The women’s hockey team got revenge after a 3-2 loss last week to the Mount Allison Mounties. On Saturday, the Tommies beat them 4-1 at the Grant Harvey Centre in Fredericton.
Tommies head coach Peter Murphy said his team got off to a slow start, but he was happy with the result.
“I was a little worried after the first period what we were going to get from this game, but it seemed to settle itself out,” he said.
It seemed like the game could go either way in the first period. The Mounties tallied 17 shots, but Tommies goalie Abby Clarke shut the door and kept the visitors off the board for the first frame.
In total, Clarke stopped 38 shots to keep her team in the lead. She said her team played well defensively and allowed her to square up to the shooters.
“I was seeing the puck pretty good,” she said. “The girls were doing a great of job clearing the way, and they played really well in front of me.”
On the other end of the ice, the Tommies buried two goals to get the early lead. Becky Conner struck first for STU when she walked into the slot and roofed a snap shot for her seventh of the season. STU kept the pressure on, and just over a minute later, Lauren Henman blocked a Mounties’ clearing attempt off the shin pads and rifled home her fifth of the season.
The intensity lulled for a short time in the second. Neither team could find the back of the net until Mounties forward Amanda Volcko finally cracked Clarke. She ripped a snapshot off the post and in to bring the game within one.
Midway through the third period, Teah Anderson tipped Eliza Snider’s point shot to give STU a two goal lead. The home team got a number of odd-man rushes late in the game, but couldn’t beat the Mounties goalie. Kelty Apperson had the final say when Mount Allison pulled their goalie. She zipped a shot into the empty net with two minutes left for her fifth of the season.
Coach Murphy says he is pleased with his teams start to the season, but he knows they can play better.
“I think we let some [games] get away,” he said. “The two games against St. FX we could have won, and the game we lost to Mount A is one I’d want back.”
Clarke is optimistic about the first half. She thinks the team gelled really well.
“We came together pretty quick,” she said. “With ten rookies on the team, it’s hard to mesh in and get a feel for each other, but I feel like we came out pretty strong.”
With one game left before their Christmas break, the Tommies have seven wins and
six losses.
