Fredericton, NB- The St. Thomas University Tommies avenged a 3-1 loss to the Universite de Moncton Aigles Bleues 11 days ago by handing the Aigles Bleues a 3-0 loss at the Grant Harvey Centre Wednesday night.
In the game on the 11th the Aigles Bleues got on the board early in the game (30 seconds in) and rode that to the victory, and on this night the Tommies did that themselves as rookie Stephanie Goertzen (Caledon, ON) got her first Atlantic University Sport goal as she was the recipient of a great pass on a two on one from fellow rookie, Emma Wilson (Midhurst, ON).
"Emma and Steph's line has been doing really well. The goal they scored was nice, but one of the best plays about it was Vader staying onside for it," said Tommies head coach Peter Murphy. "As far as all of our rookies, they have all been playing really well. They have been asked to play a lot more than they would with a normal university team."
Two and half minutes after the Tommies opened the scoring it was a pair of veterans connecting on a two on one of their own, as Danielle Ring (Saint John, NB) slid a pass to Mariah Carey (Avonport, NS) and she rifled it past UdeM goalie Audrey Berthiaume (St-Bruno, QC) to make the score 2-0.
The period would end at the score, and both teams would lock it down defensively throughout the second period, as both teams combined for six shots in the middle frame.
The Tommies would ice the game on the powerplay as Megan Pardy (Courtice, ON) connected on a five on three to give the Tommies a 3-0 victory. Rookie Caroline Pietroski (Etobicoke, ON) would make 11 saves in the shutout.
"We played a little bit better of a team game tonight," added Murphy. "I thought the first period we were really strong. It might have been the best period we have played in the second half."
With the win the Tommies even out their record once again with it standing at 11-11-1, good for fifth in the AUS standings, while the Aigles Bleues drop to 5-17-1, 7th in the AUS.
Moncton will travel to Sackville on Saturday to face the Mount Allison University Mounties, while the Tommies will do the same thing on Sunday.