Austin Connelly, For MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Shyla Kirwer's hot start continued as she scored a clutch goal late in the third period to secure a 2-1 victory for the MacEwan Griffins over the NAIT Ooks in ACAC women's hockey on Saturday night at the Downtown Community Arena.
After netting a hat trick and an assist MacEwan's 10-5 win over NAIT on Friday, Kirwer found the puck in a mad scramble in front of the net with 4:51 remaining, poking it past NAIT goalie Kaitlyn Slator to keep the Griffins perfect on the year.
In a complete opposite script from Friday's series opener, the Edmonton-based rivals took a 1-1 tie into the third period.
Both coaches didn't want a repeat performance in the goals against department as there were more blocked shots by both teams than shots on net.
"I think yesterday was a bit of an anomaly," says Griffins head coach Lindsay McAlpine afterward. "I expected that the defensive response from both teams were going to be better and they were."
Neither team was willing to give the other easy opportunities as both had to work hard for their scoring chances.
It was the Griffins who broke through first on the power play when Chantal Ricker busted down the left wing and wired home a blistering shot over the shoulder of the Slator to make it 1-0 with 12:49 left in the period.
A night after being pulled midway through the first period, MacEwan goaltender Natalie Bender had a terrific response. She was sharp throughout the first frame, tossing aside nine shots, including multiple high-danger scoring chances to keep her team in the lead.
NAIT finally scored with 3:51 left in the second period when captain Brittney Savard finished off a beautiful give and goal in tight from Megan Leblanc.
The Griffins' penalty killing was superb stopping all five of NAIT's opportunities as their intense forechecking kept the puck out of their zone and when the Ooks did create a chance Bender was there to stand tall and shut the door.
Natalie Bender made 24 saves for the Griffins on Saturday (Joel Kingston photo).
"Bendy had an awesome response and I think that shows her veteran ability there, I think she had a tough start yesterday we had to pull her, but we gave her an opportunity to bounce back and she did exactly that for us," said McAlpine.
She was stellar throughout the game, constantly besting the Ooks and was easily the Griffins' best player on the night, making 24 saves including a key breakaway stop on Savard midway through the third period.
"Obviously yesterday wasn't the start I wanted or anticipated but they gave me another chance to come in today and I just wanted to help me team win, so I tried to dial it in and focus," said Bender post-game.
In fact, both goalies were their teams' best players and that was on full display when Griffins forward Kyrelle Skoye dangled her way in tight early in the third and tried to outwait Slator but was denied by a brilliant pad save.
That seemed to spark the Griffins as they poured the pressure on NAIT with multiple chances and nine shots in the first five minutes but couldn't solve Slator, which were some of her best 27 saves on the night.
The Griffins next take their perfect 2-0 record into a home and home against SAIT on Oct. 18 (7 p.m., DCA).