The Prince Albert Northern Bears held a 1-0 lead after the first period over the Notre Dame Hounds, but saw it slip away, giving up three unanswered goals in the second period as they fell by a 3-1 score on Saturday afternoon.
“I thought we got off to a good start,” Bears head coach Steve Young said. “Notre Dame is a good measuring stick. They’re a good, constant hockey club. I thought at times our game was up and down, and when it was down, (Notre Dame) capitalized on it. I thought we had the compete that we needed to have.”
The Bears started the game off on the right foot, opening the scoring with just over five minutes to go in the first period. It was Sasha Malenfant who was able to blast a shot from the slot that beat Eva Filipova blocker side. The rookie picked up her ninth goal of the season as Prince Albert took a 1-0 lead after the opening frame.
Notre Dame responded in a big way in the second period, scoring three in a row to take a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes. Keara Merriman started the comeback on a powerplay goal with 13:54 left in the second. A shot from Amy Dvernichuk was kicked aside by Paige Fischer, but the rebound came right in front for Merriman, who was able to pot home the game tying goal.
Dvernichuk added a goal of her own on the powerplay with 5:26 left in the middle frame, on a rebound chance in front of the net. Alyssa Rasmuson took a shot from the point that hit the crossbar and bounced straight down, and Dvernichuk was on the doorstep to tap home the loose puck. Capitalizing on a pair of man advantages, the Hounds went up by a 2-1 score.
Spring Mosset made it a 3-1 game with 2:48 left in the second, releasing a quick snap shot that Fischer had no time to react to. After Kyra Anderson sent Mosset a nice pass into the slot, she was able to pick a corner low on the blocker side, and Notre Dame took a two goal lead into the third.
Prince Albert poured on 11 shots in the final regulation stanza, but Filipova stood tall to the task, turning them all aside, as the Hounds were able to hold on for the 3-1 win, improving to 19-1-2-2 on the season.
Fischer stopped 27 of 30 shots thrown at her, as the Bears fell to 8-14-1-3. Prince Albert now has just four games left in the regular season.
“There will be these types of teams that we’re going to play at the (Esso) Cup, so we have to learn to compete against them and do the right things,” Young said.
Saturday’s contest was just the second game behind the bench for Young. He feels like the girls are starting come around, and are adapting well to the style of play that he is incorporating.
“Everybody has different personalities and everybody coaches different,” he said. “They’re starting to learn what we want to do here, and it’s not a lot different then what was done in the past. I think they’re buying into the changes we’re making. We’re a team that is having our ups and downs right now, but I think in games we play against teams like Notre Dame, we just have to be constant.”
The Bears and Hounds will face off once again on Sunday afternoon at the Art Hauser Centre. Puck drop is at 1:30pm.
@kyle_kosowan•sports@paherald.sk.ca
