Calgary — In the first battle of the Cougars of the 2014-2015 women's hockey season, Regina was able to prevail on the strength of an overtime winner scored on the powerplay.
The first period featured a lot of back-and-forth play and was a good display of the speed the teams possess. Rachel Piitz had Mount Royal's best chance as her backhander from the slot nearly got by Regina's Jennifer Schmidt. Shots were 7-5 Regina after one.
With good pressure from both teams, the zeros on the scoreboard couldn't last long. Regina struck first with a goal from Nikki Watters-Matthes, her first of the year, which was scored on the powerplay from a scramble in front of the net. MRU was able to tie things when Jade Osadchuk split the D with a great pass to Piitz, which created a two-on-one, allowing Piitz to pass it across to Carver. Carver made no mistake and buried it blocker side on Schmidt for her second of the year. Osadchuk's secondary assist was her firs point of the season.
Mount Royal struck first in the third period when Delaney Edwards knocked in a rebound from a Reanna Arnold shot just three minutes in. They would hold the lead until Regina evened things around the six-minute mark off a goal from Meghan Sherven, which was deflected.
The four-on-four action in the first overtime frame yielded chances for both teams. Tanika Dawson blocked a shot off her helmet but was not affected, and it was a good showing of the captain's heart.
In the second overtime, which featured three-on-three play, Regina had the first chance as a shot by Alexis Larson squeaked through Pincott and sat on the goal line, but no one was able to knock it in. Right off that play, Tanika Dawson blocked a shot, which resulted in a breakaway for her, but the puck hoped over her stick in the crease's rough ice and the scoring chance was gone. Janessa Jenkins took a slashing penalty, and with just over 10 seconds remaining in the powerplay, Larson was able to fire a shot past a screened Pincott to give Regina the win.
Larson's goal was her first of the year and she also added an assist, while Regina captain Triston Riemer picked up two assists in the victory.
It was 4-4 in the career series between the two teams heading into tonight. Pincott made 31 saves in the loss, while Schmidt picked up her fifth win of the year from 31-save performance.
Mount Royal now holds a 1-9-3 record while Regina is 9-3-1.
Tomorrow afternoon, Cougar supremacy will again be fought for at the Flames Community Arena, but this time at 3 p.m.