Huskies eliminate Aigles Bleues with 4-1 win

(SACKVILLE, N.B.) - The Saint Mary's Huskies used a strong second period and some solid goaltending to their advantage in a 4-1 victory over the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleues in Game 3 of the Subway AUS women's hockey championship hosted by Mount Allison University.

First-team AUS all-star and rookie of the year Sienna Cooke made 25 saves for the win in goal for the Huskies, who followed a scoreless first period with two goals coming 28 seconds apart in the second period.

Kaitlyn Abbass got things started with a laser beam coming down the right wing, beating Jenna Van Belois high blocker side for a 1-0 lead at the 6:03 mark of the second.

Brianna Soper then led a 3-on-2 rush for the Huskies, splitting the Moncton defence and depositing a slick shot past Van Belois.

Moncton finally got on the board when first-team AUS all-star Marie-Pier Arsenault scored a short-handed marker with five minutes left in the period, but Soper answered back with just under a minute to go in the second to make it 3-1 after 40 minutes.

Soper walked out from the corner, worked around a pair of Aigles Bleues defenders, and slid a shot five-hole to restore SMU's two-goal lead.

Sarah Maynard added the insurance marker and rounded out the scoring late in the third with an unassisted power-play goal.

Van Belois and Emilie Bouchard combined to make 23 saves in net for Moncton, who were assessed 40 minutes of penalties in the third period alone, most coming thanks to a trio of 10-minute misconducts.

Marika Lacroix was a force to be reckoned with for Moncton throughout the game, constantly forcing turnovers on the fore check and creating offensive opportunities, and was named Moncton's Subway player of the game for her efforts.

Soper was named the SMU Subway player of the game for her two-goal effort.

The Huskies win sets up a "win and you're in" semifinal game against the Saint Thomas Tommies Saturday afternoon at 3:00pm at the Tantramar Civic Centre.

The winner will win their pool and advance to the Subway AUS women's hockey championship final Sunday afternoon at 4:00pm.

All games of the tournament are available via live webcast at www.AUStv.ca.

Source: Mount Allison Sports Information
Photo Courtesy of Tom Reid Photography (http://www.tomreidphotography.com/)