Battlefords Midget AA Sharks head coach Jim Puffalt was overjoyed after watching his team play Monday night.
Thanks to a 1-0 win on the road against the Elrose Aces, the Sharks punched their ticket to the North Saskatchewan Female Midget AA Hockey League final with a 6-5 advantage in the two-game total goal series.
“The girls were flying as soon as they hit the ice,” Puffalt said. “They were pretty loose prior to the game and they were dominant right from the first shift.
“We got an early goal and led in shots 19-3 at one point, but we just couldn’t find that second goal. The Aces came back in the third and we had a really good battle, but we hung on for the win.”
Danae Wolff had the only goal for the Sharks in Monday’s win, while Daneka Dickson earned the shutout with a 22-save performance
“It was a total team performance from top to bottom,” Puffalt said. “The forwards were moving the puck and back checking, our defence was playing tough and Daneka made a number of huge saves, especially in the third period.”
The two teams opened up their two-game total-goal series with a thrilling 5-5 tie at the Battleford Arena Saturday afternoon.
Down three goals early in the third period, the Sharks clawed their way back with an impressive rally as Kendra Leer knotted the game up with 3:57 left in regulation.
“We had some penalty trouble early on and that’s something that can cost you against the Aces, as they have a very good power play,” Puffalt said.
“In the third period, we started to get our feet moving and started playing the way that we can on a regular basis. We started to take control of the game after that.”
Jordyn Blais, Kaitlyn Korpach, Casey Harper and Madison Puffalt also scored for the Sharks in Saturday’s contest.
The Aces were led on offence by a three-assist performance from MacKenzie Powers, while Josie Clawell found the back of the net twice.
The Sharks semifinal opponent is still to be determine, but it is expected that they will go up against the top-ranked Saskatoon Chargers next week.
“They are the only team that we’ve lost both our games against this season,” Puffalt said.
“They kind of took it to us a little bit when we played in October, but it was a back and forth game when we played them again later in the season. I expect that this will be a good series if we do play Saskatoon.”
