2009 National Women's Under-18 Championship

QUEBEC BEATS BRITISH COLUMBIA IN A BLOWOUT WIN

SURREY, B.C. – Ariane Barker (Napierville, Que.) pocketed a couple of goals early in the first period to help put her team on the fast-track to a 6-1 win over British Columbia in the final game of preliminary action Thursday night in Surrey.

Her first goal of the evening came a mere 27 seconds into play, on a pass from Élarie Leclair (Varennes, Que.), letting the West Coasters know immediately that it wasn’t going to be an easy game for them. Barker’s next one happened just over five minutes later on a power play, with assists going to Mélodie Daoust (Valleyfield, Que.) and Cassandra Poudrier (Terrebonne, Que.).

Kaylo Tutino (Lorraine, Que.) provided Quebec’s third of the night, but Lauren Kimura (Surrey, B.C.) answered with British Columbia’s sole goal of the night before the clock ran down on the first period. Kimura, the only Surrey native on the province’s team, also won British Columbia’s player of the game honours. Barker was named player of the game for Quebec.

The following two periods allowed Quebec to turn a win into a blowout victory, with Daoust securing a couple goals of her own and Laurence Porlier (Maria, Que.) contributing a single.

Despite the gap in scoring, British Columbia’s goaltender faced 45 shots on the night, making 39 saves an impressive showing for a difficult match-up.

British Columbia is back on the ice for the late game Friday (8 p.m. PT) against Manitoba, while Quebec takes on Alberta (1 p.m. PST) in what will likely be a competitive match-up.