STU vs UPEI Game 1 180213
By: Sean Crocker, BA'19
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The St. Thomas University Tommies struck first and never looked back on route to a 3-1 victory over the University of Prince Edward Island Panthers in game one of the best-of-three AUS women's hockey quarterfinal series Tuesday night at the Grant-Harvey Centre.
Tommies head coach Peter Murphy was pleased with how his team played in the first two periods.
"The second period we played a solid period," said Murphy. "That's how we should play every period."
The Tommies opened the scoring in the second period when Lauren Henman found the loose puck around the Panthers net and jammed it home to give the Tommies a 1-0 lead.
They didn't stop there as Rita Dorofeeva received a pass from Kaylee Vader and made no mistake, extending the lead to 2-0.
"Our second period was very good," said Murphy. "They had a few called back goals, and in their mind it was a tie game. That's not something you want to give them."
Emily Oleksuk scored her fifth goal in three games 10:34 into the frame to give the Tommies a 3-0 lead heading into the second intermission.
The Tommies were outshot in the final frame 19-6, which put the pressure on netminder Abby Clarke.
"I think towards the end, she had to do a little more than we needed," said Murphy. "We were outshot, but that has a lot to do with the power plays."
The Panthers cracked the scoreboard 15:03 into the final frame when Sydnee Baker ripped a shot on the power play and beat Clarke high, narrowing the Tommies lead to 3-1.
Despite a number of good scoring chances in the final minutes, the Panthers weren't able to close the gap.
The Tommies will now shift their focus to game two in Charlottetown this Friday.
"We'll have a discussion, and then we'll just run the same practice we have been all season," said Murphy. "Playoffs get rough after a while, so you have to make sure you're giving them enough rest."
Game two of the AUS best-of-three quarterfinal series is this Friday in Charlottetown. Puck drop is at 7:30 pm.