CALGARY, Alberta – The U.S. Women’s Under-18 Select Team netted three first-period goals en route to a 5-4 victory over Canada here tonight in the final game of the 2016 Under-18 Series at the Markin MacPhail Centre in Calgary, Alberta. The U.S. won two out of three games in the series.
“I was really impressed with the way we started the game today and our effort overall throughout the three games,” said Joel Johnson, head coach of the 2016 U.S. Women’s Under-18 Select Team. “Overall, I thought we improved with each game and it feels great to end this week with a victory.”
The U.S. jumped out to a 3-0 lead with three goals just 1:54 apart in the opening period. First, Delaney Drake (Traverse City, Mich.) knocked home the rebound from Dominique Petrie’s (Los Angeles, Calif.) shot for a power-play goal at 7:35 of the period. Just 43 seconds later, Emily Oden (Edina, Minn.) forced a turnover in the Canada zone and beat goaltender Edith D’Astous-Moreau with a wrist shot from the right faceoff dot to make it 2-0. Grace Zumwinkle (Excelsior, Minn.) increased the U.S. advantage to 3-0 just over a minute after Oden’s tally with a goal assisted by Anneke Linser (Lino Lakes, Minn.) and Jesse Compher (Northbrook, Ill.). Canada’s Emma Maltais netted a power-play goal late in the period to cut the U.S. lead to 3-1 after the first frame.
Canada managed to tie the game, 3-3, with a pair of early second-period goals by Sophie Shirley and Ashton Bell before Natalie Buchbinder (Fairport, N.Y.) netted a rebound during a net-front scramble to give the U.S. a 4-3 lead at 8:48 of the period. Maureen Murphy (Buffalo, N.Y.) also scored a goal on a rebound from Zumwinkle with 3:43 left in the middle frame to stake the U.S. a 5-3 lead after two periods.
Canada’s Daryl Watts scored 38 seconds into the final period to make the score 5-4, but Alex Gulstene (Vancouver, Wash.) made five saves in the last frame to preserve the U.S. victory.
Lindsay Reed (New Vernon, N.J.) and Gulstene combined to stop 17 shots. The U.S. outshot Canada 42-21 in the contest overall.
NOTES: The U.S. Women’s Under-18 Select Team was chosen from the USA Hockey Women’s National Festival that took place Aug. 8-12 in Lake Placid, New York … The Under-18 Series has been held annually since 2007 …
