CWHL Weekend Wrap Up: Montreal and Calgary Earn Sweeps
Les Canadiennes defense leads Montreal to weekend sweep (@BostonCWHL/Twitter)
Boston, MA - The Boston Blades played host to Les Canadiennes de Montreal this weekend in a two game series to start 2017. Boston has been playing well lately and Montreal has dropped a few close contest while contending for the top seed. This weekend Montreal earned a weekend sweep of the Blades 2-0, 6-4.
In game one, Montreal used phenomenal defense to keep the Boston offense in check throughout the game. Leslie Oles notched her first goal of the year when she buried home a Karell Emard pass to give Les Canadiennes a 1-0 lead midway through the first.
Boston could not find the back of the net going 0-5 on the power play, Boston even outshot Montreal 20-16 in the last two periods. Lauren Dahm was also a standout in net keeping the high powered Les Canadiennes offense to just one goal in the first 40+ minutes. Ann-Sophie Bettez added the second goal in the third to give Les Canadiennes a 2-0 victory over Boston at Walter Brown Arena.
In game two, Montreal and Boston got into a shootout in a game which saw a combined 10 goals scored by the two teams. In the first period it was all Les Canadiennes, scoring two goals on 16 shots while the Blades only mustered four shots on net. Late in the first Ann-Sophie Bettez and Marie-Philip Poulin scored less than two minutes apart to give Montreal the lead heading into the first intermission.
Boston responded in the second period and dominated Les Canadiennes throughout the 20 minutes. Montreal took some unnecessary penalties in the frame and that contributed to Boston's comeback. Meghan Grieves scored her fourth goal of the season, while on the power play to get the Blades on the scoreboard. Kate Leary continued that momentum when Grieves set her up in the offensive zone for her sixth goal of the year. Tied at 2, Erin Kickham got in on the fun and notched her third goal of the year to give Boston a 3-2 lead in the second period. Boston and Montreal combined for eight penalties in the frame, five of which were assessed to Les Canadiennes.
After a split in the first two periods the third belonged to Les Canadiennes. Bettez notched two goals in the first 5:02 of the third to get Montreal ahead 4-3. The scores gave Bettez another hat trick on the season and the third goal was her 11th total on the year. Boston evened the game a short while later when Leary scored her second of the afternoon and seventh on the season. After some back and forth play, Oles found a wide open Katia Clement-Heydra on the power play to give Montreal a 5-4 lead with about seven minutes to play. Boston could not keep all five players on the ice in the third and proved costly on their last penalty. Montreal added a empty net goal to make it 6-4, that goal scored by Poulin for her 11th on the year.
Catherine Herron got the win and made 18 saves in the effort. Dahm was called upon to make 43 for the Blades. Bettez and Poulin finished with 5 points each.
Calgary keeps lead in CWHL Standings after weekend sweep (@CalgaryCWHL/Twitter)
Calgary - The Calgary Inferno and Brampton Thunder got together this weekend for a two game series in Calgary. The Inferno came into the weekend in first place and wanted to keep it that way to start the 2017 season. Brampton and Calgary could very well end up playing each other in the first round of the Clarkson Cup playoffs so as the season progresses these match ups will become more interesting to watch.
In game one, the game play was some of the best we have seen all season. The game had one total penalty, both teams with 20+ shots and some amazing goals scored. In the first period, the Inferno took a 1-0 lead when Delayne Brian sent the pass to Brianne Jenner who found Blayre Turnbull for the opening score.
In the second, Jess Jones did not waste anytime in trying to equalize the game after getting out go the locker room. Jones scored her 10th of the season to even the game at 1-1. That was the start of a onslaught of scoring in the next six minutes between the two teams. Bailey Bram got the Inferno back ahead with her ninth of the season but that lead was short lived. Courtney Birchard leveled the game for the Thunder after Rebecca Vint set up the play nicely. Calgary again responded by taking the lead when Iya Gavrilova and Jenner combined for a amazing score. Laura Fortino was having none of it though, capping the trades in scoring with her second of the year to equalize the game at 3.
In the third, both teams battled and the first team to flinch would most likely end up on the losing end. At 12:16 into the period, Dania Simmonds was given a interference penalty sending the Inferno on the power play. After killing most of the penalty Brampton was caught shorthanded after a turnover and Gavrilova put away a Rebecca Johnston pass to convert on the advantage. Liz Knox made 16 saves in the loss while Brian made 26 saves and also picked up a GOALIE ASSIST!!
In game two, it was a bit of a different story! Calgary came out hot and although they didn't convert for a score in the first they controlled most of the momentum in the period. Brampton picked up a quick first period score by Jamie Lee Rattray and took the lead into intermission.
In the second period, Hayleigh Cudmore equalized the contest with her second goal of the season. Brampton took four penalties in the frame and could not get quality looks on net due to some great defense by the Inferno. Going into the third, Calgary led the shot count 25-15.
Genevieve Lacasse buckled down in the third and shutdown the Brampton offense. Again it was a penalty which would turn the tide when Rattray took a misconduct penalty and gave the Inferno power play a chance to take the lead. Johnston converted just a minute later to give the Inferno the 2-1 lead. After some back and forth play, Kristen Richards was given a boarding penalty again sending the Inferno on a power play. Gavrilova picked up her ninth goal of the year and put this one on ice with under two minutes to play. Jessica Campbell added an empty net goal to make the final 4-1 for the Inferno.
