Downed 1-0 at home

Sometimes in hockey, all you need is a hot goaltender.

That was definitely the case on Saturday night as the Mount Royal Cougar women’s hockey team faced off against the NAIT Ooks.

The Ooks came into the Cougars home rink and stole one away behind the superb efforts of goaltender Jill Diachuk. Diachuk was unsolvable Saturday night as she repeatedly thwarted the Cougars’ best efforts on her way to a 1-0 shutout win.

The Cougars looked just slightly off on this night, with their passes always seemingly just out of reach and their powerplay efforts coming up short. The Cougars couldn’t seem to get a friendly bounce either as pucks hopped over their sticks and shots ricocheted off their opponents.

The Ooks came out in the first period with a ton of energy, and the Cougars couldn’t seem to match their intensity in the opening frame. After a couple good opportunities, the Ooks were able to get on the scoreboard, putting together a nice three-touch passing play that began at centre ice and finished with a one-timer that beat Cougar netminder Jessica Ross to make it 1-0.

That’s all the Ooks would need as Diachuk essentially took over the game after that.
Five minutes into the second period the Cougars caught the Ooks on a bad line change and sent captain Chrissy Hodgson in all alone on a breakaway. She made a nifty move to the backhand and tried to roof it, only to be denied by Diachuk with a magnificent glove save.

That was the storyline all night as every Cougar opportunity was shut down by the Ooks goaltender.

The Cougars found themselves on the doorstep a few times during a 5-on-3 powerplay midway through the second period, but whether it was a whiff on a bouncing puck or Diachuk closing the door, the Cougars couldn’t buy a goal.

The third period was more of the same, with the Cougars dominating the time of possession only to walk away empty handed. The Ooks did a good job of clogging the shooting lanes as time ticked down, leaving the frustrated Cougars with their second loss of the regular season.

Goaltender Jessica Ross played solid for the Cougars, stopping 19 of 20 shots in defeat.

The Cougars will look to rebound next weekend, as they square off for and home and home with the Red Deer College Queens. The Cougs’ will be at home on Saturday night at Flames Community Arenas, game time is 7:30 p.m.