CANADA OUTLASTS OHA SELECTS, GETS PRE-WORLDS WIN IN SHOOTOUT

JASON LA ROSE

PENTICTON, B.C. – Jennifer Wakefield (Pickering, Ont./Linköping HC, SWE) and Rebecca Johnston (Sudbury, Ont./Calgary, CWHL) scored goals in the shootout, earning Canada’s National Women’s Team a 3-2 extra-time win over the Okanagan Hockey Academy Selects on Wednesday in the second of two pre-tournament games between the teams.

The Canadians are holding their pre-competition camp in Penticton before heading north to Kamloops, B.C., for the 2016 IIHF Women’s World Championship, which begins next Monday.

Canada’s win meant a split of the two games at camp; the OHA scored a 5-4 overtime victory on Monday.

Wakefield shot first in the shootout, showing off slick hands before roofing a backhand over OHA goaltender Bobby Milligan, and Johnston snapped home a quick shot on the second Canadian attempt.

Veteran goaltender Charline Labonté (Boisbriand, Que./Montreal, CWHL) was perfect in the shootout, turning aside both OHA attempts.

Meaghan Mikkelson (St. Albert, Alta./Calgary, CWHL) and Meghan Agosta (Ruthven, Ont.) had the goals in regulation for the Canadians, who got 34 saves from Labonté.

The Selects opened the scoring just past the six-minute mark of the opening period when Tristan Bukovec snuck a shot past Labonté from a sharp angle, but the Canadian netminder settled down after that, and her team struck twice to take a lead to the intermission.

Mikkelson tied the game at 10:59, pinching in off the blue-line and squeezing a backhand through Milligan, and Agosta showed tremendous patience, outwaiting Milligan before banking in a shot from behind the net to put the Canadians ahead late in the opening frame.

That would be it for scoring for the next 31 minutes; Labonté matched Milligan save for save in the second period, when Canada outshot the OHA 9-8, and had 20 saves through 40 minutes.

The Selects would finally get even nine minutes into the third period; with Blayre Turnbull (Stellarton, N.S./Calgary, CWHL) in the penalty box serving the Canadians’ first minor, Ryan Murphy knocked in the rebound of a Mitch MacMillan shot to make it 2-2 and force overtime.

The extra period solved nothing, setting up the shootout finale.

The Canadians have an off day Thursday before travelling to Kamloops on Friday, and closing out their pre-tournament schedule Saturday against Sweden at the Sandman Centre (6 p.m. PT).