2009-10 National Women's Under-18 Team

PENALTY TROUBLES DOOM CANADIANS AS U.S. EARNS WIN

CALGARY, Alta. – For 40 minutes Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team was the best team on the Father David Bauer Olympic Arena ice, outshooting the United States 30-9 through two periods and holding a 2-1 lead.
Then the third period started.

Canada took five minor penalties in the first nine minutes of the final frame, giving the Americans ample time with the man advantage to take a 3-2 lead en route to a 4-3 win in the first of three games between the North American rivals.
In the early going it was the U.S. who paraded to the penalty box, taking five penalties in the first period, compared to two for Canada. Despite playing a man down, the Americans struck first when Kendall Coyne converted a shorthanded breakaway, snapping a wrist shot past the blocker of Canadian goaltender Erica Howe (Orleans, Ont.) just 2:12 in.

Undaunted, the Canadians came back to tie the game on the same power play, as Jillian Saulnier (Halifax, N.S.) put her shot through a screen in front and past American netminder Alex Rigsby for the 1-1 goal. Canada was unlucky not to lead after the first period – Kelly Terry (Whitby, Ont.) had a late breakaway in the opening frame and beat Rigsby, but her shot was turned away by the cross bar.

After outshooting the U.S. 15-5 in the first, the Canadians continued to control the play in the second period, holding a 15-4 advantage, and they took their first lead when Jamie Lee Rattray (Kanata, Ont.) – wearing the ‘C’ as part of the team’s rotating captaincy – poked a loose puck past Rigsby to send Canada to the dressing room up 2-1.

The steady stream of Canadians to the penalty box began just shy of the six-minute mark of the third period, and gave the Americans close to seven minutes of almost uninterrupted power play time, leading to the tying goal from Alexandra Carpenter and the go-ahead goal from Haley Skarupa just 3:28 apart.

But just as they did in the first period the Canadians struck back quickly. Jessica Campbell (Melville, Sask.) knocked the puck past Rigsby after a scramble in the American crease, tying the game at 3-3 and reigniting the Canadian bench.

The comeback was not to be, however, as the U.S. picked up the game-winner just 2:14 after Campbell’s goal. A point shot from Marissa Gedman hit the shin pad of Stephanie Monk and ricocheted past Howe, giving the Americans a lead they would never relinquish.

Canada made a valiant effort, swarming Rigsby and the American defence in the dying seconds, but could not put a fourth goal past the U.S. netminder. The two teams meet again Wednesday night at Father David Bauer Olympic Arena (7 p.m. MT), before wrapping up the series Thursday afternoon at the Pengrowth Saddledome (2:30 p.m. MT).

Goals/Buts:
02:12 USA Kendall Coyne SH/DN
03:11 CAN Jillian Saulnier (Hannah Armstrong, Jamie Lee Rattray) PP/AN

Penalties/Punitions:
01:24 USA Zoe Hickel (Body-checking/Mise en échec)
02:42 USA Marissa Gedman (Delay of Game/Retarder le match)
06:16 USA Zoe Hickel (Hooking/Accrocher)
06:41 CAN Hannah Armstrong (Roughing/Rudesse)
09:18 USA Alexandra Carpenter (Tripping/Faire trébucher)
12:28 USA Bench (Too Many Players/Trop du joueurs)
14:21 CAN Sarah Davis (Hooking/Accrocher)

Goals/Buts : 
11:11 CAN Jamie Lee Rattray

Penalties/Pénalités : 
00:13 CAN Jamie Lee Rattray (Holding the Stick/Retenir de bâton) 
08:42 CAN Shannon Doyle (Hooking/Accrocher)
17:37 USA Gabie Figueroa (Tripping/Faire trébucher)

Goals/Buts : 
07:41 USA Alexandra Carpenter (Kendall Coyne, Emily Pfalzer) PP/AN
11:09 USA Haley Skarupa (Meagan Mangene, Zoe Hickel) PP/AN
11:32 CAN Jessica Campbell (Sarah Davis, Christine Lambert)
13:46 USA Stephanie Mock (Marissa Gedman, Katie Case)

Penalties/Pénalités :
01:09 CAN Kaleigh Fratkin (Holding/Retenir)
05:53 CAN Shannon Doyle (High-sticking/Bâton-élevé)
07:25 CAN Erin Ambrose (Boarding/Donner de la bande)
08:44 CAN Jillian Saulnier (Hooking/Accrocher)
10:32 CAN Shannon Doyle (Holding/Retenir)