2010 Esso Cup

THUNDER BAY QUEENS MOVE ON TO GOLD MEDAL MATCHUP

REGINA, Sask. – The Thunder Bay Queens did it again, claiming another Esso Cup victory Friday by edging the Edmonton Thunder 2-1 in front of an enthralled crowd at the Co-operators Centre, ultimately securing the Ontario team a spot in Saturday’s gold medal game.

2010 Esso Cup Media Gallery

Courtney Tougas (Thunder Bay, Ont.) and Kaitlyn Quarrell (Thunder Bay, Ont.) helped the Queens get into their groove on the ice, teaming up to give Thunder Bay a 2-0 lead by the end of the first period. The first goal came at 12:37, when Tougas took a raised pass from Quarrell on a two-on-one to beat Edmonton’s defender and put it past netminder Morgan Glover (Edmonton, Alta.).

Just over two minutes later, the forward line combined for the second marker, with Jana Henry (Thunder Bay, Ont.) feeding the puck to Quarrell, who gave it back to Tougas, who fired a nice high shot into the mesh.

But Pacific reps the Thunder stormed onto the ice during the second ready to make a comeback, with Julia Murrell tipping in a well-played shot from the point by blueliner Kelsie Lang (Edmonton, Alta.), to narrow the gap to 2-1 in favour of the Queens.

The back-and-forth action continued throughout the period and into the third, with the Thunder pulling out all the stops in an attempt to come out of the semifinal successful. But the Queens reigned supreme once again, proving why they ended round robin play in first place and ensuring their berth in Saturday’s gold medal game, which will air live on TSN2 at 4 p.m. CT.

Netminder Amanda Makela (Thunder Bay, Ont.) of the Queens stopped 36 shots to earn Player of the Game for her team, while forward Kirsten Reeves (Edmonton, Alta.) had the same honour for The Thunder.