Win and a tie to stay unbeaten

With each passing weekend, the level of adversity mounts for the Mount Royal Cougar women’s hockey team, who after a close call against the MacEwan Griffins, remain undefeated and alone atop the ACAC. The Cougars beat the Griffins 3-0 on the road Friday, and on Saturday the two teams battled to a 2-2 tie, the first game the Cougars failed to win all season long.

The MacEwan Griffins played host to the ACAC-leading Cougars Friday, and it was all Cougars in this one.

The Griffins managed just 11 shots on net, and Leanne Pfliger stopped them all for the shutout win.

The Cougars got goals from Emma Lowry, Chrissy Hodgson and Chelsey Morrill in the 3-0 win.

The Cougars lead the ACAC with an 11-0 record, while the Griffins find themselves in last place. Nothing’s a sure thing, however, as the Cougars would find out the following night when they returned home for the rematch.

Saturday night proved just how difficult it is for an unbeaten team to stay unbeaten. Ranked dead last in the ACAC with just two wins, the Griffins seemed to catch the Cougars resting on their laurels in the rematch, and battled hard all night to try and snap the Cougars’ 11 game winning streak. The Cougars found themselves in quite a fight and held on, barely, as the game ended in a 2-2 draw.

The Griffins opened up the scoring midway through the first period, but the Cougars would respond at the 17 minute mark, when Jesslyn Legasse took a Tash Farrier pass to draw even with the Griffins.

The Cougars would take the lead just 42 seconds into the second frame, when Emma Lowry found the back of the net with an unassisted effort. The Griffins would respond at the 14 minute mark, knotting the game at two goals apiece.

The final period would belong to the goaltenders, as neither team could solve the other’s netminder. Overtime would solve nothing, as the Cougars posted their first tie of the season.

The Coug’s Kendall Kilgour turned away 24 of 26 shots, while Griffin goaltender Tannis Duffy stopped 27 of 29 shots.

Whether the Cougars simply overlooked the Griffins, whom they had beaten just 24 hours earlier, or whether the Griffins simply brought their best game on Saturday, the Cougars need to refocus if they are to keep their streak alive. Each weekend promises to be tougher than the previous one as the Cougars enter the second half of regular season play, and the longer the unbeaten record stands, the harder teams will try to topple it.

Next up for the Cougars is a pair of games versus their cross-town rivals, the SAIT Trojans. Game time for the women is at 8:45 p.m. on Friday night at Flames Community Arenas, their last home game before the winter semester break.