2017 Esso Cup

MCCALLUM SCORES HAT TRICK FOR HAWKS IN PRELIMINARY FINALE

LEE BOYADJIAN

MORDEN, Man. – Makenzie McCallum scored three times in the first period Thursday night to help the Pembina Valley Hawks to a 6-1 win over the Mid-Isle Wildcats, closing out the preliminary round of the 2017 Esso Cup.

McCallum opened the scoring 3:41 into the first period on a two-on-one. The right winger decided to hold on and take the shot, beating Wildcats goaltender Maggie Johnston for the 1-0 Hawks lead.

After Kenzie Heide made it 2-0, McCallum scored again, just 23 seconds later. Coming off a short breakaway, McCallum took the shot, aiming high blocker. She rung it off the post and in.

Still in the first, Brooklyn Platt scored off a perfect pass from Hannah Petrie to put the Hawks ahead 4-0, before McCallum closed out a busy opening 20 minutes with a shorthanded goal on another breakaway. McCallum blocked an attempted point shot, tracked down the deflected puck and made a great move in close to slide it past Johnston.

Mid-Isle got on the board in the second period, when Taylor Gillis picked the puck off a defender at the Hawks’ blue-line, got in tight on Halle Oswald, then shot just under the arm of the goaltender.

Alyssa Alderson scored in the third for Pembina Valley, to close it out at 6-1.

The win moved the Hawks into a tie with the Harfangs du Triolet for second place, but with the head-to-head tiebreaker, Triolet finishes in second place. The St. Albert Slash, at a perfect 5-0, take top spot, while the Durham West Lightning round out the semifinal field. The Prince Albert Bears and Mid-Isle Wildcats finish fifth and sixth, respectively.

The first semifinal, starting at 3:30 p.m. CT on Friday, will feature the Lightning and Slash, who met Thursday morning. St. Albert walked away with a 7-3 win in that game and will be looking to carry that momentum into the semi.

Pembina Valley and Triolet faced each other on Day 4, with the Harfangs coming out ahead 1-0. The goaltending from both teams was spectacular, which may prove key in the second semifinal. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. CT.