2015 Esso Cup

FISHER’S FOUR POINTS LEAD CAPITALS OVER LADY WOLVES

WENDY GRAVES

RED DEER, Alta. – One day after her line mate Sheridan Oswald (MacGregor, Man.) lit up the Moncton Rockets for a two-goal, two-assist game, Mekaela Fisher (Warren, Man.) pulled the same four-point feat in leading the Central Plains Capitals past the Sudbury Lady Wolves.

With the win the Capitals moved up the leaderboard and kept the Lady Wolves closer to the pack by handing the Ontario champions their first loss.

Emily Upgang (Poplar Point, Man.) had a goal and two assists for the winners, while Oswald added another goal and assist to her stats. Kelly-Rae Zdan (Alonsa, Man.) also had an assist.

Lauren Taraschuk (Winnipeg, Man.) made 20 saves in the win.

Karli Shell (Sudbury, Ont.) scored for Sudbury; Melisa Kingsley (Sudbury, Ont.) picked up an assist.

Danika Lefrancois (Sudbury, Ont.) stopped 29 of 33 saves in the loss.

The question entering the game was whether the defensive-minded Capitals would be able to slow the Sudbury attack. The Lady Wolves had scored 19 goals coming in and had never trailed in any game.

It took the Capitals 3:20 to change that. Fisher found Upgang from behind the net for the forward’s third goal at the Esso Cup.

Sudbury didn’t stay down long. Shell fed Kingsley across the ice to the side of net. Taraschuk made the initial save, but with the rebound sitting only inches in front of the goal line, a following Shell easily tipped in the puck.

Central Plains got off an even quicker start in the second. Just 3:05 in Upgang’s backhand centering pass went in off defender Deidre Debassige (M’Chigeeng, Ont.).

After not being tested for two day the question was how would Sudbury respond to being challenged.

It didn’t have much say in the answer. The Capitals didn’t allow the Lady Wolves to move as they had in starting 3-0-0-0.

For a team that had been vaunted for its defence coming in, for the second straight game the Capitals’ offence led the way.

It supplied two more goals in less than three minutes in the third. First, Oswald converted Fisher’s centering pass from the side boards. Then, after blocking Carley Olivier’s (Sudbury, Ont.) clearing attempt along the side boards, Fisher kept it on the ensuing two-on-one and finished five-hole.

Central Plains winds up its preliminary round Thursday night (7 p.m.) against the Red Deer Chiefs, while Sudbury finishes off against the Edmonton Thunder in the day’s first game (12 p.m. MT).