The Queens hand the Ooks their first loss of the season

Red Deer, January 8, 2023 - The Red Deer Polytechnic Queens Hockey team kicked off the RDP Athletics schedule with a game against the NAIT Ooks which was supposed to be played on November 5 but due to inclement weather, they were forced to postpone it.

These two teams faced off on Friday, November 4 in Edmonton when the Ooks would walk away with a 4-1 win on home ice. NAIT came into this game undefeated and atop the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Women's Hockey standings.

But it was the Queens who struck first on the powerplay just under three minutes into the game. Forward Avery Lajeunnesse (Bachelor of Education in Elementary) picked up the puck after an unfortunate bounce off the Ooks skate in the slot. She wasted no time and wristed it past goaltender Havana Batke (Personal Fitness Trainer) to open the scoring. Lajeunnesse was the lone goal scorer in these two teams' first matchup of the season. Forward Jailyn Bablitz and defence Kiera Mulder got the assists on the powerplay goal.

After the goal, the home team continued their pressure looking for that all but important insurance goal, which led to the Ooks not getting their first shot on goal until seven minutes into the first period.

The final 12 minutes of the period both teams settled in and finished off the period with just the one goal. The Queens outshot the Ooks 7-3 in the first twenty minutes.

At the 11-minute mark of the second period, the Ooks were given a prime-time goal opportunity after the Queens defence coughed it up in their offensive zone which sent the away team on a break away. But Madison Fox (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) stood tall and steered away her ninth shot of the game.

Late in the second period, the Queens would extend their lead to two after defense Jessica Bouffard (Business Diploma) walked in from the blueline and wristed it past a screened Ooks goaltender. Forward Alli Soyko (Bachelor of Education in Elementary) was given the lone assist on Bouffard's first goal of the season.

After the second period, both teams were tied at 12 shots apiece.

The Ooks would finally get on the scoreboard late in the third period, which was shortly after the Queens missed an empty net chance to really put the nail in the coffin in the game. Instead, NAIT skates down the ice and grinds out a point-blank goal against Fox to cut Red Deer's lead in half with a minute-and-a-half to play. Second-year Cheyenna Harden (Bachelor of Business Administration) was awarded her third goal of the season and after a nice pass from behind the net forward Cassidy Shandro picked up the assist on the play.

But in the end, the Queens held on to give the Ooks their first loss of the season with a 2-1 victory.

Fourth year Bre Martin (Bachelor of Technology) and goaltender Madison Fox were awarded the players of the game. Fox finished with 28 saves, just shy of the shutout, and Martin grinded out an impressive game tonight as the Ooks fall just short of the comeback.

Red Deer will be back in action this Friday against the SAIT Trojans with a puck drop at 7 pm inside the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre. As for the Ooks, they will face-off with the Olds College Broncos for a home-and-home series starting in Olds on January 12 with a 7 pm puck drop as well. Note the date of that game as it is on a Thursday.