Blake Murphy Sports Writing

Title: Furious University of Alberta Pandas comeback falls just short
Date: December 2, 2012
Original Source: The Edmonton Journal
Synopsis: I am doing a short internship over the holidays at The Edmonton Journal. My first piece was a post-game report and mid-season wrap for the University of Alberta women’s ice hockey team. This article appeared in the Dec. 3 edition of the Edmonton Journal and also included a weekend round-up for Edmonton-area Colleges and Universities.
EDMONTON – University of Alberta Pandas head coach Howie Draper took a roll of the dice that very nearly paid off on Saturday at Clare Drake Arena.

With five minutes left to play in the third-period, facing a 3-0 deficit against the Manitoba Bisons and a Pandas power play about to begin, Draper called a timeout and pulled goaltender Michala Jeffries. It was a now-or-never situation, where a power-play goal was a necessity and allowing an empty netter wouldn’t change much.

“We were having trouble putting pucks away,” Draper said. “We felt that was our opportunity to kind of turn the tide. Sometimes those things work and sometimes they don’t, and tonight it almost did.”

One minute and 27 seconds into the power play, the move paid off. With a large crowd in front of Manitoba Bisons goalie Dee-Ana Marion, Pandas’ Monika Moskalski shovelled the puck in front from behind the net. Janelle Malcolm was ready on the doorstep, cutting the Bisons’ lead to 3-1.

Then, with just under two minutes to play, Riana Magee drove hard toward the net and stuffed the puck under Marion’s pad to make the score 3-2.

The Pandas pulled their goalie again with 43 seconds remaining, after newly anointed captain Karla Bourke made an excellent effort while on her back behind the net to keep the Bisons from breaking out, securing an offensive-zone faceoff for Alberta. It looked like the Pandas might complete the three-goal comeback, but Alberta couldn’t get a clean shot off amid a wild scramble in the slot.

“For our team to be successful, we have to get to the point where we’re that hungry for 60 minutes,” said Draper. “We’ve got tremendous potential on this team; we’ve just got to figure out how we can get to that mindset.”

Up to that point, Alberta had outplayed Manitoba, but came away without anything to show for it. Despite a heavy 30-18 advantage in shots, the Pandas found themselves in a hole, thanks to some timely goals from the Bisons.

The Bisons opened the scoring when a first-period power play led to a booming one-timer from the point from defender Caitlin MacDonald with just 16 seconds left in the frame. Nellie Minshull added back-to-back goals in the third period to stretch the Bison lead, the first on a two-on-one and the second on a big rebound. Meagan Vestby and Maggie Litchfield-Medd each helped out with a pair of assists.

The loss means the Pandas are forced to settle for a split with the Bisons on the weekend, bringing their record to 10-6-0 as the 2012 portion of the schedule ends. Alberta sits in third place in the Canada West conference, trailing Regina by four points and Calgary by seven for the top spots. It’s a position the Pandas are moderately pleased with, having thus far survived the early-season loss of top scorer and captain Sarah Hilworth, but still at risk of losing ground in the standings on any given weekend due to the tight nature of the conference this season.

“It’s such a tight conference, I think it (a top-two finish) is within reach,” said Draper. “It’s so tight and the competition is so strong, we need to make sure we’re playing playoff hockey for the rest of the season.”

The student-athletes will now be tasked with an entirely different challenge, turning their focus to studies as the Canada West takes its annual break for exams and holidays. The Pandas are off until Jan. 4, when they host Mount Royal for a pair of games.

—

The top-ranked University of Alberta Golden Bears had their 11-game win streak snapped Saturday night, when they lost 4-2 to the University of Manitoba Bisons at Winnipeg

The Bears, who won 3-2 on Sean Ringrose’s shootout goal Friday against the 10th-ranked Bisons, are still in first place in the Canada West conference with a 14-4 record.

Alberta’s Torrie Dyck scored three points during the weekend, giving the conference’s top offensive unit five players among the top 10 scorers.

The Bears are back in action at Clare Drake Arena against the Saskatchewan Huskies on Jan. 11-12.

Basketball

The Canada West-leading Golden Bears won a pair of games to improve to 9-1.

Alberta beat the University of Northern British Columbia Thunderwolves 78-74 on Thursday and the Mount Royal Cougars 81-70 on Saturday to extend their winning streak to six games.

Ranked No. 7 in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport coming into the weekend, the Canada West’s best defence may have made a case to crack the top-five.

Jordan Baker had a productive weekend, averaging 20 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, one steal and four blocks, pushing him into the top 20 in each category in the conference, including second in steals.

The Bears return to action on Jan. 11 at Trinity Western.

Meanwhile, the Pandas also swept their games, defeating UNBC 87-45 and Mount Royal 81-70. Kendra Asleson averaged 21 points and 8.5 rebounds to help push the Pandas to 6-4, good for third place in the Prairie Division of the Canada West.

They also head to Trinity Western on Jan. 11 to resume their season.

Volleyball

The Bears’ top-ranked team made quick work of Mount Royal at home, defeating the Cougars 3-1 Friday and 3-0 Saturday. Alberta takes a perfect record of 12-0 heading into the break and will resume play on Jan. 11 at Calgary.

The Pandas also took care of Mount Royal handedly, sweeping the weekend series without losing a set. The Pandas were ranked third in the CIS, making a statement against the 10th-ranked Cougars. The girls will also resume play at Calgary on Jan. 11.

ACAC roundup

Hockey: The NAIT Ooks men continued their dominant start to the season with 7-2 and 9-2 wins over the Keyano College Huskies, improving to 13-0-1-1, good for first in the North Division of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference.

The Concordia Stingers and Grant MacEwan Griffins split a pair of games, with each team winning 3-2. Concordia is 6-8-0-2 while MacEwan to 5-10.

In women’s action, the NAIT Ooks also continued their strong start, improving to 7-2-1-0 with a 2-0 shutout of the Red Deer Queens on Friday. MacEwan split a pair of games with SAIT, losing 2-1 and winning 5-4, to improve to 3-7.

Teams are back on the ice on Jan. 5.

Basketball: The Concordia men swept a pair of games, 82-68 and 89-65, against Grand Prairie Regional to improve to 6-3 and sit in first place in the North Division. MacEwan had the weekend off and remains at 4-5 heading into the break, while King’s University College failed to gain ground, losing 90-77 to Red Deer on Friday. NAIT improved to 5-5 overall by beating Keyano College 85-80 and 81-70, though the Ooks remain a point behind MacEwan due to fewer wins against division opponents.

On the women’s side, the King’s Eagles defeated the Red Deer Queens 73-56 on Friday to remain undefeated at 9-0. MacEwan had the weekend off and remains stuck in third place despite an 8-1 record. NAIT swept a pair of games against Keyano, 78-45 and 67-49, to improve to 7-3, while Concordia swept Grand Prairie 64-46 and 66-52 to improve to 5-4. The basketball season will resume on Jan. 10.

Volleyball: The MacEwan women traded shutouts with Lakeland College, failing to capitalize on NAIT’s weekend off. Both teams are 8-2 and tied for second place in the North Division. King’s also had the weekend off, while 0-10 Concordia suffered a pair of shutout losses against SAIT.

On the men’s side, the Edmonton teams continued to struggle. The 5-5 Eagles and 1-9 Ooks had the weekend off, while 1-9 Concordia was swept by SAIT. MacEwan split against Lakeland, improving to 6-4. The volleyball schedule resumes on Jan. 10.