Pair of third period goals propel Queens to victory

Brent Forster - RDC

The Red Deer College Queens played their first Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) game at the NexSource Centre in Sylvan Lake on Thursday evening and hockey fans were treated to a goaltending and defensive battle against the Olds College Broncos. Queens' netminder Tracie Kikuchi has been fantastic early this season and received the start again. Jaydlin Spooner was in net for the Broncos. After Olds College opened the scoring, an energized RDC Queens team potted a pair of goals in the third period and picked up the 2-1 home victory.

In the opening period, both teams had a few scoring opportunities but the goaltenders couldn't be beaten. Kikuchi turned aside all 9 shots she faced while Spooner stopped 7 Queens' attempts.

Momentum swung in favour of the Queens early in the second period. RDC had several productive shifts where the forwards cycled the puck effectively. The Olds College Broncos had a good opportunity to take the lead while in alone but they couldn't find the back of the net. A Broncos' forward stole the puck and found herself on a shorthanded breakaway, but Kikuchi made a right pad save to keep the game scoreless. With 52 seconds remaining in the second period, the Broncos opened the scoring as several players crashed the net. Kikuchi made the initial save but Olds College forward Mairyn Tucker capitalized on the rebound to give the Broncos a 1-0 lead. The Queens outshot the Broncos 7-5 in the middle frame.

The RDC Queens had a lot of jump as the third period began. In the opening 5 minutes, the Queens hemmed the Broncos in their own zone. At 7:14 into the final frame, the Queens were rewarded by going to the net and they tied the game 1-1.  After an initial shot and save by Spooner, third-year forward Morgan Fraser crashed the net and scored on a rebound. Emily Lougheed and Kaitlan Linnell picked up the assists. The Queens continued to press and with 8:53 left they took a 2-1 lead on the power play. Landry Derdall fired a shot from the blueline and Kaitlan Linnell redirected the point shot low to the right side of Spooner for the go-ahead-goal. Christopher Leeming, head coach of the Olds College Broncos, called a timeout with 4:35 left in the final period. Spooner was eventually pulled with 1:30 remaining in favour of the extra attacker. The Broncos buzzed the net as time ticked down, but Kikuchi shut the door and the RDC Queens earned a 2-1 home win. RDC outshot Olds College 11-5 in the third period. 

Queens Hockey Head Coach Kelly Coulter was pleased with the victory and noted one line in particular as playing especially well. "I am happy with the win tonight. We had a lot of energy in the third period," said Coulter. "The line of Nicole Spinks - Kaitlan Linnell - Morgan Fraser did a great job of picking up the team tonight."

Both goals were scored around the net and Coulter was happy to see the student-athletes rewarded. "Getting to the net and those areas where the puck ends up is important," said Coulter. "It was great to see our players get to the net and pick up rebounds."

In the rematch on Friday, Coulter would like to see a faster start and a consistent effort. "We would like to try to get a lead and sustain that. It's important to have more consistent jump in our game for 60 minutes," said Coulter. "Our third period has been our best in a lot of games but we want to be a hungrier team right from the get-go."

Olds College went 0-for-4 on the power play while RDC clicked on 1-of-7 opportunities. Landry Derdall was named the Queens player-of-the-game while Mairyn Tucker received the award for the Broncos.

The Queens (1-2-1-0) will face the Broncos (2-1-0-0) in Olds, Friday, October 13, at 7:00 p.m.