X-women back on track with 7-0 victory
Consistency is key. That’s how head coach Ben Berthiaume sees the path to success for the St. F.X. X-women hockey team. Their dramatic 7-0 victory over Mount Allison on Nov. 18 offers ample proof of that.
Sunday’s game was a welcome change in an ugly pattern, Berthiaume noted, since St. F.X. lost the three games preceding Sunday’s match with the Mounties.
"We’ve been a bit snake-bitten lately, and not putting the puck in the net. It’s good to see them break out, and score more than we have been.
"We’re trying to play a full 60 minutes. We struggle here and there, maybe once or twice in a period, but Sunday was one of those games where we put in the full 60 minutes, and that’s good to see."
Their consistency was what started the X-women out with a one-goal lead, late in the first period, when forward Tyra Meropoulis scored the first of her two goals.
While the first period was tightly contested early, with solid defense on both sides, the Xwomen eventually gained the upper hand, making good on opportunities in the Mounties’ zone as the game progressed.
Berthiaume said he saw the game start to tilt in the X-women’s favour when they gained a three-goal lead in the second, with goals from forwards Sarah Bujold and Kristen Mckinley.
"We got the lead [in the first], and then in the second, a couplegoal lead is usually what takes to make it a better game for us," Berthiaume said. "In the second period, we really put a lot of pressure on them."
By the third, Berthiaume said, "I think we pushed really hard and tired them out," with an early goal from Mckinley, pushing the X-women into a four-goal lead.
St. F.X. played a particularly aggressive game in the third, with 21 shots on goal –versus the one the Mounties took on St. F.X.’S net. This resulted in three more goals for the X-women, sealing their victory.
In addition to aggressive offensive plays, Berthiaume noted St. F.X. maintained a solid defense throughout the game. Berthiaume stressed the importance of goalie Carley Molnar stopping every shot the Mounties took.
"She saw a lot of shots, but when she needed to, she made the saves she did, so that is very important," he said.
In addition to Meropoulis’ game, he praised Mckinley’s, Emerson Elliott’s Bujold’s and Julia Schmitt’s offensive plays, which resulted in the goals that brought victory to St. F.X.
Berthiaume stressed the fewer lapses, the more opportunity there is for scoring.
"There are always going to be some lapses and mistakes, that’s sports, but if you push as much as you can, you’re going to be more successful."