The host Red Deer Sutter Fund Chiefs shrugged off a mild case of jitters with a second-period explosion and downed the Moncton Rockets 4-1 in their opening game of the Esso Cup tournament Sunday at the Arena.
“I could tell our girls were a bit nervous, but we got off to a good start and that was the big thing for us today,” said Sutter Fund head coach Tom Bast, whose club busted out of a scoreless tie with four second-period goals. “The only thing I was a little disappointed in was our defensive play. “Offensively we were fine, it’s just that when we’re playing some solid teams I really believe in playing stronger defence . . . a bit better in our zone.”
The Chiefs opened the scoring at 2:14 of the second period when a shot by Ashley Richard took a weird bounce and beat Rockets netminder Brianne Waterman.
From there, the host squad got a goal from Paige Grenier, who cashed a rebound at 4:26, and Breanna Martin, who broke in alone and connected at 9:40. The Chiefs made it 4-0 before the period concluded when Richard connected from the low slot, her shot getting past Emilie Arsenault, who replaced Waterman after Red Deer’s third goal.
“We were gripping our sticks a little tight early, but in the second period we got shots on net and that got us some goals,” said Martin.
“We could tell the atmosphere in the dressing room was pretty well all nerves and we were just ready to go,” said Chiefs defenceman Abagael Thiessen. “It was good to get out there and get it out of the way.
“In the second period we just got back to our game. We wanted to get back to getting pucks deep and getting shots on net. Now we’re looking forward to the rest of the tournament.”
The Atlantic champion Rockets got on the board with a power-play goal in the third period, Taylor Carr-Babineau’s long shot deflecting off the blocker of Red Deer netminder Sarah Murray and into the Chiefs’ net. After being outshot 10-6 in each of the first two periods, Moncton held an 11-9 advantage in the final frame.
“Our energy was a little low for the first and second periods but our girls came out to battle in the third,” said Rockets head coach Monika Cormier. “It showed in that we won the third period.
“For us, there’s no way to go but up from here. There’s a lot of hockey to be played yet, four (round-robin) games left this week. If we can just feed off the energy from that third period and carry that on we’re just going to build more and more momentum.”
Bast is also confident that the best is yet to come from his squad in this week’s national midget AAA girls hockey championship.
“That was our first serious game in the last four weeks,” he said. “Just knowing our hockey team, I know we’re going to get better every game. But most of all I was very pleased and proud of the girls and the way we played today.”
The Chiefs take on the Pacific (Alberta/B.C. champion) Edmonton Thunder today at 7 p.m. The Thunder defeated Red Deer 3-1 in the provincial sudden-death final last month.
“They’re a good team. They’re fast and we have to control a couple of their players,” said Bast, in reference to Alexandra Poznikoff and Cayle Dillon. “Those two really hurt us in the Alberta finals.
“I think it will be a good match-up. We know what they do and it will be a fast-paced, aggressive game. We’re looking forward to the challenge and getting payback on them.”
In today’s other contests at the Arena, the Saskatoon Stars take on the Manitoba champion Central Plains Capitals at noon, and the Sudbury Lady Wolves of Ontario tangle with the Rockets at 3:30 p.m.
Earlier Sunday, Sudbury got goals from Karli Shell, Taylor McGaughey and Melisa Kingsley in a 3-2 win over Saskatoon. Lady Wolves netminder Danika Ranger made 26 saves while surrendering two goals to Sophie Shirley.
In addition, Madison Padgett scored in a shootout to lift the Thunder to a 1-0 win over Central Plains.
The Esso Cup tournament concludes Saturday with the championship game at 3:30 p.m.