Special teams a major factor in Queens' home win over the Trojans

Brent Forster - RDC

In their first meeting of the season, the Red Deer College Queens hosted the SAIT Trojans at the ENMAX Centrium on Thursday evening, and special teams played a large role. After a scoreless first period, the Queens clicked on the power play and struck shorthanded in the middle frame. SAIT pulled within a goal but RDC eventually extended their lead to 3 and skated to a 4-1 victory. 

Tracie Kikuchi got the start in the Queens' net while Elisha Oswald was the starting netminder for the Trojans. From the opening face-off, the RDC Queens had a lot of jump and created some turnovers with their strong forecheck. The Queens set the pace for most of the period and with about 6 minutes remaining, Cassidy Anderson found herself on a breakaway, but Oswald turned aside the hard wrist shot with her blocker. The Queens tested the Trojans' goaltender 14 times while SAIT had 4 shots on Kikuchi in the opening 20 minutes.

The second period began on relatively even terms, but with 12:36 remaining Jade Petrie put the Queens up 1-0 on the power play. Landry Derdall's shot from the point hit traffic in front of SAIT's net and Petrie quickly pounced on the rebound. Petrie, a Legal Assistant student, was stationed on the right side of the slot and the forward from Red Deer wasted no time in firing a shot behind Oswald. As the RDC Queens were killing a penalty, Petrie scored on the backhand with 1:05 remaining in the period. Julia Murrell picked up the puck in the corner to Oswald's right, and spotted an open Petrie who made no mistake low to the left side of the net for the shorthanded marker. The RDC Queens outshot the SAIT Trojans 12-4 in the period.

With 15:04 left in the final period, Karmen Mooney pulled the Trojans within a goal. Mooney shot high on Kikuchi's blocker side. The Queens' goaltender got a piece of the shot, but the puck bounced high and dropped into the net. RDC pulled ahead 3-1 with 11:53 remaining in the game. From the right circle, Emily Lougheed made a beautiful saucer pass that found Kirsten Baumgardt pinching in from her defensive position. Baumgardt hit the open space high on Oswald's blocker side for a highlight reel goal. With 2:47 left on the clock, Keinyn Nordell gave the RDC Queens a 4-1 lead. Celine Chailler sent Nordell in alone who scored on the glove side. Catherine Longchamps picked up the other helper. Over 60 minutes, the RDC Queens outshot the SAIT Trojans 33-17.

Jade Petrie was named the Queens player-of-the-game while Elisha Oswald received the honour for the Trojans.

Queens Hockey Head Coach Kelly Coulter liked the Queens' ability to capture the lead and built on it. "We talked about before the game that we wanted to get a lead, protect it and go from there," said Coulter. "The past few games we were down and had to dig in, so it's nice to get ahead. I thought the student-athletes did a nice job of getting shots on net and being hungry around the goal." 

The special teams for the Queens were really strong. "Our penalty killers and players on the power play are experienced in those roles. Some of the players have played on my team for a number of years so they know the systems that we are running," said Coulter. "First-years, Celine  (Chailler) and Camryn (Wallan) do a solid job on the penalty kill. They give a great effort which is what penalty killing is all about. We don't get a lot of time to practice the special teams but we have some video chats."

Despite not having a busy night in goal, Kikuchi was sharp when called upon. "Tracie plays very well for us every game and it is tough when a goaltender doesn't get a lot of shots," said Coulter. "She does a great job of staying focused and being prepared."

There were many positive performances on Thursday evening, but a pair of fifth-year RDC forwards set the tone early. "Jade Petrie and Emily Lougheed have experience and give a solid effort. The two forwards play with a lot of heart," said Coulter. "They are very smart hockey players and offensively gifted. Jade got rewarded with a pair of goals by going to the net, and Emily made a beautiful pass to Kirsten Baumgardt. Those ladies set the bar as to what the rookies look to achieve."

The RDC Queens (3-2-1-0) will face the SAIT Trojans (0-3-0-0) in Calgary on Friday, October 20 at 7:00 p.m. The next home game for the Queens will be at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 26 for Pink in the Rink. The MacEwan University Griffins will pay a visit to the ENMAX Centrium and the RDC Queens want to raise funds for an accessible playground at Ecole Barrie Wilson Elementary School. Last year, 680 hockey fans attended the game and set an Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Women's Hockey attendance record. A year ago, the RDC Queens helped raise over $10,000 to aid in the fight of women's cancer.