(HALIFAX, N.S.) - The StFX X-Women won their Subway AUS Women's Hockey Playoffs quarter-final series with a 2-0 sweep of the Dalhousie Tigers after a decisive 7-1 victory Saturday evening.
Sarah Bujold (Riverview, N.B.), Kara Power (New Glasgow, N.S.) and Jenna MacDonald (Osgoode, Ont.) scored two goals apiece for the X-Women, while Daley Oddy (Cranbrook, B.C.) had four assists.
It was the Tigers who opened the scoring 6:14 into the game as forward Lisa MacLean (Inverness, N.S.) notched a power-play goal. She carried the puck end to end, got around the X-Women defender and beat Ariana Orasanin (Ancaster, Ont.) on the blocker side. Annika Rose (North Vancouver, B.C.) assisted.
StFX evened it up with a power-play goal of their own at 11:08. Bujold won a faceoff in the Dalhousie zone and Oddy got the puck got back to defender Nicole Corcoran (Bloomfield, P.E.I.) on the point. She slid across to the center of the zone and let a shot go through traffic that beat Tigers netminder Mati Barrett (Stittsville, Ont.).
X-Women captain Kara Power gave the X-Women a one-goal edge as she connected with Oddy just under a minute later on a rush into the Tigers zone.
Shots favored the X-Women 15-7 after the opening period as they held onto the 2-1 lead.
StFX opened up a 5-1 lead with three goals scored in the second period, with two coming off the stick of MacDonald.
MacDonald tallied her first goal unassisted at 5:50 as she brought the puck into the Tigers' zone from neutral ice. She worked it into the corner then broke to the front of the net where she tucked it past Barrett.
The third-year forward then connected with Emily Power (Airdrie, Alta.) at 13:45 on a 2-on-1. Power took the original shot on goal and Barrett made the save but the rebound came right to the stick of MacDonald who poked it in.
Jessica Severeyns (Hammonds Plains, N.S.) replaced Barrett in the Tigers net for the remainder of the period.
Bujold rounded out the second period scoring at 17:09. Lindsey Donovan (Miramichi, N.B.) brought the puck around behind the Tigers net then passed it out front to Bujold who was parked in front and redirected the puck past Severeyns. Kara Power also assisted on the play.
The X-Women held the Tigers to only three shots in the middle period and had 12 of their own.
Down by four goals with their season on the line, Tigers coach Sean Fraser pulled his goaltender Barrett (who had re-entered for the final period) just over 12 minutes into the period in an effort to generate some scoring.
The move didn't work, however, as Kara Power scored into the empty net. Oddy got the puck out from along the boards as the Tigers players couldn't move it out. She got it over to Power who made no mistake in sealing the Tigers' fate.
Bujold rounded out the scoring at 16:53 as she scored her second goal of the game on the power play. Heather Tillsley's (Aurora, Ont.) shot from the point was stopped by Barrett, Oddy had a shot on goal then as the puck bounced around the Tigers' crease Bujold got her stick on it and knocked it in.
Kara Power received Subway Player of the Game honours for the X-Women for her two goal, one assist effort.
MacLean was named Subway Player of the Game for the Tigers who were outshot 37-10.
Barrett had 27 saves for the Tigers in the losing effort with Severeyns recording three saves. Orasanin had nine saves for StFX.
With the win, the X-Women advance to the best-of-three semi-final series against the second-place St. Thomas Tommies. The semi-final round schedule will be announced soon. Game 1 will take place in Fredericton.
Source: StFX Athletics Communications