2012 National Women's Under-18 Championship

EARLY POWER-PLAY GOALS HELP ONTARIO RED TO SECOND WIN AT NATIONALS

DAWSON CREEK, B.C. – The crowd at the EnCana Events Centre erupted in cheers Thursday night when host team British Columbia got on the scoreboard early in the game against defending national champions Ontario Red, with Sarah Potomak (Aldergrove, B.C.) finding the back of the net just over five minutes into the game.

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But despite initial excitement buzzing throughout the arena, a couple of first period penalties ended up being quite costly for the local provincial squad. Ontario Red’s Nicole Martindale (Brooklyn, Ont.) evened the score at 8:56  and Emma Woods (Harley, Ont.) notched what would become the game-winner at  10:44, both while on the power-play, to gain a 3-1 lead over B.C. by the time the buzzer sounded for the first intermission.

British Columbia took a breath during the break, stepping onto the ice in the second with strength and speed, and shooting seven pucks at the Ontario Red net, but Kassidy Sauve (Whitby, Ont.) stood her ground between the posts to help maintain the gap on the score sheet in her team’s favour. Goaltender Hayley Dowling (Port Alberni, B.C.) also did her job in the crease, stopping 27 Ontario Red shots over three periods to keep the score close and the outcome uncertain.

Sydney McKibbon (Oakville, Ont.) sealed the deal for Ontario Red at 7:22 in the third, making it 3-1 after a full 60 minutes, and giving Ontario Red six points total going into Day 3 of preliminary action in Dawson Creek.

Ontario Red takes on Saskatchewan at 4 p.m. MT and B.C. faces Team Atlantic in what should be an exciting and evenly matched feature game, all taking place Friday at the EnCana Events Centre. If you live in the area, stop by the box office or go to www.EnCanaEventsCentre.com for tickets, and if you can’t make it check out hockeycanada.fasthockey.com to see all the action live!

Penalties:
   02:37 ON-R 22 Hilary Lloyd (Slashing)
   07:22 BC 2 Samantha Fieseler (Bodychecking)
   07:30 BC 7 Alexa Ranahan (Tripping)
   09:40 BC 15 Daley Oddy (Hooking)
   11:20 BC 6 Stephanie Payne (Holding)
   14:42 ON-R 24 Emma Korbs (Cross Checking)
   18:01 BC 2 Samantha Fieseler (Interference)

Penalties:
   00:08 ON-R 25 Hanna Bunton (Bodychecking)
   03:04 ON-R 16 Sarah Nurse (Slashing)
   07:32 ON-R   (Too Many Men)
   13:07 BC 7 Alexa Ranahan (Hooking)

Penalties:
   00:32 ON-R 22 Hilary Lloyd (Slashing)
   03:32 ON-R 11 Breanne Wilson-Bennett (Slashing)
   05:24 BC 4 Micah Hart (Holding Opp. Stick)
   13:02 ON-R 21 Lauren Wildfang (Tripping)