Rams end Alberta trip with shootout win

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – In thrilling fashion, the Ryerson Rams closed out the National Female Hockey Challenge with a 4-3 shootout win over the Mount Royal Cougars on Sunday afternoon.

After four goals were scored in the second period, two by Ryerson, it was a scoreless third period for both teams. In the five minute overtime, both team’s exchanged great chances, especially Ryerson, who had the last minute of play on the powerplay after a Jocelyn Froehlich holding penalty. The Rams were unable to capitalize sending the game to a shootout.

In the shootout, Ryerson and Mount Royal went into the fifth round with the Rams sending rookie forward Clare Sabine against Cougars goaltender Katie Sigurdson. Sabine made no mistake, going top shelf on the Sigurdson.

“I was watching a couple of the girls that went before me and I could tell that her top right glove hand was pretty wide open so I went with that.” said Sabine, a native of London, Ont.

The Cougars had to score at the other end in order to keep their team alive, but Emma Crawley (Herring Cove, N.S.) made a nice save on Shyla Stadnicki to snap the team’s two game losing streak.

“Obviously, I just wanted to stop the puck,” said Crawley, who made 21 saves in regulation. “I think I was over thinking it (shootout) at first and I kind of dropped the ball there on a few shots. Then I realized, ‘Stop over thinking it, just do what I know I can do and stop the puck’.”

Michelle Evagelou, Paulena Jakarsezian and Nella Brodett all scored in regulation for the Rams.

Interim head coach Pierre Alain had nothing but praise for his team following the game. “That was a great finish,” said Alain. “This game was up and down all the way. But I like the way we played the overtime, really posed and composed and we shared and passed the puck well. We kept control of the puck in the overtime and in the shootout we scored dandy’s, really nice goals.”

NOTES:

-Ryerson has three days off before they begin their OUA regular season on Thursday, Oct. 3  against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. Game time is at 11 a.m. at Varsity Arena.

-The team will pick its captain and assistant captain sometime in the next couple of days. The team held a leadership meeting on Saturday at their hotel to discuss what they wanted out of a leader.

– Blair Malthaner’s goal scoring streak of three games was broke in the win over Mount Royal. Malthaner failed to record a point in the game.

– Head coach Lisa Haley was in attendance on Saturday and Sunday at the National Female Hockey Challenge. Haley is pleased with the group of players that her and Alain have selected. “We’re happy with the recruits that have come in and made an impact right away,” said Haley, who is in Calgary, Alta. as an assistant coach for Hockey Canada’s senior women’s team going to the Sochi 2014 Olympics. “We’re also pretty pleased with the veteran leadership which seems to be growing. That’s an area we wanted to improve on from last year and we like what we see so far.”