The Estevan Power Dodge bantam A Chargers left everything they had on the ice in staging a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over the Regina Blues at the Civic Auditorium on Sunday.
The win, coupled with a 5-0 shutout of Weyburn Olympia Fitness on Friday and 6-1 defeat of the Swift Current Colts on Saturday, gives the Chargers (10-11-1) a stranglehold on fourth place in the South Sask Female Hockey League standings and a chance to enjoy home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
“The girls dug down in the third period,” said Chargers head coach Kent McLellan. “We were down by two goals and they dug down, did what they needed to do to come back and win the game. It was good.”
Estevan jumped to an early lead on Regina when Kenzie Balon picked the puck up at centre ice about four minutes into the game, skated down the middle and fired a shot from in close along the ice and into the glove-side corner on Blues goaltender Kallie Colwell. The Blues put the pressure on after the score, but the heroics of Chargers netminder Ayja Hegland kept them at bay.
The Blues found the back of the net a little under five minutes into the second period when Hanna Bailey scored on a wraparound. Regina's Brooke Holt made it 2-1 Blues on the power play with 1:14 remaining in the frame when she backhanded a rebound into an open side past an outstretched Hegland.
Shortly after Jett Herda put Regina up 3-1 two-and-a-half minutes into the third on another rebound score, Chargers forward Marci LeBlanc brought her team within one on a dangle past a defender before deking Colwell and popping a backhanded shot into the net. Estevan's Brittney Klassen tied the score a little over nine minutes later when she deposited a rebound while the team was shorthanded. LeBlanc scored the winner with 4:45 remaining in the game on a drive to the net before shooting the puck five-hole on Colwell.
“Third game in a row this weekend and third win,” said McLellan. “We needed to get a few wins just to keep us up in the (standings). We started this weekend in seventh place and now we're up to fourth, so it was a very important weekend for some big games.”
McLellan said the girls have done a great job gelling as a team and everyone is working hard, moving the puck well and using a strong forecheck to earn their wins. He said they're starting to score goals at the right time, so the feeling is positive as they try and win their final two games of the regular season Feb. 12 at home against the Weyburn Olympia Fitness and Feb. 13 versus the Regina Cougars at the Civic Auditorium.
“We'll be coming with the same mindset that we need to play the whole 60 minutes and come out to win,” he said. “That's what we're here to do and that's what we want to do.”
