2014-15 National Women's Team

AMBROSE SCORES INTO EMPTY NET, WHITE EDGES BLACK AT FALL FESTIVAL

JASON LA ROSE

CALGARY, Alta. – Erin Ambrose’s empty-net goal with 1:02 left was the game-winner, helping White to a 2-1 win over Black on Saturday night at Canada’s National Women’s Team Fall Festival.

Black needed the full three points from a regulation win to have a chance to play in Sunday’s first-place game, so it pulled goaltender Kimberly Newell (Burnaby, B.C./Princeton University, ECAC) with 80 seconds remaining and the game tied.

Jennifer Wakefield (Pickering, Ont./IK Guts, SWE) scored the other goal for White, and assisted on the Ambrose (Keswick, Ont./Clarkson University, ECAC) winner for a two-point night.

Natalie Spooner (Scarborough, Ont./Toronto, CWHL) was the lone Black goal scorer.

The goaltenders owned the first 40 minutes, with Newell and White netminder Emerance Maschmeyer (Bruderheim, Alta./Harvard University, ECAC) combining to stop all 28 shots they faced in the first two periods – 16 by Newell, 12 by Maschmeyer.

Wakefield finally broke through just past the five-minute mark of the third period; a bouncing puck ended up on the stick of the White forward, who lifted a shot over Newell from in close.

But Black responded less than five minutes later when Lauriane Rougeau (Beaconsfield, Que./Montreal, CWHL) set up Spooner in front to tie the game on the power play.

Black pushed for the winner late, but couldn’t beat Maschmeyer, and Ambrose sealed the win.

The victory leaves White as the lone unbeaten team in the camp round-robin, and sets up a first-place game against Red on Sunday afternoon (noon MT). White beat Red 5-3 in their previous meeting Thursday night. Black will also see the ice as camp comes to a close Sunday; it takes on a Junior B team from the Northwest Calgary Athletic Association in an early puck drop (9 a.m. MT).