After a 4-2 win over the Universite de Moncton Aigles Bleues Saturday at home, Tommies women’s hockey coach Peter Murphy wanted more out of his squad Sunday against the Mount Allison University Mounties on the road.
Despite the hard-fought win the previous day at Grant-Harvey Centre, Murphy said St. Thomas University – which leads the Atlantic University Sport conference – didn’t play like a team that entered the weekend ranked third in the U Sports Top 10 national standings.
“I’ll be looking for a lot more [Sunday] against MtA,” he said.
“We have to play more of our game and not get into doing foolish things or worrying as much about the other team.”
The Tommies looked to have taken their coach’s advice Sunday in Sackville, as STU improved to 10-1-1 on the season with a 5-1 victory over the MtA Mounties (2-6-2).
Stephanie Ford struck first for the Tommies on Sunday, shooting low in the slot to beat Mounties goaltender Keri Martin at 11:01 in period one for her second marker of the season.
Jessica McCann put STU up 2-0 on a power play at 3:06 in the second period after Mackenzie Lalonde of the Mounties received a minor penalty for interference at 1:32.
Five minutes later, Myfanwy Thomson added a goal to give the visiting Tommies a three-goal cushion.
With 58 seconds left of the middle frame, Lalonde made the Tommies pay for a hooking penalty McCann took less than a minute earlier, but Lalonde’s goal held up as the only time the Mounties got on the scoreboard on Sunday.
Tommies captain Kelty Apperson netted a shorthanded goal at 3:27 in the third period before knocking in a rebound 10 minutes later to seal the Mounties’ fate.
Apperson’s goals put the 2015-16 AUS most valuable player at 10 points in her last five games.
The distinguished student-athlete has also recorded points in five of her last seven games – 12 of them, to be exact.
Abby Clarke earned the win in net for the Tommies on Sunday with a 16-save performance, while Martin blocked 45 of STU’s 50 shots in the losing effort.
The Tommies were 1-for-5 on the power play, while the Mounties capitalized on one of four man advantage opportunities.
Tommies down Aigles Bleues
After a scoreless opening period, Karine Roy tipped a Katryne Villeneuve shot from the hashmarks past STU goalie Taylor Cook at 2:20 in the second to draw the first blood.
The Tommies responded 49 seconds later, with Becky Conner beating UdeM netminder Gabrielle Forget low in the slot for her second goal of the season.
Emily Oleksuk then fired a low shot past Forget’s blocker with 34.8 seconds left in the frame, giving STU its first lead of the game.
Apperson and McCann provided the assists on Oleksuk’s goal, which was her eighth of the year.
“That goal seemed to get our girls up and going,” said Murphy.
“From there, we started playing with some more emotion and jump, which was a good thing.”
Halfway through the third period, the Aigles Bleues (4-5-3) tied it up on a power play with a shot taken by Marie-Pier Corriveau that beat Cook low while Apperson served a minor penalty for interference.
Not to be outdone, the Tommies would regain the lead on a power play almost five minutes later.
An Alex Woods shot from just inside the blueline bounced off the logo on Forget’s sweater before Danielle Ring grabbed the loose puck and slid the rebound past the fourth-year goalie in glorious fashion while Katherine Dubuc was off for tripping.
Lauren Legault tapped a shot between Forget’s legs and into the net at 16:59 to put the final nail in the Aigles Bleues’ coffin. She also assisted Conner’s second-period marker and was named first star of the game.
Cook made 23 saves on 25 shots to pick up the victory, while Forget turned aside 33 out of 37 shots for the loss.
STU was 1-for-3 on the power play, while UdeM scored on two out of three man advantages.
The Tommies and Aigles Bleues will rematch Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m. in Sackville.
STU will then be reacquainted with the Mounties on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 2 p.m. at home in the Tommies’ final game before the mid-season break.
