2015 National Women's Under-18 Championship

SASKATCHEWAN SHUTS OUT ALBERTA FOR SEVENTH PLACE

WENDY GRAVES

HUNTSVILLE, Ont. – Nara Elia (Saskatoon, Sask./Notre Dame, JWHL) had two goals and an assist, Sophie Shirley (Saskatoon, Sask./Notre Dame, JWHL) had a goal and an assist of her own and Emma Johnson (Saskatoon, Sask./Saskatoon, SFMAAAHL) made 23 saves as Saskatchewan shut out Alberta in the seventh place game at the 2015 National Women’s Under-18 Championship.

Saskatchewan ended its seven-game winless streak at the U18 nationals with its win.

With its loss, Alberta suffered its worst finish ever, eighth, at the event.

Saturday’s first game marked the third time in four tournaments that these two Prairie provinces played in the seventh place game. Alberta had won the previous two encounters.

Saskatchewan was determined that the third time would be its charm.

Only 35 seconds in, Elia poked the puck off the boards to send Shirley up ice. The speedy forward kept the puck on the two-on-one and went upstairs short side.

Saskatchewan doubled its lead before the first period was half over. After winning the face-off, Shirley drove toward the goal line; her centering pass was tipped by Elia into an open net.

The end boards did Alberta no favours in the second period, playing livelier Saturday morning than they had earlier in the tournament. Codie Cross (Airdrie, Alta./Warner School, JWHL) attempted to bank a pass off the end boards, but instead of the puck going behind the net, it redirected across the ice to the far face-off dot. Elia made no mistake on the gift, roofing it short side over goalie Kirsten Chamberlin’s (Cochrane, Alta./Edge School, CSSHL) glove.

Alberta outshot Saskatchewan 23-18 for the game, and its frustration at being unable to beat Johnson began to show, especially on a late hooking penalty in the second period and a head contact call in the third.

Alberta pulled its goalie with more than three and a half minutes to go in the third. Jetta Derenoski (Vawn, Sask./Notre Dame, JWHL) scored into the empty net shortly after.

Chamberlin faced 15 shots in the Alberta net over the first 40 minutes. Zoe De Beauville (Calgary, Alta./Calgary, AMMFHL) played the final 20 minutes, stopping the three shots sent her way.