2006 Esso Women's Nationals

POOL A

TEAM ONTARIO REDISCOVERS SCORING TOUCH IN WIN OVER TEAM BC

After having difficulty scoring in last night’s tilt against Team Quebec, Ontario was firing on all cylinders as they defeated team BC 7-2 on Thursday morning.  Ontario veterans Jayna Hefford, Kathleen Kauth and Kristie Zamora led the way for their team with two goals apiece while Vicky Sunohara chipped in with a goal and two assists.  Kauth was named Ontario’s player of the game.  BC opened the scoring with player of the game Melissa Anderson notching her first of the tournament, but sputtered from there on out.  Kayla Novelli added BC’s second goal mid-way through the third, however the deficit was just too much to surmount.  Despite the loss, goaltender Lisa Lafreniere was solid in net making 45 saves. Ontario improved to 2-1 while Team BC remained winless.

TEAM QUEBEC HOLDS OFF TEAM ALBERTA TO KEEP PERFECT RECORD ALIVE

The two remaining un-defeated teams in Pool A squared off on Thursday afternoon as Team Alberta hosted Team Quebec. Team Alberta came out flying and opened the scoring early in the first on a goal by Meghan Walton.  Alberta then made it 2-0 early in the second as Rebecca Russell notched her first of the tournament.  Then, the momentum switched and Quebec took control with four straight goals in the second.  Quebec player of the game Annie Derosiers led the way with 1 goal and two helpers.  With a 4-2 lead going into the third, Charline Labonte took over and stopped 17 shots in the third period to clinch the 4-2 victory for Quebec.  Labonte continued her stellar play stopping 36 shots and Russell was named player of the game for Team Alberta.  With the win, Quebec clinched first in Pool A and Alberta dropped to 1-1, setting up an important match-up with Ontario later in the day.

TEAM NEW BRUNSWICK EDGES TEAM BC

Two winless teams took to the ice on Thursday afternoon looking to get that elusive first win and it wasn’t going to be easy. The battle was a rough and tumble penalty filled affair with New Brunswick coming out on top in both the final score, 4-3 and they held a 3-2 edge in power-play goals for in the game as well. In total, BC went 2-6, while New Brunswick converted on 3 of 7. Marie-Helene Ploudre, New Brunswick’s player of the game led the way for her team with two goals while Stephanie Roy and Melinda Kaye chipped in with their first goals of the tournament. Goaltender Margo Rioux made 12 saves for the win while Jennifer Price turned away 30 and suffered the loss. BC’s player of the game Kirsten Mihalcheon scored BC’s first goal of the game while Kelsey Young and Melissa Anderson also scored for BC.

TEAM ONTARIO BEATS ALBERTA TO CLINCH SECOND PLACE

Team Ontario and Team Alberta were battling it out for second place in round robin play for Pool A on Thursday night.  With their solid scoring and offensive prowess, Ontario overmatched a tired Alberta team for the 5-2 victory, securing second spot in Pool A.  Karen Droog scored her first two goals of the tournament for Ontario while Jayna Hefford chipped in with a three point night (1g, 2a) and was named her team’s player of the game.  Megan Walton broke Cindy Eadie’s bid for a second consecutive shutout with just under 6 minutes remaining in the third.   Eadie was solid in net for Ontario stopping 24 shots, including 10 in the third period.  Tristan Desmet was named Team Alberta’s player of the game.

  

POOL B

TEAM NOVA SCOTIA CLINCHES TOP SPOT IN POOL B

Team Nova Scotia continued their solid play Thursday morning downing Team Newfoundland & Labrador 9-0.  Nova Scotia showed no ill effects after playing two games on Wednesday, including the night game as its relentless attack was too much for team Newfoundland & Labrador to handle.  Nova Scotia showed balance through their lineup as 8 different players tallied in the game with defenceman Laura Shearer being the only one to net two.  Jillian McIsaac stopped 10 shots for the shutout while Newfoundland & Labrador goaltenders Mallory Jagoe and Deidre Parsons split duties in the losing cause.

TEAM PEI DOWNS MANITOBA IN OVERTIME

Team PEI, winless in last year’s Esso Women’s National Championship notched their second victory of the tournament with a 3-2 overtime win over Manitoba. Mary McKinnon scored her third of the tournament to open the scoring for PEI early in the first. Manitoba tied things up just 53 seconds into the second on a goal by Kim Houde. PEI regained the lead on a Robyn MacDonald power-play goal late in the frame. Manitoba fought back to tied it once again, this time it was Ashley Van Aggelen who found twine for the home team. Both goalies made key saves to keep the game tied well into overtime until Tessa Roche became the hero for PEI notching her second of the tourney with just 32 seconds remaining in overtime. Van Aggelen was named Manitoba’s player of the game, while McKinnon was honoured for team PEI.

TEAM MANITOBA GETS FIRST WIN AS THEY DEFEAT TEAM NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR

Despite begin visibly tired having played a game just hours earlier, Team Manitoba overcame their slow start to down team Newfoundland & Labrador 4-2.  Newfoundland and Labrador took advantage of a slow Manitoba team and took a 2-0 lead, the team’s first goals of the tournament, in the first period.  However, Manitoba took control in the second period with three un-answered goals from Kim Houde, Cheryl Wiens and Shelly Cockerill, who was named Team Manitoba’s player of the game.  Ashley Van Aggelen put the game out of reach in the third period with her second goal of the tourney.  Shelly Brown, Newfoundland & Labrador’s player of the game notched one of her team’s goals while Ashley Blackwood netted the other.