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HEFFORD, ST-PIERRE SHINE IN SHOOTOUT WIN FOR CANADA
CALGARY, Alta. – Make it three in a row for Canada’s National Women’s Team in NWT Midget Series
action.
Jayne Hefford (Kingston, Ont.) scored the lone goal in the shootout and Kim St-Pierre (Châteauguay, Que.)
stopped all three attempts as Canada earned a 4-3 win over the Calgary Northstars on Tuesday night at Father
David Bauer Olympic Arena.
The victory moves Canada to 9-3 in the Midget Series, and gives it three wins in as many games and four in
its last five.
It was the Canadian power play that struck first, as Marie-Philip Poulin (Beauceville, Que.) converted a
cross-crease set-up from Hefford for the game’s opening goal just past the eight-minute mark of the opening
period.
But it took just 40 seconds for the Northstars to return the game to even terms, thanks to Godric
Tham.
After an even opening 20 minutes – the teams each had 12 shots on goal in the period – the Canadians
started to control the play in the middle frame, and took a 2-1 lead when Cherie Piper (Scarborough, Ont.)
blasted a shot from the slot past a sprawling Kenny Cameron.
The lead grew to two early in the third period after Meghan Agosta (Ruthven, Ont.) roofed a shot past
Cameron, giving Canada a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 lead with time ticking down, but penalty trouble hurt
the Canadians and back-to-back 5-on-3 goals by Jordan Eddy and Brendan Santini within 99 seconds of each
other brought the game to 3-3 and forced overtime.
An uneventful extra frame gave way to a shootout, where the goaltenders shone early – St-Pierre and
Cameron both turned away the first two shooters they faced.
Hefford, who has been Canada’s hottest player through the first dozen Midget Series contests, continued
her sparkling play with a backhand just under the crossbar and past Cameron, giving the Canadians the lead,
and eventually the win when St-Pierre kicked out the right pad to deny Eddy on the Northstars’ final
attempt.
Canada is right back to action on Thursday night, when it welcomes the Calgary Buffaloes to FDB (7:30 p.m.
MT). The Canadians already hold a victory over the Buffaloes this season, taking a 4-3 overtime decision on
October 13.
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