Blue Steel (6-9-2) have proven themselves capable of pulling off sizable comebacks, erasing their opponents’ four-goal leads twice in the last few weeks.
However, on Monday the Steel’s comeback attempt came up short in a 4-2 loss to the Heat in women’s hockey league play at the Canada Games Centre.
Down 3-0 early in the second period, Steel broke the shutout when Jocelyn Barrett failed to score on a breakaway, but her rebound was knocked in by Jen Russel. With a change in momentum evident, Steel then moved to within one when on a goal by Angela Gayle.
“It was probably just a desire to get on the board and break the zero and get some momentum going for us,” said Steel goalie Amy Gill, commenting on the momentum shift. “(Steel is) awesome, they have good spirit and they work really hard. That’s really encouraging and it helps picks us up out of those slumps.”
“I think we got a little bit tired and a little bit cocky,” said Heat defenceman Stephanie Hedley.
It was a tough start for Gill, accidentally sweeping the puck into her own net on a goal credited to Heat’s Amy Campbell, who went on to have a two-point night, scoring her team’s third goal.
“That was a big oops,” said Gill. “I went to bang it into the corner, but I lifted my stick off the ice instead of sliding it.”
Also scoring for the Heat were Christine Aikens and Hedley who scored her team’s final goal and assisted the previous two.
The heat currently sits at the top of the league with a 12-5 season record. According to Hedley, communication and moral support help to keep the team buoyed in the standings.
“We have after-game talks to see what we did wrong and see what we did right - and our goal (Suzanne Roy) yells at us,” said Hedley, facetiously. “During intermissions we talk it out, saying, ‘Let’s skate hard’ or ‘Let’s not pass up the middle so much.’”
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com