The St. Thomas University Women’s Hockey team was shutout in their home opener on Oct. 5. The final score was 3-0 in favour of the University of New Brunswick Reds. Goals for the Reds came from Myah Bowal and Lillian George who netted two.
STU struggled in the first 10 minutes of the game. The Reds opened the score eight minutes in the game when Bowal’s shot found the back of the net. The period ended with a 1-0 lead for the Reds. The shot total was 10-8 in favour of UNB.
The Reds struck quickly in the second period. George scored just 50 seconds in, her first of two goals in the game.
The Tommies struggled to avoid penalties in the period, taking three. Head coach Peter Murphy said despite the penalties, he was impressed with how the penalty kill performed, killing off all four throughout the game.
“Our [penalty kill] was good,” Murphy said.
“But our powerplay could use some work. We shuffled up the powerplays a little bit and our last powerplay looked better than the first one.”
The Tommies’ powerplay was 0-5.
STU found their chances in the third period but were unable to get past UNB goaltender Kendra Woodland, who stopped all 23 shots she faced. The Tommies put the pressure on the Reds late but an empty-net goal sealed the deal for UNB. The final score was 3-0.
The shot total was 24-23 for STU.
Marandee Hunter made 21 saves for the Tommies in her Atlantic University Sport and Tommies debut.
“She made some big stops,” Murphy said.
“So I think she did well … It was her first league game.”
The Tommies are now 0-2 this season. Their next game will be Oct. 11 against the Université de Moncton.
