2007-08 National Women's Team

CANADA WHITE 4 - CANADA RED 0

Fall Festival
Exhibition
7:00 pm PST
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Prince George, BC

BECHARD’S HAT TRICK SPARKS TEAM WHITE TO TITLE
 
Prince George, BC – Team Canada White has won the 2007 National Women’s Team Fall Festival, following an exciting 4-0 victory in the first-place game over Team Canada Red on Saturday night at the Prince George Coliseum.

Team White scored two goals in each of the second and third periods en route to the win. Charline Labonte (Boisbriand, QC/McGill Univ., CIS) and Laura Hosier (Sharon, ON/Mercyhurst College, CHA) combined to stop all 38 shots they faced for the shutout.
Following a scoreless first period, Kelly Bechard (Sedley, SK/Mississauga, NWHL) got Team White started when she stuffed in a rebound past Team White’s Shannon Szabados (Edmonton, AB/Grant MacEwan, ACAC). Jennifer Botterill (Winnipeg, MB/Mississauga, NWHL) earned an assist on the play.

Just over three minutes later, Bechard scored her second of the game when she was fed a perfect pass by Courtney Birchard (Mississauga, ON/Toronto, PWHL), while the players were on a 2-on-0 break. Botterill earned her second assist on the goal.

Bechard completed the natural hat trick at 10:32 of the third period. During a Team White powerplay, Tessa Bonhomme (Sudbury, ON/Ohio State University, WCHA) made a cross-ice pass to Bechard, who skated in and snapped a shot through the legs of Team Red’s Sami Jo Small (Winnipeg, MB/Mississauga, NWHL).

Both teams changed goaltenders at the midway point of the second, with Small replacing Szabados and Hosier going in for Labonte.

Bonhomme completed the scoring at 12:57, when she one-timed a Gina Kingsbury (Rouyn-Noranda, QC/Calgary, NWHL) pass into the net.

Team Red had several scoring chances throughout the game but couldn’t solve Labonte or Hosier.

The Fall Festival ran from Sept. 1-8 in Prince George, BC and served as an evaluation camp for the National Women’s Team. Forty players from throughout Canada were split into two teams – Red and White – and were joined by Team Sweden.

Sweden defeated the Prince George Cougars Bantam AAA team 8-1 earlier on Saturday.