HALIFAX, NS- The Saint Mary's Huskies kept their playoff hopes alive and forced a game four of the AUS semi-final series, defeating the U SPORTS No. 7 ranked STFX X-Women 6-3 at the Dauphinee Centre on Sunday night.
In the early minutes of the first period, the Huskies capitalized on a scramble in front of the X-Women goal, with Huskies forward Lauren Papp (Brampton, ON) netting the rebound from teammate Ashley Penney (Lawrencetown, NS) to take the 1-0 lead for the Huskies.
Minutes after the Huskies took the lead, first year forward Mackenzie Beggs (Kemptville, NS) stepped up to block a cross-ice pass which resulted in a turnover that saw her score the Huskies second goal of the game.
Just over two minutes later, Saint Mary's would add to their lead again, when X-Women Jamie Johnson (Victoria, BC) turned away the initial shot from forward Kara MacLean (Antigonish, NS), but forward Jillian Duggan (Halifax, NS) capitalized on the rebound to put the home team up 3-0.
The X-Women got one back on the powerplay late in the third period, with AUS first team all-star Maggy Burbidge (Falmouth, NS) following up her own rebound to cut the Huskies lead to two goals.
The STFX offence kept at it as the Huskies took another penalty. However, the Huskies defense stepped up big, with Caleigh Meraw (Red Deer, AB) and Eve LeBlanc (Petit-Rocher, NB) blocking key shots to keep the 3-1 lead in tact heading into the first intermission.
As the teams entered the first intermission, the Huskies led the X-Women in shots, 16-9.
Starting off the second period strong, Huskies forward Kara MacLean (Antigonish, NS) intercepted a turnover on a pass from behind the net to score the Huskies fourth goal, putting them ahead 4-1.
Shortly after, the X-Women's offense capitalized on a turnover in the SMU zone, which saw Burbidge score the X-Women's second goal of the game, putting the score at 4-2.
The X-Women kept pressing as the third period continued, looking for their next goal. However, Huskies goaltender Sophie Scully (Ottawa, ON) stood firm with several outstanding saves.
With the third period winding down, the X-Women kept the pressure up throughout a power play opportunity but the Huskies defense didn't back down, and netminder Scully was there to keep the score 4-2 for the home team.
After 40 minutes of play, the Huskies led the X-Women in shots 22-20.
The start of the third period saw both teams battle back and forth, with both sides having good offensive chances.
Mid-way through the third period, the X-Women would start to control the play a bit more in the Huskies zone, with Chloe Vukosa (Mississauga, ON) firing off a shot from the slot, but Huskies goaltender Scully was there to make the save.
But the U SPORTS leading scorer wouldn't be denied, as Burbidge scored her third goal of the night off of a rebound from teammate Lauren Dabrowski (Tiny, ON) from a scrum in front of the Huskies goal, which would see the X-Women close the lead to 4-3. Burbidge's goal gave her a hat-trick for the second straight game, and a playoff leading seven goals scored in just three playoff games.
It appeared momentum was heading in the visitors direction, but the Huskies restored their two-goal lead less than two minutes later, as forward Ashley Penney picked up the puck in her own zone and skated in on goal, sniping a bouncing shot past Johnson to extend the lead to 5-3 with just under five minutes remaining in regulation.
In the final minutes remaining of the third period, the X-Women pulled their goalie, looking to even the score. The Huskies defense remained strong in the last minutes fending off the late offensive push from the X-Women.
With less than a second remaining on the clock, Huskies forward Jillian Duggan scored an empty net marker for her second goal of the game, icing the 6-3 Huskies victory.
The final shots in the game were 36-31 in favor of STFX. Huskies goaltender Sophie Scully was named Subway Player of the Game, stopping 33 shots for her first AUS playoff win, while X-Women goaltender Jamie Johnson stopped 25 shots.
Maggy Burbidge was named Subway Player of the Game for the X-Women with three goals, while teammate Lauren Dabrowski added three assists. Jillian Duggan (two goals), Kara MacLean (one goal, one assist) and Ashley Penney (one goal, one assist) all chipped in multi-point nights for the Huskies.
The Huskies win cuts the X-Women advantage in the best-of-five semiifinal to 2-1 with Game 4 scheduled to be played Monday evening at the Dauphinee Centre at 7 p.m.
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Recap courtesy SMU Sports Information