The St. Albert Slash left their mark in Sunday’s pivotal playoff affair in the Alberta Major Midget Female Hockey League.
The 3-2 win at Performance Arena in game two in the best-of-five north division final evened up the series. It was also the first loss suffered by the Edmonton Thunder in league play this season.
“It’s huge but we’re trying not to get too far ahead of ourselves,” said Slash head coach Terry Sydor. “We’re trying to win three games and this is the first one against a very good hockey team.”
Game three is scheduled for tonight at 8:45 p.m. at Castledowns Arena.
After dropping the series opener 4-1 to the 2010 Esso Cup national bronze medallists, the Slash fell behind early in the first period in game two. A defensive collapse allowed Kirsten Reeves to score unassisted against Chloe Sanderson (23 saves).
Before the period ended, Jessica Kampjes tallied the equalizer against Morgan Glover (18 saves).
While the opening 20 minutes was played in more of a European style featuring skill, the second period took a physical turn after a questionable hit on Slash forward Matana Skoye. Even though it was unfortunate to see his player stay down on the ice, Sydor said sometimes those collisions occur in female hockey.
“Players are going to collide and things are going to happen. It starts out with players perhaps a bit nervous and not wanting to be taking a penalty that could cost the team,” he said. “Both teams have very good special teams so things like that when you’re undisciplined can make the difference in the game.”
With the intensity of the game changing in the second, both teams combined to post 37 penalty minutes the rest of the way along with a game misconduct to the Thunder’s Laura Bennett.
Despite multiple trips to the penalty box, Sydor believes the physicality is part of the game.
“It was definitely a physical game, which is fine. We like it when the girls can play the game and decide the game that way. Hockey is a physical sport, it really is,” he said. “There is no physical body checking in female hockey but you can certainly angle and take girls out [of the play].”
The Slash used the motivation instilled by their opponents to net goals by Paige Foster on the power play to break the tie in the second and captain Melissa Kueber’s insurance marker 3:10 into the third.
With six goals and five assists in four playoffs matches, Kueber has brought her game to another level with an average of 2.75 points per game, compared to her regular season average of 1.96.
“I had to pick it up for the team. It’s my last year so I have nothing left to save,” said Kueber.
Reeves added her second of the game with 12:36 remaining.
The host team for the April 17 to 23 Esso Cup at Servus Credit Union Place buckled down defensively the rest of the way in front of Sanderson to preserve the victory. The outcome was also a major confidence booster after the Thunder (27-0-5) defeated the Slash (23-6-3) by margins of 5-2, 3-1 and 6-4 after a 2-2 draw in October.
“We have to take it one step at a time,” said Sydor.
Game four goes Saturday at 4:45 p.m. at Performance Arena. Game five, if needed, is Sunday at 2 p.m. at Castledowns.
