Team NWT’s female hockey players defeated their Yukon counterparts as the round-robin stage at the Canada Winter Games concluded on Monday.
NWT beat the Yukon 7-2, Aklavik’s Davina McLeod scoring twice alongside goals from Sarah Fleming (Yellowknife), Teala Gonzalez (Yellowknife), Dakota Earle (Yellowknife), Bryn Hill (Hay River) and Shannon Baetz (Inuvik).
Goaltender Emily Paddock (Yellowknife) faced 15 shots.
Both teams had earlier lost heavily at the hands of New Brunswick and Newfoundland.
New Brunswick beat the NWT 14-0 on Saturday, then the territory lost 7-0 to Newfoundland a day later. The Yukon has scored one and conceded 28 in games against the two provinces.
NWT coach Allison Kincaid, speaking to Moose FM from Prince George before the game, had said her team was “pumped up” to face the Yukon.
Download: NWT 7-2 Yukon full gamesheet (pdf)
Photos: Team NWT at the Canada Winter Games opening ceremony
Kincaid described how the coaching staff worked hard to pick up the team following Saturday’s opening double-digit defeat by New Brunswick.
“The girls were very nervous. For many of them it’s their first time at an event of this magnitude,” she said.
“We likened that game to getting punched in the face and knocked down, but the nice thing was they all got back up. We got hit as hard as we’re going to get hit at this tournament and we’re all still standing, so let’s come back from that, and use that anger, disappointment and frustration to make us better in the next game.
“Against Newfoundland the girls played phenomenal, they played a much, much better game all over the ice. We made some changes and it worked very well, the girls responded very well and played a much more solid game.
“We had a few lapses, which we’re working on correcting, but the third period was our best by far. We dominated the third period. We left the third period tied 0-0 and we outshot them in the third, which was something we really wanted to achieve.”
Schedule and results: Team NWT at the Canada Winter Games
Live webcasts: Canada Games TV
Classification matches follow the round-robin stage, where it’s likely the NWT and Yukon teams will meet again.
Elsewhere at the weekend, Fort Simpson’s Madison Pilling reached the semi-finals of the women’s 1500m short track speed skating event, placing 18th overall with Lauren Eggenberger 25th, Ali Fleming 28th, Kristin Chapman 32nd and Camille Rourke 40th.
In the men’s 1500m, Alex Robertson placed 32nd and Jack Christie 48th.
Andrew Lirette, the Hay River biathlete who carried the NWT flag at Friday’s opening ceremony, came 16th in a 42-man field in his opening event, the 15km individual race on Sunday. Kjel Crook and Clell Crook finished 40th and 41st respectively.
The territory’s male curlers lost their two opening games, going down 11-5 to Newfoundland and Labrador before a 10-2 defeat at the hands of Manitoba.
NWT biathletes at the men's 15km race today #2015cangames #GONTGO pic.twitter.com/WQdKMPbO6i
— TeamNT (@GoTeam_NT) February 15, 2015
@Team_NWT Thanks for coming to #2015CanGames Happy to see Madison in #CityofPG pic.twitter.com/jH9BI4wcMW
— Steve Dalla Lana (@sdallalana) February 15, 2015
Final score of 5-11 for #teamnt against @teamnl pic.twitter.com/aNAhwkxVRq
— TeamNT (@GoTeam_NT) February 15, 2015
