Golden pandas
Alberta rolls over Manitoba to ninth consecutive Canada West gold
JANELLE SLOYCHUK THE GATEWAY (UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA)
PHOTO BY KRYSTINA SULATYCKI, THE GATEWAY.
EDMONTON (CUP) — For the ninth consecutive time, the Alberta Golden Pandas women’s hockey team had reason to celebrate when the final horn sounded on the Canada West final. With a pair of shutouts against the Manitoba Bisons, Alberta adds yet another conference banner to the rafters of Clare Drake Arena.
Friday night saw a dominant Pandas squad out-shoot Manitoba 37-5, resulting in a 4-0 win. The Bisons were able to make a better show of it on Saturday, although still being badly out-shot 24-12, holding Alberta to only two goals in a 2-0 loss. Conference all-star Holly Tarleton added another 60 minutes to her shutout streak — which is up to 214:01 — Friday night, while first-year Dana Vinge was between the pipes on Saturday.
Alberta “doesn’t give you a lot of chances,” said Bisons head coach Jon Rempel.
“Maybe we didn’t finish this weekend — or we didn’t generate a lot of offensive opportunities — but at least [Saturday’s] game was a little more back and forth,” said Rempel, who was named Canada West Coach of the Year. “We have to generate more scoring chances than we did.”
While Golden Pandas veterans Lindsay McAlpine and Tarin Podloski — the country’s top two scorers — were held relatively quiet on the weekend, combining for only three points and one goal, the sweep of the Bisons marked a breakout weekend for first-year centre Leah Copeland, who potted a pair of goals and an assist in Friday’s Alberta victory.
“Copeland is an awesome rookie with a lot of skill,” McAlpine said. “She’s quick; she’s a huge asset to our team, and she’s really stepped into her role on the second line and was a big part of our win [this weekend].”
“I wouldn’t say that I’m taking a lead, I’m playing my role,” Copeland added.
Copeland’s emergence is important for a veteran-laden Alberta squad that loses McAlpine, team captain Kaye London and Taryn Barry after this year.
“We’re going to take a blow,” Copeland said. “We’ll be able to fill some of those roles, though not to the extent of their experience, but we have a lot of strong young players coming up.”
While Copeland stood out for Alberta, it was Manitoba goaltender Stacy Corfield — who made 55 saves over the weekend — who stood on her head for Manitoba. While Corfield was proud of the effort her team put forth, she was disappointed they didn’t adjust sooner to the flow of the game.
“[The officiating] was little different than what we’re used to,” Corfield said. “They were letting a lot go, but when we picked up on the fact that they weren’t calling as much, we were able to pick it up a little bit and started using it to our advantage.”
Despite the two losses, the Bisons still have a chance to end their season on a high note. They will join the Pandas as both teams head to Ottawa in two weeks for the CIS Championships.
