Trojans blanked at home by Queens

By SAIT Trojans student writer Colton Pankiw

CALGARY, ALTA (JAN. 14, 23) – The Red Deer Polytechnic Queens women's hockey team continued their great season Saturday night with a big win over the host SAIT Trojans.

The Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) contest started off weird from the get-go, or perhaps before the get-go, as the game was delayed approximately 45 minutes. When the game finally did start, the Queens came out flying, as Jailyn Bablitz was able to put home her fourth of the season past Trojans netminder, Ali Kieren. Despite the rocky start, Kieren and her teammates were able to settle things down, and kept the score at the same 1-0 deficit for a long stretch of the opening frame.

Late in the first, with roughly five minutes remaining, Trojans forward Kiera Stewart nearly knotted the game up as she found herself alone in front, but was unable to solve Red Deer goaltender Izzy Palumbo. That missed opportunity proved costly, as Avery Lajeunnesse was able to beat Kieren on a breakaway moments later to extend the lead to 2-0.

The second period once again saw the Queens control the play early, as they fired several pucks the Trojans way, but Kieren was up to the task. On top of Kieren's great play to start out the second, several of her teammates made some great defensive plays as well, most notably newcomer Nikita Schmidt - who was able to get her stick on Arilyn Toew's shot from the slot that looked like a sure goal.

While the Trojans continued to battle, the Queens heavy attack paid off late in the period. Natalie Buttle was able to put home a loose puck in front of the crease. That wasn't all for the Queens, as just seconds after the 3-0 tally, Kassy Gaudette was able to put home a great pass from Buttle to extend their lead to four.

The third period began with a change of pace, as this time it was the Trojans who had a number of chances early as they looked to chip away at the Queens lead. Those chances failed to materialize, however, as Palumbo made a number of great saves to keep her shutout bid intact.

At the midway point of the final frame, the Queens were able to make it a 5-0 game thanks to Gaudette putting home her second of the evening. As happened so often in this one, the Queens were able to quickly strike again, as just moments after the 5-0 goal, Madison Sansom was able to get in on the action with her first of the season to round out the scoring.

By the time the final buzzer sounded, the Queens not only found themselves with a decisive 6-0 victory, but also a large advantage in shots at 42-12. With the win, they see their record improve to 7-2-0 on the season, while the Trojans fall to 2-7-0.

The Trojans have a chance to get back into the win column next weekend on the road against the Lakeland College Rustlers. It will be a big two games for the Trojans, as they currently sit three points behind the Rustlers for the final playoff spot in the ACAC standings.