PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE CLAIMS BRONZE MEDAL AT FIRST-EVER FEMALE WORLD SPORT SCHOOL CHALLENGE

by Meg Crane

WINNIPEG, Man. – The Pursuit of Excellence snagged the 1-0 win over Shaftesbury Hockey Academy, with Halli Krzyzaniak (Neepawa, Man.) scoring the game-winner midway through the third period, to claim the bronze medal Sunday at the first-ever Female World Sport School Challenge.

Both teams played hard through the first, with six shots on net apiece, but neither the Pursuit of Excellence nor Shaftesbury could crack the scoreboard after 20 minutes.

The quick skating, great communication and teamwork on both sides continued into the second, with Shaftesbury letting nine shots go in the period, yet still unable to put the puck past the Pursuit of Excellence goal line. After a brief stoppage in play late in the middle frame, the game picked up right where it left off, with the puck flying up and down the ice and fans in the stands watching in anticipation to see which team would score the first goal of the game.

Both teams put even more offensive pressure on in the third, with the Pursuit of Excellence firing 12 shots on net. That included a penalty shot taken by Sarah Potomak (Aldergrove, B.C.), who got the second chance after being taken out on a breakaway and winding up in the net instead of the puck. But Shaftesbury netminder Rachel Dyck (Winnipeg Beach, Man.) denied the penalty shot.

The fans finally saw the goal they had been waiting for at 11:31 in the third, when Krzyzaniak notched the first and only goal of the game for the Pursuit of Excellence, on a beautiful high shot to the back of the net.

Though Shaftesbury pulled its goalie late in the game on a power-play to make it six-on-four, the local Winnipeg hockey academy couldn’t find the back of the net by the time the final buzzer went on the bronze medal game, with the Pursuit of Excellence from Kelowna, B.C., taking home bragging rights.

Pursuit of Excellence netminder Sara Besseling (Vaxholm, Sweden) and Shaftesbury Hockey Academy goaltender Rachel Dyck (Winnipeg, Man.) both received Player of the Game honours.