What a difference a day makes.
The Estevan Power Tech midget AA Panthers trounced the Swift Current Full Line Ag Broncos 7-0 at Affinity Place on Sunday. The lopsided win followed a scoreless draw between the two teams on Saturday evening.
“We were just hungrier,” said Trevor Morrison, coach of the Panthers. “Yesterday we got a lot of shots, but no in-tight traffic or causing trouble for their goalie. Today we were right after it from the get-go and it paid off for the girls.”
After Panthers forward Ireland Biette opened the floodgates early in the first period with a bullet from the slot, Kelsey Pastachak made the score 2-0 at the 16:34 mark tapping in a cross-crease pass from Karli Colpitts low glove side on Broncos goaltender Allison Wall.
Panthers right wing Kenzie Balon added to the lead 16 seconds into the second period banging in a loose puck at the side of the Broncos net after a wraparound attempt by Colpitts. Michaella Matthies put her team up by four about two-and-a-half minutes later tapping in a pass out front from Marci LeBlanc.
The Broncos (4-8-3) found an extra gear after the fourth goal, but Panthers goalie Morgan Fayle was up for the challenge including a goal-line stand six minutes into the frame where a buzzing Swift Current offence attempted to jam the puck past Fayle's pad and the post.
Balon notched her second opening-minute goal 21 seconds into the third period sliding the puck into a low corner after a drive down the wing. Biette then scored her second about four minutes later stealing the puck in the neutral zone while on a penalty kill before skating it into the Broncos zone and firing it bar down. LeBlanc picked up the Panthers seventh and final goal with 3:37 remaining wiring a backhand from the hashmarks that beat Wall low blocker side.
“We just work really well together,” said Biette. “We all just clicked and we wanted to win.”
The Panthers (11-2-3) enter the Christmas break with the second-best record in the South Saskatchewan Female Hockey League. The team is back in action on Jan. 7 and 10 with a home-and-home against the Weyburn Aaron Well Servicing Drillers (5-8-2).
“The girls are playing good right now,” said Morrison. “Unfortunately for some weather we haven't been skating much, so we're not in as good a shape as we'd like. But the effort is right where we want it and I'm feeling very good about the girls right now.”
