Tommies Take Game 1 of AUS Quarterfinal Series

FREDERICTON, NB – The St. Thomas Tommies and the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleues opened their AUS Women's Hockey Championship quarterfinal series Tuesday night in a best-of-three showdown. The Tommies edged the Aigles Bleues 3–2 in the all-New Brunswick matchup to take a 1–0 series lead.

The Tommies faced early adversity, taking two penalties in the opening 10 minutes and giving Moncton early momentum. STU settled in midway through the period, and at 13:02 Amber Daley walked into the offensive zone and fired a wrist shot from high in the zone, beating Moncton goaltender Annick Boudreau over the shoulder for a 1–0 lead. The Aigles Bleues held an 8–6 edge in shots after the first period.

St. Thomas came out with energy in the second. Just 2:30 into the frame, captain Jordan Chalk led a two-on-one rush and slid a perfect pass across to Nimegeers, who capitalized on the tap-in to make it 2–0. The Tommies later found themselves back in penalty trouble, and Moncton's Valérie Haché converted on a 5-on-3 opportunity at 14:47, picking the corner past Katie Sweeney to cut the lead to 2–1. Despite being outshot 16–8 in the period, STU carried the one-goal advantage into the third.

Moncton evened the score at 7:28 of the final period when Marie-Soleil Simard found the back of the net. The Tommies responded in a big way while shorthanded. Megan Kirkpatrick broke free on the penalty kill and went in alone on Boudreau, making a slick move before burying the go-ahead goal at 9:24. The shorthanded marker stood as the game-winner, sealing the 3–2 victory for St. Thomas.

Kirkpatrick was named the Boston Pizza Player of the Game.

The Tommies will travel to Moncton on Friday, Feb. 20 for Game 2, with puck drop set for 7 p.m.