2019 National Women's Under-18 Championship

BOGDEN SCORES TWICE TO LEAD ALBERTA PAST ATLANTIC

JESSICA GOWANS

WINKLER, Man. – Jaden Bogden (Edmonton, Alta.) scored both goals, and Alberta survived a third-period push by Team Atlantic to earn a narrow 2-1 victory on Thursday to close out preliminary round play at the 2019 National Women’s Under-18 Championship.

The two teams played to a scoreless draw in the first period, but Alberta had the edge on the shot clock, putting up a 10-5 advantage in the opening 20 minutes.

It took the westerners less than two minutes to open the scoring in the second. Off a defensive-zone draw, Dayle Ross (Spirit River, Alta.) sprung Bogden on a breakaway, and she cut across the net to tuck a power-play goal around Deanna Foster (Falmouth, N.S.) in the Atlantic net.

For her second goal, Bogden corralled the puck after Sara LaPlante (Calgary, Alta.) forced a turnover at the Alberta blue-line, beat both Atlantic defencemen and wristed the puck home for the 2-0 lead.

Alberta was dominant through the first 40 minutes, outshooting Atlantic 25-12, but the East Coast representatives came out firing in the third and ended up with a 10-1 shot advantage as it tried to even the score.

During that push, Avi Adam (Forest Hill, N.S.) cut the lead to one with a power-play marker. Abby Hustler (Hardwicke, N.B.) fed Adam in the slot and she fired it through a screen in front to put Atlantic on the board.

After the goal, Atlantic pushed hard to find the equalizer, but Elise Hugens (Sherwood Park, Alta.) shut the door over the final six minutes to help her team secure the victory. With the win, Alberta will play in the fifth-place game Friday (7 p.m. CT), while Atlantic will face off against Manitoba for seventh (1 p.m. CT).