Box Score EDMONTON, ALBERTA —The Mount Royal Cougars fell to the Alberta Pandas in a tightly contested 1-0 battle in Game 2 of their Canada West playoff series on Saturday night in Edmonton. With the victory, Alberta has tied the best-of-three series at 1-1, setting up a decisive Game Three.
Alberta's lone goal came early in the first period when forward Natalie Kieser found the back of the net at 9:56, capitalizing on a well-executed even-strength play. The Pandas applied steady pressure in the opening frame, outshooting the Cougars 9-4 in the period and controlling much of the pace.
"I didn't think we had a lot of pace early on in the game. Credit to them, they responded. They played hard and were very detailed," said Cougars head coach
Scott Rivett. "I didn't think we matched their urgency to start the game. We found our way through it a bit, but it was a little too late."
Despite Alberta's early push, Mount Royal's defense settled in as the game progressed. Goaltender
Kaitlyn Ross stood tall in net, making 21 saves on 22 shots, keeping the Cougars within striking distance throughout the game. Her counterpart, Alberta's Grace Glover, was perfect between the pipes, stopping all 18 shots she faced to earn the shutout.
Both teams had power-play opportunities but were unable to capitalize. Alberta went 0-for-2 with the man advantage, while Mount Royal also failed to convert on two power plays. The special teams battle reflected the overall defensive nature of the game, with both squads playing structured and disciplined hockey.
The second period saw Mount Royal push back, but the Cougars struggled to generate high-quality scoring chances against Alberta's tight defensive structure. Each team registered eight shots in the frame, with Ross and Glover making key stops to keep the score unchanged.
As the third period began, Mount Royal showed more urgency, outshooting Alberta 10-5 in the final frame. However, despite their late-game push, the Cougars were unable to solve Glover, who remained composed under pressure.
Jordynne Hojnocki was penalized twice for Mount Royal, taking a boarding penalty late in the second period and a tripping call in the third. The Cougars killed off both penalties effectively, keeping the deficit at just one goal. Alberta's Madison Willan and Abby Soyko also took penalties, but Mount Royal's power play struggled to generate momentum.
With time winding down, the Cougars pulled Ross in favor of an extra attacker in an attempt to force overtime, but Alberta held strong defensively and closed out the victory.
Mount Royal will now look to regroup as they prepare for the decisive Game 3, which will determine who advances in the Canada West playoffs. With both teams having shown their defensive prowess in the first two games, the final matchup is expected to be another hard-fought battle.
The winner of Game 3 will move on to the next round, while the season will come to an end for the losing team. With everything on the line, expect the Cougars to come out with the urgency that Rivett emphasized was missing at the start of Game 2.
The Cougars women's hockey team will be back tomorrow in a do or die matchup at Clare Drake Arena at 7 PM MT. You can catch the game live on Canada West TV – Powered by BioSteel.
