Carabins too much for Dinos in CIS hockey quarter-final
It was a confident University of Calgary that took to the ice on Friday night at the Markin MacPhail Centre, despite being ranked seventh at the CIS women’s hockey championships.
But the second-seeded Montreal Carabins proved a taller order than even a healthy dose of confidence could overcome.
In a battle between former national champs, the Dinos fell behind 2-0 after one and couldn’t overcome the excellent Quebec champions, dropping a 4-0 decision to the Carabins in their quarterfinal matchup.
“We played the game we wanted to play tonight,’’ said Calgary head coach Danielle Goyette. “You change two or three bounces and it’s a different game. When you look at all the teams, we proved we can play the game.
“We had confidence. We had a good second half of the season, but you never know what’s going to happen. We gave a good run to Montreal. But for us, what we did tonight won’t matter tomorrow. We have to as a team grow and make sure we can come back from disappointment.’’
In the first quarter-final of the day, Caitlyn Schell scored what proved to be the winner just 29 seconds into the third period as Saint Mary’s Huskies of Halifax blanked defending champion Western Mustangs of London, Ont. 1-0. Saturday’s matchups will see top-seed Guelph Gryphons taking on UBC at 2 p.m., while the Carabins will square off against the Huskies at 5:30 p.m.
Calgary, meanwhile, will close out its tournament with a 10 a.m. consolation date with the Mustangs.
“We have to turn around and play at 10 o’clock,’’ noted Goyette, “and forget about the past. We can’t change anything. We have to prove to ourselves that we can play better. For us, it’s make sure we play our game and not worry too much about the opposing team.’’
The Dinos found out in the first period what happens when you leave Montreal players alone to work their magic. On the game’s opening tally, Catherine Dubois fired a cross-ice pass right onto the stick of Ariane Barker and she deftly deked out goalie Hayley Dowling, who had absolutely no chance. The goal came at 12:50 on Montreal’s third shot.
After that, the Carabins poured it on and Dowling had to be on her toes. But even she couldn’t corral a rebound which Audrey Gariepy shot over the sprawled netminder with 1:39 left in the opening frame.
With the Dinos down by two, there was nothing for it but to open it up and try to get some offence back. And try they did in the second, Stephanie Zvonkovic hitting the post on a power play and Canada West MVP Iya Gavrilova coming oh-so-close while short- handed.
But in the end, the Carabins — the better finishers — padded their lead to 3-0 when Casandra Dupuis’ hard shot eluded Dowling.
“They capitalized on the few chances that we gave them,’’ said an emotional Zvonkovic, a fifthyear defenceman, “and we couldn’t get it back. We battled hard but we couldn’t put the puck in the net. Some games the bounces don’t go your way. We pushed to the end. That’s all you can really ask.
“This team has grown so much. These girls on this team is what I’ll remember, not the score.’’
Consecutive powerplays in the third had the Dinos buzzing all around Marie-Pier Chabot in the Montreal net, but the third-year goalie was equal to the task. Chabot stopped a total of 25 shots in the game. Barker would add an emptynetter.
This will be a terrific learning experience for the young Dinos, who have nine players making their national tournament debut.
“Life is not easy,’’ added Goyette, “but that’s the beauty of sport. I’m so proud of my team.”