Day two of the National Women’s Under-18 Team Series is in the books, and saw the US score two in the third period to win by a final of 3-2 over the Canadians.
Canada started the game strong, picking up from where they left off in their opening game win. The team recorded the first eight shots on goal in this one, frustrating the American side into taking the game’s first four consecutive penalties. Those endless trips to the penalty box finally caught up to the US, as Etobicoke Dolphins defender Megan Mossey opened the scoring on the power play at 19:08 of the first, notching her second goal of the series and giving the Canadians an early 1-0 lead. That’s where the score remained as the two teams went to the dressing rooms.
Courtesy USA Hockey
It was the Americans who used the break to regroup and came out as the stronger of the two groups in the second period. Sloane Hertmetz finished off a great play from Talla Hansen and scored in tight to even the game 1-1. That marked the University of Minnesota commit’s first goal of the series and foreshadowed more to come.
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It didn’t take long for Canada to regain their lead, as St. Lawrence commit Kendall Doiron finished an offensive zone drive from Rosalie Tremblay to make it 2-1 at the 9:00 minute mark of the middle frame. And just like in the first, Canada took their lead into the intermission.
As this game progressed, both teams found themselves more evenly matched, resulting in much of the play being held in the neutral zone and along the boards. Neither team was able to generate much sustained offensive zone pressure, though there were still multiple high danger chances for both sides.
Courtest Hockey Canada
The third period once again proved to be the difference maker. In game one, the Canadians used that frame to score three unanswered. This time, the tables were turned, as it was the Americans who used the period to score twice, including Sloane Hertmetz’s second of the game on the power play. The US, using that newfound momentum, saw their first lead of the game thanks to Cornell commit Jillian Mclaughlin who scored less than two minutes after Hertmetz, making it 3-2. Despite some chances late, the Canadians were unable to find the back of the net, as the US came away with a 3-2 victory.
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Bianca Birrittieri, a commit of Providence College, finished the game with 28 saves for the American side. The Flower Mound, TX native came up big for the US when they needed her, using her athleticism and edge work to stay in every play and keep it within reach. At the other end, Sharon, ON native and Boston College commit Avah Sedore, who came up with big saves of her own, finished with 20 saves for the Canadians.
Special teams was a missed opportunity for Canada in this game, as they only managed to go one-for-six with the player advantage, while the Americans finished one-for-three.
Puck drop on the third and final game of the series goes Saturday at 2:30pm EST and is available to stream on USAHockeyTV.com