Queens 2 Broncos 1
It was mission accomplished for the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens.
The Queens got the job done in the final game of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference women’s hockey season, earning a 2-1 victory over the rival Olds College Broncos.
The win on home ice at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre clinched first place in the ACAC standings for the Queens and earned them a bye in the first round of the playoffs.
“It was a really important game to help us clinch first and I knew make it easy, they never do,” said Queens coach Kelly Coulter.
“We got a little bit caught up in the hype at the start, celebrating Camryn (Wallan) and Mary (Hirsh) career’s here. Took us a little while to get on track, the end result I was happy with.”
Both teams were held off the board in the first and it wasn’t until midway through the second when the Queens solved Broncos netminder Cienna Kinghorn when Alesha Santos ripped a point shot through a crowd on a five-on-three power play.
“The biggest thing right now is we’re finding a lot of scoring chances, we’re not being creative with our shot selection or trying to deke the goalie… that’s something we definitely have to improve on,” Coulter said.
Camryn Wallan added the game-winner 2:06 into the third, as the Broncos threw everything they had at Queens goalie Izzy Palumbo, who finished the night with 23 saves.
Her only blemish came with 8:24 left when Keera Tiringer buried a loose puck to get the visitors within one.
That created some nervous moments down the stretch.
“We knew they would press, the team has a no quit attitude. They have pride they’re playing for,” Coulter said.
So now, the Queens await the winner of the Broncos and the NAIT Ooks, for a chance to capture an ACAC Championship. Coulter said beyond getting healthy, they’ll continue to get better with a week of practice before the final.
“Our d-zone has been our bread and butter all year, so try and refine so little details that we’ve been missing here and there. It’s nice that we’re finally getting a full squad back and healthy,” he said.
RDP finished the year with an 11-2-1-1 record, good for first in the ACAC.