Mounties get 43 saves from Martin and goals from Anthony and Bell in win over X-Women
This past Saturday, the Mounties travelled to St. FX for a game against the X-Women. In a close game that featured countless scoring opportunities for both teams, the Mounties emerged with a 3-2 shootout win. The result marked a great bounce-back victory for the Mounties after they suffered a tough loss at home to the last-place UPEI. This victory pushes them ahead of St. FX for fourth place in the AUS standings.
The X-Women were able to strike first midway through the first period. After showing some good speed and pressure in the Mounties zone, they were finally able to put one past Kerri Martin of the Mounties. A faceoff to the left of Martin was won by the X-Women and, after some good puck pressure behind the net, a centering pass found the stick the St. FX center, who beat a sprawling Martin. The Mounties struck back quickly, with Kara Anthony scoring her ninth goal of the season to tie the game 1-1. The goal came on the powerplay during which the Mounties showed great poise with the puck, allowing for several scoring chances that led to a point shot by Emily Van Diepen being redirected in by Anthony.
The Mounties started the second period strong, showing great energy and speed on the forecheck and through the neutral zone. They were rewarded for this effort three minutes into the period with a goal from Jennifer Bell. The play started in the Mounties end as Gabrielle Vautour picked up the puck and carried it end-to-end before finding Bell with a perfect drop pass, who fired it under the arm of the St. FX goalie. Less than five minutes later, the X-Women were able to respond and tie the game. The goal came on an odd-man break for St. FX that on the first attempt was broken up by the Mounties defence, but a second effort saw a cross-crease pass find the St. FX winger’s stick, giving Martin very little chance. The rest of the second and third periods saw some great back-and-forth action, with both goalies standing tall to keep the game tied at 2-2.
After overtime solved nothing, with neither team able to capitalize on their opportunities and both goalies showing no holes, the game moved to a shootout. The goalies continued to dominate and stand tall. The first four shooters from both teams were stopped, with both goalies benefiting from a couple shots grazing the posts. St. FX put the first goal on the board, putting pressure on Anthony to score with her next shot to keep the Mounties alive. Anthony answered the call with a great backhand-to-forehand move, sliding the puck just inside the post. Martin then stopped three straight St. FX shooters, which gave Kelsey Taylor the chance to win it for the Mounties. Taylor made a skillful deke, fooling the St. FX goalie and putting it in the open net securing the victory for the Mounties.
Martin had a huge game-making 43 saves on 45 shots and stopping seven of eight shootout attempts leading the Mounties to victory. This was an important win for the Mounties, as coming into the game they were only one point ahead of St. FX in the standings. The Mounties now have an 11-10-1 record for the season, with two games remaining. The Mounties will play their final regular-season home game Sunday, Feb. 14 at 3 p.m.
