Women's Hockey League report

(The Women's Hockey League report is provided by the WHL's Lorie Springall and will be published weekly during the season.)

WEEK 13 REPORT: "A" Semi-Finals By Lorie Springall

Fire power will take on the wall of defence in the ‘A’ division finals as offensive minded Skip’s Kweok will meet the league’s best defensive unit, Algoma Insurance.

Skip’s scored five more goals in last night’s 5-4 win over Investors Group, while Algoma allowed just one goal in a tight 2-1 victory against Source for Sports.

Algoma’s sparkling goals against average of 0.6 will be put to the test by the Kweok who have scored an average of 4 goals per game in the playoffs.

The time and location for the final game will be announced later in the week. Anticipated dates are Monday, April 4th or Tuesday, April 5th.

Skip’s needed all 5 goals in Monday’s win. After building a 5-2 lead, the pesky Investors Group rallied to within one after scoring twice in the final frame.

The last goal came with just 14 seconds remaining, too late in the game for The Group to get the equalizer.

“We just needed another minute to play” said Investors’ Doreen Shaw, referring to having momentum on their side but not time.

Skip’s Debbie (Digger) Desgagne’s second goal of the game with 2:38 left in the second period stood up to be the winner.

Mona Jones scored her first hattrick of the season for Skip’s. Natalie Barry and Chris Elliott each had one assist.

Lisa Case scored twice for Investors Group. Carrie Mancuso had a goal and two assists while Ellen (MacDash) MacDougall scored once and added an assist. Leslie Bois also had one assist.

In the other semi-final game, Algoma Insurance squeaked past Source for Sports in a tight-checking, spirited contest.

Both teams played with dogged determination, giving up nothing until midway through the second period.

Algoma’s ‘pick up player’, Chris Elliott, played a huge role in the win, scoring the opening goal and then assisting on the winner late in the third.

Elliott’s sharp eyes and quick hands paid off as she knocked in a loose puck behind Source goalie, Karen Armstrong.

In a gritty comeback effort, Source for Sports tied the score with 7:02 remaining in the third. Lisa Venier gobbled up a loose puck in the neutral zone, zipped in all alone and snapped a low shot past Sherri Collins.

With a hint of overtime in the air, Algoma’s Penny Glover and Chris Elliott finished off a stubborn forecheck to set up Debbie Beauchamp for the winner. Beauchamp’s high shot beat Armstrong with just 2:22 remaining.

Source battled to the end with an extra attacker but were unable to get the puck past Collins.

The league’s ‘B’ division semi-finals continue this Sunday at McMeeken arena.

First place Country Way will take on Palmer Paving at 4pm while 2nd Place White Oak Paint will face off against Crawford’s Canines at 5pm. Both Country Way and White Oak Paint head into the semi-finals undefeated.

The winners will play in the finals either Monday, April 4th or Tuesday, April 5th.

*** WHL PLAYOFF RULES:

1. A tie will stand in Round Robin games. All semis and final games will be played to a winner. (Overtime rules below)

2. To allow for overtime, the 3-minute warm up will be strictly enforced. GAMES MUST BEGIN ON TIME.

3. One 30-second time-out per team is allowed in semis and finals only.

4. The only Pick Up Players allowed in playoffs will be goalies and beginner players (up to a maximum of 10 skaters.) Any pick-up goalie/beginner must NOT have played pick-up for that team in ANY previous 2005 WHL game.

5. Home team must provide timekeepers. (Home team will start with a 1-0 deficit if they do not provide a timekeeper, on time!)

6. After Round Robin play, teams will be ranked 1st to 4th place according to most points in round robin (2 for each win, 1 for a tie.) If two or more teams are tied, tie-breakers will be as follows:

-winner of head-to-head game (if 2 teams tied) -fewest goals allowed in round robin -most goals scored in round robin -fewest penalty minutes in round robin -fewest penalty minutes in regular season -coin toss

7. All other WHL regular season rules will apply.

* OVERTIME (for semis and final games only)

In the event of a tie after regulation time, a FIVE MINUTE, STOP-TIME sudden victory period shall be played. Minor penalties assessed during this and subsequent periods will be TWO-minutes in duration.

If still tied AFTER THE FIVE-MINUTE period:

a)Each team will remove one player from the ice and they will play a TWO-MINUTE, STOP-TIME 4-on-4 (plus a goalie), sudden victory period.

If still tied AFTER THE TWO-MINUTE period of 4-on-4:

b)Each team will remove another player from the ice and they will play a two-minute 3-on-3 (plus a goalie) sudden victory period. This will continue until teams are 2-on-2 (plus a goalie).

c)The 2-on-2 two-minute sudden victory periods will continue until a winner is declared.

d)Rules for “pulling the goalie” will be enforced as in a normal game situation.

e)Penalties during all TWO-MINUTE overtime periods will be handled as follows: The non-penalized team will add a player to the ice for the “player advantage”. (Example—Team A receives a penalty while the teams are playing 2-on-2. Team B adds a player and plays 3 against 2 for the duration of Team A’s penalty. Team A’s penalized player serves her full two minutes in the box and returns to the ice when it expires. The teams will temporarily play 3-on-3 until the next whistle at which time they will return to 2-on-2).