Day / Year	11/03/2011	Time	08:00 PM ET
Attendance		Game Status	Final

Box Score	1	2	3	Total
Atlantic (ATL)	0	0	1	1
Quebec (QC)	0	2	0	2

Goals/Penalties

First Period

Goals:
None

Penalties:
None

Second Period

Goals:
07:31 QC 9 Sarah Lefort (19 Catherine Dubois)
13:06 QC 7 Laurie Mercier (17 Vickie Lemire) SH

Penalties:
   07:44 ATL 11 Catherine Berghuis (Cross Checking)
   09:36 QC 19 Catherine Dubois (Checking to the Head)
   14:45 QC 6 Geneviève Bannon (Tripping)
   19:34 QC 6 Geneviève Bannon (Elbowing)

Third Period

Goals:
00:44 ATL 18 Breanna Lanceleve (11 Catherine Berghuis) PP

Penalties:
01:28 ATL 14 Schyler Campbell (Hooking)
11:07 ATL 11 Catherine Berghuis (Interference)

Goaltenders

Atlantic

1 Abigail Clarke

On 1/00:00

Off 3/19:14

Quebec

30 Ann-Renée Desbiens

On 1/00:00

Off 3/20:00