2010 Esso Cup

REMPARTS EARN FIRST WIN OF TOURNAMENT

REGINA, Sask. – The Remparts du Richelieu left the arena in high spirits Wednesday afternoon, as they earned their first win of the tournament – and three points in the standings – by beating the Edmonton Thunder 5-2 in a feisty back-and-forth game.

Audrey Charland (Ste-Catherine, Que.) opened the scoring at the Co-operators Centre for the Quebec representatives by deflecting the puck into the opposition’s net on a power play at 6:15 in the first.

Although Kirsten Reeves (Edmonton, Alta.) answered back when the Western reps had the man advantage at 9:48, the early goal in the game seemed to give the Remparts exactly the boost of energy they needed. By the time the clock ran out on the first, Quebec had reclaimed the lead 3-1, with goals from Allison Chute (Greenfield Park, Que.) and Valerie St-Onge (Brossard, Que.).

The puck soared up and down the ice throughout the second, with both teams looking hungry for more goals, but it was Alison Campbell (Edmonton, Alta.) of The Thunder who scored next, jumping on a loose puck while her team was shorthanded. She deked around a couple of Quebec defenders and sent the Rempart’s goaltender spinning, firing a shot into the top corner of the net to narrow the gap to 3-2 for Richelieu.

But less than 30 seconds into the third, Genevieve Bannon was able to top of Quebec’s first victory of the tournament with an unassisted goal. Despite some pushing and shoving on both determined sides, it was the Remparts du Richelieu who skated away as the winners of this competitive matchup.

The Thunder’s Campbell received Player of the Game honours for her team. Emmanuella Leboeuf, who contributed to half of Quebec’s goals with two assists, was named Player of the Name for the Remparts.