PWHPA: Host Calgary Drops Game One

DAY TWO:

Team Bauer (MTL) 6 defeats Team Scotiabank (CAL) 1

Day Two and Game Two of the 2021 PWHPA Secret Dream Gap Tour kicked off this afternoon from the Seven Chiefs Sportsplex at Grey Eagle Casino on Tsuut’ina Nation Land in Treaty 7 Territory. It wasn’t, however, a positive start or finish for the hosts from Calgary’s Team Scotiabank.

At the one minute mark of the first frame, with the first shot on goal of the game, Marie-Philip Poulin went top corner with her second goal in her second game of the tourney (Assists to Lauriane Rougeau, Ann-Sophie Bettez). The hosts wouldn’t let Team Bauer’s marker stand for long, however:

The Sarah Potomac finish on the give and go at 17:17 (Assists to Rebecca Johnston, Kaitlyn Gosling) would square the game back up, but unfortunately it would be all the offense Calgary could muster on the day.

After Calgary’s Meaghan Mikkelsson found herself hitting the penalty box at 13:01 of the opening period, Montreal’s Jessie Eldridge (Assists to Marie-Philip Poulin, Alexandra Labelle) would tack on a Powerplay marker at 11:43 to take back the lead for Team Bauer.

Team Scotiabank found themselves hemmed in for much of the second frame, struggling to gain much flow or momentum. They did manage to weather the Montreal pressure, thanks in part to some solid netminding from Marlene Boissonnault.

Montreal would strike again early in the third period, off a Laura Stacey goal (Assists to Sarah Lefort, Catherine Daoust) setting Calgary firmly back on their heels for the remainder of the contest.

Although Team Scotiabank would hunker down and hold off MTL with major shot blocks from Laura Dostaler and Kaitlyn Gosling, the floodgates would open about ten minutes later. Team Bauer’s Karell Emard would add to the lead with just over six minutes left in the contest (Assists to Anne-Sophie Bettez and Rebecca Leslie). After setting up the prior goal, and the Bettez/Leslie connection would combine again not long after at 2:33, with Bettez potting MTL’s 5th of the night (Assists to Rebecca Leslie, Jaime Bourbonnais).

Montreal would add a sixth marker just over a minute later from Kristin O’Neill (Assists to Marie Philip Poulin, Catherine Dubois) to seal the victory.

By scoring six, Team Bauer grabbed an extra point for the second game in a row. (More can be found on tournament scoring system below)

DAY ONE:

Team Bauer (MTL) 3 defeats Team Sonnet (TOR) 2

Montreal’s Team Bauer opened the tournament with a big win yesterday, knocking off Toronto’s Team Sonnet 3-2. MTL’s Marie-Philip Poulin’s shorthanded snipe blew up the highlight reel, and Poulin was named second star of the game behind first star goalie teammate Ann-Renne Desbiens, and ahead of third star Ella Shelton of Toronto’s Team Sonnet.

The SHG counts towards a bonus point in the round robin standings, which gives Team Bauer six overall points through two games played.

The Dream Gap Tour Scoring and Standings system is as follows:

-Regulation Win = 2.0 points, OT Win = 1.5 points, Shootout Win = 1.0 points, OT/Shootout Loss = 0.5 points, and a Regulation Loss = 0 points.

Teams can also earn points in the standings for registering a shutout, a hat trick, a shorthanded goal, and scoring a collective five goals or more in a game. Achieving each of these equates to one extra point in the round robin pool standings.

With Team Bauer flying out of the gates picking up back-to-back wins and back-to-back additional points, both Toronto and Calgary will have to dig in to make up ground in the Round Robin standings. Both winless teams will meet tomorrow afternoon  5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT and is available for free streaming on Sportsnet.ca, YouTube, or with a subscription on SN NOW.

Check back tomorrow at Matchsticks & Gasoline to see if Team Sonnet or hosts Team Scotiabank will pick up their first win of the 2021 PWHPA Secret Dream Gap Tour!

by MilhouseFirehouse