Queens 1 Griffins 0 (OT)
The RDC Queens didn’t get a chance to watch the final to the World Junior Hockey Championship, or see Sweden’s gold-medal winning overtime goal.
But in their own way they got to celebrate with their own overtime marker as captain Megan Abt connected at 1:04 of the five minute extra session to give the Queens a 1-0 win over the Grant MacEwan University Griffins in Alberta Colleges Women’s Hockey League play at the Arena Thursday.
While the win wasn’t at the level of a gold medal game, it was extremely important for the Queens as they battle to get back in the playoff race.
The win gave the RDC crew a 2-7-1-3 record and moved them to within four points of the fourth-place SAIT Trojans with a game in hand.
“In the first half we had a lot of one-goal losses and ties and we talked to the girls about how we had to turn this around,” said Queens head coach Trevor Keeper.
“It’s not so much about Xs and Os, but about work ethic, compete and possibly most important confidence.
“We talked prior to the overtime about our philosophy, which is to go for it, put our foot on the gas pedal and not let off. At the same time it’s four-on-four and we have to manage the puck and don’t throw it away.”
The Queens did just that with Abt driving hard into the Griffins end and while she lost the puck briefly, she quickly retrieved it, spun around and whipped the puck into the far left corner past a startled Katie Sigurdson in the MacEwan goal.
“Megan did a great job of driving to the net and while she didn’t beat their girl one-on-one she had a strong second effort,” added Keeper.
It was the old ‘get the puck on net and you never know what may happen’ philosophy.
“It’s so true,” said Keeper. “You have to shoot and get pucks on net and get the rebounds. In women’s hockey it’s especially true as they’re not going to pick a lot of corners from far out.”
Abt, who is in her fifth year with the Queens and one of only four veterans, said she was simply doing what Keeper preached.
“We gave it all in the overtime and just kept going and it went in," she said.
The Queens started slowly and were outshot 11-5 in the first period, but it was almost expected.
“We had close to a month off and it took a little time to get into the game,” said Abt.
“But once we were in it, we were in it.”
The Queens didn’t return to practice until Tuesday, while several of the other league teams played during the break.
“I got this job a little late and teams had their Christmas exhibition schedule all set,” said Keeper.
“But we had a couple of good practices and while we were a little rusty it’s amazing how you feet after getting back on the ice for a period. We just talked about the fact they would likely mishandle the puck a bit and not be as crisp passing, but to fight through it and not get frustrated.”
The Queens dominated the second period, holding a 15-7 edge in shots and while they were outshot 15-4 in the third period, a lot of the Griffins shots came on a late flurry while on the power play.
When the Griffins did control play they couldn’t solve RDC netminder Camille Trautman, who finished with 34 saves.
“She is so confident and poised,” said Keeper. “She may have long stretches without making any big saves, but she makes all the consistent ones. And then she may be pressed, like tonight when she made a great save off a deflection. But she’s there. She also moves the puck and is a calming influence.”
Abt agrees.
“We’re always happy to have her in net. I think we’re a fairly calm team as it is, but Camille will get bowled over and she skates if off and makes us calmer.”
The Queens, who had 26 shots on Sigurdson, have 11 games remaining, including a return meeting with the Griffins tonight in Edmonton. They host NAIT next Thursday.
drode@www.reddeeradvocate.com