MIKKELSON SCORES BEAUTY BACKHANDER FOR WHITE SHOOTOUT WIN

CALGARY, Alta. – As her teammates watched in anticipation from the bench, Meaghan Mikkelson (St. Albert, Alta./Alberta, CWHL) skated swiftly up the ice, faked to her forehand out front, stickhandled the puck to her backhand and sniped a beauty into the back of the net Wednesday night, her shootout goal giving White a 3-2 win over the Midget AAA Red Deer Chiefs and its first victory at this year’s National Women’s Team September Camp/Fall Festival.

And she did not just once, but twice, her first shot ringing off the post after the net shifted on the ice, forcing the officials to call for a second shootout attempt from Mikkelson. She mirrored the same move and same shot almost exactly, securing White’s impressive win over the Alberta Midget Hockey League (AMHL) team that won the 2012 TELUS Cup, Canada’s National Midget Championship, last season.

White put the defending national champions to the test on the WinSport Canada ice, with Mélodie Daoust (Valleyfield, Que./McGill University, CIS) catching the Midget boys by surprise when she cracked the scoreboard at 4:14 in the first, on assists from Jennifer Wakefield (Pickering, Ont./Toronto, CWHL) and Hayley Wickenheiser (Shaunavon, Sask./University of Calgary, CIS). Red Deer quickly picked up the pace, tying it up at 12:39 in the period on a goal from Colton Bobyk, and the back-and-forth, up-and-down action through all three periods and the extra frame.

Bailey Bram (Ste. Anne, Man./Brampton, CWHL) jumped on the puck in the slot to make it 2-1 at 14:32 in the second, with help from Cassandra Poudrier (Lachenaie, Que./Cornell University, ECAC), and White was able to hold of Red Deer until just under six minutes into the third, when Jacob Schofield tied it up and ultimately sent the game into overtime. The additional five minutes couldn’t determine a winner, however, sending Wednesday’s late game into a two-round shootout featuring 12 players and three goals, including a dazzler from Daoust on the very first shot and Mikkelson’s entertaining game-winner.

White takes to the ice in Calgary again Thursday, with a game against the Midget AAA Calgary Flames at 8:15 p.m. MT, on Rink A at the WinSport Canada Athletic & Ice Complex. Follow @HC_TeamCanada for live game updates from the rink.