A complete team effort propelled the Estevan Power Tech midget AA Panthers to a 6-1 win over the Moose Jaw Mavericks at Affinity Place on Sunday.
Trevor Morrison, coach of the Panthers, said everyone up and down the lineup contributed to the win by keeping their feet moving throughout the game, attacking with their speed and communicating with each other on the ice. He said they want to play in motion this year and that is exactly what the girls did.
The Panthers got off to a quick start pinning the Mavericks (0-5) in their own zone early on and clogging up the neutral zone to stop any attempted rushes into their end of the rink. Michaella Matthies notched the game’s opening goal 9:21 into the first period by tipping in a rebound from the slot off a Tasia Trobert attempt that pulled Mavericks netminder Caitlyn Bilan to the side of her net.
Despite Estevan carrying the play for the next 12 minutes, Moose Jaw got on the board next thanks to Mahteya Dumelie winning a battle behind the Panthers goal before heading out front and poking the puck five-hole on goaltender Ayja Hegland. Panthers forward Hannah Olfert replied back at the 4:28 mark of the second period with a shot from the faceoff circle that eluded Bilan.
Defenceman Ashton Magotiaux and rookie forward Marci LeBlanc then notched markers of their own 16 seconds apart to put Estevan up 4-1 less than two minutes later. With six minutes left in the period, Matthies picked up the puck at the Mavericks blue line, drove toward the opposition goal and fired home her second of the night to give the Panthers a four-goal cushion heading into the final frame.
Magotiaux said their offensive outburst in the second period came down to distributing the puck and being in their correct positions to get a shot on net. From there, she said they just outworked the opposition and got to the rebounds.
“Today we scored more on our chances,” said Morrison, noting the Panthers beat the Mavericks 3-1 at home one day earlier. “We had a lot of chances yesterday, but we let a lot of rebounds go and (fired) a lot of high shots and middle shots (for) no rebounds. We shot the puck better today.”
The Panthers (3-0) first road game of the season is scheduled for this Saturday when the team travels to Regina to face the Capitals (1-0). The club then heads home to play the Regina Ravens (0-1) on Sunday.
Morrison said the Capitals had a strong win in their first game, a 6-1 victory over the Notre Dame Hounds on Oct. 14, and the Ravens always present a tough matchup, so this weekend will help them see where they sit. He said they’ll continue to work on moving the puck and working as a unit to get ready with a focus on using good communication to put forward a team game.
