After four games at the Esso Cup, the St. Albert Slash found themselves on the brink of elimination.
After starting off the national female midget hockey championship with two impressive wins, the host team suffered losses of 1-0 to the Edmonton Thunder on Tuesday and 4-3 in a shootout against the Notre Dame Hounds on Wednesday at Servus Credit Union Place.
A victory Thursday in regulation time against the Kodiacs du Lac St-Louis would have punched St. Albert’s ticket into Friday’s semifinals. The score against the Quebec champions, as well as the semifinal results, were unavailable at press time.
“We just have to stay focused at the game at hand. We can’t worry about what we did yesterday or what is to come,” Slash captain Melissa Kueber said after the loss to Notre Dame. “We have to stay confident with each other and have faith.”
If the Quebec reps beat the Slash, they would qualify for the medal round. They trailed the Slash by three points going into the last round robin game of the tournament. A win in regulation time is worth three points.
The shootout loss against Notre Dame gave the Slash a much-needed point after getting shut out by the Thunder, their arch-rivals in the Alberta Major Midget Female Hockey League.
“It was definitely an important game. Everyone had that game marked on their calendars. We wanted revenge on them but we know we might see them in the semis or finals,” Kueber said of the Thunder.
Looking to rebound against Notre Dame, last year’s silver medallist at nationals, was a task the Slash were seemingly not up for in the first period. After a frame in which the ice was heavily slanted in the visiting team’s favour, both teams headed for the locker room with a 1-0 lead and 15-2 shot count for Notre Dame.
“We didn’t start off really good. I felt we were a little shocked a bit and sitting back on our heels,” said forward Angela Mason. “When we started playing our game we started getting more shots and got a couple bounces. Kueber really led us in the third period, too.”
It was 3-0 Notre Dame when Mason broke Samantha Langford’s shutout bid at 7:11 during a Slash power play. Kueber, who picked up an assist on Mason’s first goal of the tournament, then rose to the challenge with two goals in the span of just over a minute. After four games, the Slash all-time career scoring leader had three goals and three assists.
“We really stepped up there. It was great to watch,” said head coach Terry Sydor. “Melissa came through with a couple great power moves and that’s what we need. All the players have strengths in which they attribute to the team success and that’s something that she can do well.”
Shots were 5-1 for Notre Dame in the five-minute, four-on-four overtime period, and 43-17 overall. Chloe Sanderson was outstanding between the pipes for St. Albert in her first start of the tournament.
“Chloe stood on her head for us, which was good. We weren’t doing much offensively but she kept us in the game long enough that we could actually get the offence going,” said Mason.
The outcome was decided in the second shootout round. Olivia Howe’s second goal in the shootout ended the suspense. Mason opened the shootout with a goal. She was later denied by Langford before Howe notched the game winner.
The Esso Cup ends today with the medal finals at Performance Arena. Puck drop is 2 p.m. for the bronze and 6 p.m. for the gold.
For more information, visit www.hockeycanada.ca/essocup.
