Tommies score late breakaway to take Reds in mini-season finale
The STU Tommies Women's team completed their mini-season with a thrilling 6-5 win in the dying seconds of regulation.
St. Thomas opened the scoring at the halfway point of the opening frame when Aislyn Byers (Melanchton, ON) buried the puck with the help of Kaylee Vader (Sherwood Park, AB).
The Reds responded mere moments later, with Melanie Drost (Nepean, ON) capitalized on a 2-on-1 with 6:14 to go in the first.
In the second period, Olivia Reid (Aurora, ON), backhanded the puck in the slot in traffic to retake the lead 2-1 for the Tommies.
With under 5 minutes to go in the middle stanza, Marley van den Ootelaar floated a puck on net from the point which found the top corner behind Tommies keeper Katie Sweeney to get back to a gridlock in the Battle of the Hill.
Opening the third period, the Tommies got ahead of the Reds 33 seconds into the period when graduate Kaylee Vader tallied the marker down low to make the game 3-2.
The Green & Gold thought they had an insurance goal when Mariah Carey (Avonport, NS) slid the puck past UNB netminder Hailey Martens 1:26 thereafter, but the Reds scored 2 power play goals by Sage McElroy-Scott and Drost, sandwiching Olivia Reid's marker.
McElroy-Scott potted another tally with 1:19 remaining in the 3rd period to tie the game 5-5, but moments later, STU's Olivia Reid broke up a play at the Tommies blue line and darted on the breakaway to seal the victory with a hat trick with 38 seconds left in regulation when she found the opening in the 5-hole.
The 6-5 win for the Tommies, managed to get the STU to a 3-3 record in the mini-season and splitting the Battle of the Hill series 2-2.
St. Thomas's only graduating player Kaylee Vader, who will 'retiring' from competitive hockey, mentioned post-game "in the third period, 'this is it' and this is last opportunity to wear the jersey. It was sad, but the game was unreal."
Reflecting on her time in the Green & Gold, "It was a really cool family environment to walk in to, especially coming from so far away, it will be tough to be so far from the team next year."
Coach Peter Murphy was relieved that the last game of the season was an entertaining one and exciting for
The exhibition season was the opportunity to give "we were able to roll through all of our lines and we placed our rookies into pressure situations that they may not have the chance in a normal season."
The chance to play games gave the ability for the players to get some sense of identity. "We are defined in sport by the roles the athlete plays on a team, but without playing games, it's hard to establish what the role is," Coach Murphy lauded about his group's effort in the mini-season.
Kaylee Vader, as mentioned is the only Tommie expected to not return due to graduation, as Seniors Lauren Legault and Alex Woods intend on returning to play a fifth year of eligibility.