Vinge gets third consecutive shutout as Alberta blanks McGill 2-0 in final
Published Sunday March 14th, 2010
THE CANADIAN PRESS
ANTIGONISH, N.S. - Dana Vinge recorded her third consecutive shutout as the University of Alberta Pandas made CIS women's hockey history with a 2-0 win over the McGill Martlets in Sunday's championship final.
Melody Howard and Alana Cabana scored for Alberta to help the Pandas to a record seventh national title and first since defeating McGill in the 2007 final.
Third-ranked Alberta also halted McGill's CIS-record 86-game winning streak. The Martlets came into Sunday's final as two-time defending champions and hadn't lost since dropping a 2-1 shootout decision to Alberta on December 30, 2007.
But top-ranked McGill could not solve Vinge, who stopped all 18 shots she faced. She also shut out the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks and St. Francis Xavier X-Women in round-robin play at the championship tournament.
"We have wanted this since the beginning of the year and I think we put in a lot of work to get here. It's definitely well-deserved for the team," said Vinge.
Vinge credited her teammates for their strong defensive effort.
"We blocked shots and did everything we needed to do in our d-zone to prevent them from getting good scoring opportunities," she said.
Alberta coach Howie Draper praised Vinge, who led the Canada West conference with an 0.91 goals-against average this season, for her work ethic.
"Dana's been remarkable," said Draper. "She's a player that's committed to doing better and as a person she's matured. This year she blossomed in every way and I think it showed in her game."
Draper has been behind the bench for each of Alberta's national championships. He said this one was special because the Pandas came in as underdogs.
"In the past it was a little bit more expected. With this one, we all believed it was possible, but we certainly didn't expect to be here in this situation."
Alberta's formula for victory was nearly identical to its win over St. FX on Saturday. In both games, Howard and Cabana provided the scoring and Vinge made it stand up.
Howard opened the scoring six minutes into the first period, picking up her own rebound and lifting a shot high over McGill goaltender Taylor Salisbury.
With the teams playing four-on-four late in the second period, Cabana dug a loose puck out of a goalmouth scramble and beat Salisbury to give Alberta a two-goal edge.
That was all the offence that Vinge and the Pandas would need.
Alberta defenceman Stephanie Ramsay, who was named the tournament's most valuable player, said the Pandas were not intimidated by the powerhouse Martlets.
"We respect them, but at the same time we also respect ourselves and the game that we can play. We just played a real hard-working game."
As it did all tournament, the McGill power-play struggled. The Martlets entered the game with just two goals on 13 chances and didn't score in six attempts with the extra player Sunday.
McGill reached the final despite playing the season without three important contributors to its previous championship run. Defenceman Catherine Ward, goaltender Charline Labonte and head coach Peter Smith all spent the year with Canada's gold medal-winning Olympic team.
"We have to be very proud of what we did," said McGill coach Amey Doyle. "Playing under the pressure of that streak for the entire season is an accomplishment in itself.
"You have to give full marks to Alberta. They knew what our strengths were and they shut us down.
Congratulations to Brittany Esposito who is now playing in Boston for the Northeastern Huskies. As she was with Edmonton Thunder last year, Brittany continues to be a top level player who makes an impact wherever she goes. Her team is currently in first place in their conference. While back in Edmonton over the holidays, Brittany raved about her new team and Northeastern University.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: Freshman Brittany Esposito (Edmonton, Alberta) made history on January 8, 2010 vs. NHU by scoring the first-ever goal in an outdoor women’s college hockey game. The goal came just 1:29 into the contest as Esposito sniped the top right corner off a drop pass from senior Annie Hogan (Medford, Mass). Esposito scored twice in the game to set a new single-game career high.
FABULOUS FRESHMEN
The Huskies’ Freshman class has produced 33% of the team’stotal offense this season. Four ofNortheastern’s top 10 scorers are first-year student-athletes includingBrittany Esposito (Edmonton, Alberta) and Casey Pickett (Wilmington, Mass) whoare tied for third on the team with 14 points apiece.
Photocourtesy of Jim Pierce Northeastern University
Copycourtesy of Asha Michener/Sports Information, Northeastern
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