Connor Hood, Golden Bears and Pandas Athletics

EDMONTON - Autumn MacDougall added to her conference points lead with another two on Friday night, leading the Alberta Pandas to a 2-0 win over the Saskatchewan Huskies at Clare Drake Arena.

MacDougall assisted on Kennedy Ganser's goal in the second period, before adding the insurance marker in the third. With the win, the Pandas improve to 9-3-2-0 this season, while Saskatchewan drops to 5-5-4-1.

Through 14 conference games, MacDougall now has 20 points, one more than teammate Alex Poznikoff. MacDougall also leads Canada West with nine goals. Rookie Panda Halle Oswald also made 12 for her conference-leading fourth shutout.

The Pandas, despite not scoring in the opening period, were the stronger side early in the game. Alberta finished the first with a 9-4 shot lead, forcing Huskie starter Jessica Vance to make some tough stops to keep the game scoreless. 

Ganser finally broke the deadlock between the teams midway through the second. Taking a feed from Poznikoff in the corner, Ganser quickly fired a shot past Vance for her sixth of the season. 

While not overly busy in the Pandas net, Oswald had to be sharp when called upon, making seven saves through two periods, 

MacDougall gave Alberta the insurance marker at 11:17 of the third, banging in a rebound in the Huskie slot. 

Saskatchewan started playing with urgency late, but still only managed five shots in the third. Easily their best chance came off the stick of Courtney Cormack, but she was turned aside by a sensational save from Oswald. 

The two rivals will finish their season series tomorrow afternoon, as the Pandas host the finale at 2:00 p.m. at Clare Drake Arena.