LONDON, Ont. (U SPORTS) –
Addi Halladay scored a late power play goal but an overtime StFX tally gave the X-Women a 4-3 overtime win over the Queen's Gaels in the consolation semifinals on Saturday afternoon at the U SPORTS Women's Hockey Championship.
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"We wanted to play for Sunday," said head coach
Matt Holmberg after the game. "StFX is a great team and we knew it would be tough. I'm really proud of the team and how they bounced back from yesterday to leave everything out there."
Queen's had three different players mark their names on the scoresheet, with
Clare McKellar, Katarina Manoukarakis, and
Addi Halladay scoring one goal apiece. Carly Molnar got the win in net for StFX with an 18-save performance, while
Stephanie Pascal put forth an incredible 43-save effort for the Gaels in the loss.
The tone of the game was set right from the opening whistle with both teams playing a fast, physical style to start things off. StFX generated the majority of the scoring chances in the frame, including outshooting Queen's 12-4, breaking onto the scoreboard in the 12th minute.
Sarah Bujold picked up the puck in the defensive zone and sent a pass high above the ice that landed at the feet of Oddy just in front of the Queen's blue line. The reigning U SPORTS player of the year took the puck in alone and fired on Pascal who made the initial save but Oddy picked up her own rebound and sent it into the back of the net to put the X-Women up 1-0.
The Gaels responded early in the second period as
Addi Halladay broke in on net and fired off a shot on Molnar before McKellar grabbed the rebound and sent it into the open cage to tie the game at 1-1 with just over a minute into the frame.
The tie wouldn't last for long, however, as just two minutes after that the X-Women answered back. StFX won the draw and Gravelle made no mistake after that, sending a shot from the point into the top corner to retake the lead.
However, just as the X-Women stormed back with a quick goal, this time it was the Gaels turn, capitalizing on a power play opportunity less than 90 seconds later. Wakefield sent a bouncing shot towards the net where Manoukarakis got a stick on it and tipped it past Molnar to make it a 2-2 game.
StFX controlled the play in the opening moments of the third, outshooting the Gaels 11-0 over the first five minutes, however Pascal kept the scoreboard even at 2-2. Just as they did on their second goal, StFX scored their third marker directly off a faceoff, with Oddy picking up the puck and sending it past Pascal to take the lead with a little more than seven minutes remaining.
Fittingly enough, given the pace of the game, the Gaels responded in short order, as Halladay tied the game at 3-3 just over three minutes later to set the stage for an exciting finish. It wouldn't take long to decide a winner, with Oddy scoring at 2:37 of the extra frame to secure a 4-3 win for the X-Women.
"It is emotional," continued Holmberg on his graduating players after the game. "You really do grow up with these players and not only did they give a lot to the program on ice but they helped to move the culture ahead. The seven that are graduating have all contributed incredibly to our team culture and the success that we had."
Players of the Game
StFX: Daley Oddy
Queen's: Hailey Wilson
