Broncos quiet Queens in Olds

The Olds College Broncos took momentum early and remained composed, defeating the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens 4-2 at the Town of Olds Sportsplex on Thursday.

It was a night of firsts for the Broncos (3-4-4), as Lacey Friesen made 26 saves for the win in her first ACAC start, while Broncos Player of the Game Avery Kendall picked up her first ACAC goal, along with an assist. Meanwhile, Ireland Greenhough, Sydney Jack and Keera Tiringer each registered a goal and an assist for Olds College.

Jordyn McLaughlin and Player of the Game Madison Sansom replied for the Queens (7-3-1), while Tanya Disotell-Dunsmore made 22 saves in a losing effort.

The opening minutes of the matchup were played evenly on both sides, only for the Broncos to score twice in a 1:59 span, with Greenhough opening the scoring after an attempted centering pass got caught up in Disotell-Dunsmore's pads and trickled over the line at 9:31. Tiringer then followed up after Kendall slotted her a pass just inside the blue line before converting a backhand.

Red Deer would cut the lead in half before the end of the period, as McLaughlin redirected a shot from Alesha Santos past Friesen with 32.8 seconds remaining to make it 2-1 Broncos through 20 minutes.

The second period saw Red Deer establish more possession, but the Broncos extended their lead late in the frame as the Broncos sprung a 3-on-1, with Tessa Knisely sliding a pass into Kendall, who then pushed the puck past Disotell-Dunsmore to restore Olds College's two-goal lead heading into the third period.

Penalties dictated the flow of the third period, with each side having multiple 5-on-3 situations. The Queens capitalized in one such instance, as Sansom fired a wrist shot from the top of the circle that got over Friesen's shoulder to cut Olds College's lead to one with 8:28 remaining.

However, the Broncos would go ahead for good a few minutes later, as Sydney Jack took a backhand pass from Greenhough and slotted it into the open net to restore the two-goal lead with 3:49 to go.

The Broncos and Queens will face off once again at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre in Red Deer at 7 p.m.