Women’s Hockey: Another Win, Another Shutout

Stingers Secure Road Shutout With 1-0 Victory over Ottawa

SportsDavid S. Landsman — Published November 30, 2014 | Updated November 30, 2014 at 8:46pm

“It wasn’t our best game yet, but we were able to come out and play a disciplined game,” said rookie forward Devon Thompson, “We don’t score a lot, but we know when we do, we’re pretty good at protecting the lead.”

With their win on Friday, the Stingers have brought their record to 4-3-2. Three of those victories were on the road, and all three have been shutout wins.

“I think that we have one of the best defensive teams in the league,” said goaltender Katherine Purchase, “Overall our team goals against average is low, staying in the games, and we manage to shut down teams, works really well.”

Looking to avoid a three-game losing skid, the Stingers jumped out of the gate quickly.

Barely into the second minute of the game, the Dawson Connection Line—made up of Dawson College Blues alums Thompson, Valerie Wade and Tracy-Ann Lavigne—connected on a play. The subsequent result saw Thompson finding the back of the net past Maude Lévesque-Ryan.

“We had the puck in the zone, and [Lavigne] headed to the net kicked it over to me, and I found the back of the net,” said Thompson, “It was [the] only goal, and luckily for us it was enough to win the game, and it was pretty rewarding.”

Thompson’s second goal with the Stingers was also her second game winner.

On the other end, Purchase was unbeatable, turning aside all 25 shots faced for her second victory and second shutout in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport. However, she couldn’t take all the credit.

“Our team was a little tired going into the game,” said Purchase, “But we were resilient and we built period after period, and I think that it was a good character win and pulled it off pretty well.”

The Stingers kept up the pressure all game long; working hard up and down the lineup, with a lot of forwards back-checking and the defense working hard to keep the one-goal lead. With the victory, the Stingers’ avenge the two losses against Ottawa earlier in the season.

The Stingers’ conclude the first half of the season Sunday, for a tilt against their crosstown rival McGill Martlets, whom they beat back on November 7, snapping a streak of 57 games.