WOMEN’S HOCKEY

UOIT Ridgebacks Media Release
Sunday, January 13, 2008

Ridgebacks Battle Hard But Fall Short Against the No. 9 Ranked Gryphons

Oshawa (OUA) – The Guelph Gryphons completed the season sweep over the UOIT Ridgebacks women’s hockey team on Sunday afternoon as they picked up a 4-2 win at the Campus Ice Centre in Oshawa, ON. Ridgebacks head coach Gary Pitcher had his team looking entirely different from the night before, but the No. 9 ranked Gryphons were just too strong on the day as they picked up their 14th win of the year.

UOIT managed to open up scoring just four minutes into the game as Rikki Palmateer (Cobourg, ON) scored her team leading sixth goal of the year, beating Guelph goaltender Sarah Long on the short side, who recorded a shutout against the Ridgebacks on Saturday night. Katie Grant (Oshawa, ON) and Chrissy Tereshyn (Scarborough, ON) picked up assists on the play. Guelph managed to level the score at 1-1 just five minutes later on a power play as Elyshia Desmier put one past Melissa Scott (Oshawa, ON) for her ninth goal of the year. With the teams continuing to trade scoring opportunities, Guelph’s Brittany Roberts capitalized on a chance as she beat Scott at the 13:30 mark to put Guelph ahead 2-1.

With the Ridgebacks trailing by a single goal early in the second period, Jackie McArthur (Oshawa, ON) marked her fifth goal of the year to make the game all-square. McArthur received a pass from assistant captain Sarah Carter (Newtonville, ON) and made no mistake with it as she buried it past Long for UOIT’s second goal of the day. Melissa Findlay (Oshawa, ON) picked up the second assist on the goal for her fifth point of the season. With the hometown crowd buzzing after the Ridgebacks goal, Jennifer Rivers of Guelph, streaked in on net and potted her 14th goal of the year and her second in as many days against UOIT. Rivers goal, which came just :43 seconds after the Ridgebacks evened up the score, moved her fourth in OUA league scoring with 21 points this season.

Late in the period with both teams battling for puck possession, Erin Small scored her seventh goal of the campaign to put the Gryphons in front 4-2. Small directed a cross-crease pass in the back of the net, a shot in which goaltender Melissa Scott had no chance to stop. The Ridgebacks continued to battle hard for the remainder of the game but were unable to capitalize on their scoring opportunities as Guelph went home with a 4-2 victory.

Long made 16 saves in the Gryphons win while Melissa Scott stopped 21 shots in a losing effort. The Ridgebacks were 0-for-2 on the power play while the Gryphons went 1-4. The referee kept his whistle in his pocket for the majority of the game as he only called six minor penalties the entire game, compared to 14 the night before.

With the win, the Gryphons improve to 14-5-0-0 while the Ridgebacks slip to 1-17-1-2. The teams met four times this season with Guelph coming out with the victory in all four games.

The Ridgebacks will not hit the ice until next Saturday night when they face the Queen’s University Golden Gaels (8-8-5-0) at the Campus Ice Centre. The two teams have faced off against one another two times this season, with the Golden Gaels holding a 2-0 advantage in the season series. Puck drop on Saturday night is scheduled for 7:30 pm.

The Ridgebacks will also be out and about in the community as they will make an appearance at the Oshawa Centre along with members of the men's hockey team and the Durham Lords from January 18-19. Fans in attendance will have the opportunity to win free tickets to an upcoming game and get autographs from the players (10:00 am to 2:00 pm on both days). Hunter the Ridgeback will also be in attendance!
 
GAME SUMMARY

Guelph 4 at UOIT 2 – (Final)

1st Period
1. UOIT, R. Palmateer (6) (K. Grant, C. Tereshyn) 4:19  
2. Guelph, E. Desmier (9) (D. Kanis, J. Rivers) 9:16 PP
3. Guelph, B. Roberts (1) (B. Simpson, J. Hodgins) 13:30  
 
2nd Period
4. UOIT, J. McArthur (5) (S. Carter, M. Findlay) 2:12  
5. Guelph, J. Rivers (14) (K. Catney, T. Woods) 2:55  
6. Guelph, E. Small (7) (D. Kanis) 16:57  
 
3rd Period
Scoring - No Scoring

GUE Shots: 9-11-5 (25)
UOIT Shots: 7-6-5 (18)

Power Play Conversion
Guelph 1-4
UOIT 0-2

Goaltenders
Guelph
Long - 59:54 min, SV: 16, GA: 2 (W)
Roy - 0:06 min, SV: 0, GA: 0

UOIT
Scott 60:00 min, SV: 21, GA: 4 (L)

Attendance: 247

RIDGEBACKS AT A GLANCE

Ridgebacks Conference Record: 1-17-1-2

NEXT HOME GAME

Sunday, January 19, 2008 (7:30 PM)
vs. Queen’s Golden Gaels
Campus Ice Centre
Oshawa, ON

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Scott Dennis
Sports Information and Marketing Coordinator
Durham College & UOIT Athletics
905.721.2000 Ext. 2784
scott.dennis@dc-uoit.ca