2014-15 National Women's Team

STACEY’S THREE POINTS HELP BLACK BEAT NWCAA AT FALL FESTIVAL

JASON LA ROSE

CALGARY, Alta. – Laura Stacey (Kleinburg, Ont./Dartmouth College, ECAC) led the offence with two goals and an assist, sparking Black to a 5-2 win over a Junior B team from the Northwest Calgary Athletic Association on Sunday morning at Canada’s National Women’s Team Fall Festival.

Stacey opened and closed the scoring, helping Black win its first game in three tries at camp.

Jessica Campbell (Rocanville, Sask./Calgary, CWHL), Vicki Bendus (Wasaga Beach, Ont./Brampton, CWHL) and Halli Krzyzaniak (Neepawa, Man./University of North Dakota, WCHA) had the other goals for Black, which controlled the puck for much of the game, outshooting the NWCAA 40-17.

Sam Robertson and Trevor Pickett scored for the NWCAA.

It didn’t take long for Black to get the scoring started; Stacey converted her own rebound off a breakaway try just 4:27 in for an early 1-0 advantage.

Campbell doubled the lead at 17:45, finishing off a pretty feed from Samantha Cogan (Ottawa, Ont./Nepean, PWHL), but Robertson got the NWCAA back within a goal very late in the period, scoring with 13.3 seconds left in the opening period to make it a 2-1 game after 20 minutes. Black continued to apply the pressure in the second period, holding a 12-6 advantage in shots on goal, but couldn’t beat NWCAA goaltender Patrick Hird and carried its one-goal lead to the third.

Bendus gave Black some insurance at 3:50 of the final frame, squeezing a shot through Hird’s legs, and Krzyzaniak made it 4-1 just 49 seconds after that for additional breathing room.

Pickett scored 35 seconds after Krzyzaniak’s goal to cut the lead to two, but Stacey jammed in her second of the game with 3:15 left to provide the final margin of victory.

Ann-Renée Desbiens (La Malbaie, Que./University of Wisconsin, WCHA) wasn’t busy in the Black goal, making just 15 saves to earn the victory.