After opening their season with a 3-0 win, the Parkland Lions took to the road for their next three Bantam Â鶹´«Ã½AV Saskatchewan Female Hockey League games.
On October 30, the Lions travelled to Regina to take on the Regina Blues. The Lions skated to another 3-0 win, with goalie Taylor Nagy claiming the shutout. Scoring for the Lions were Jordan Holinaty, Hannah Pennell and Brooke Hausermann.
The Lions continued their road trip by sweeping a weekend series in Swift Current against the Colts.
The Lions shutout the Colts on Saturday with a 7-0 win. Leading the scoring for the Lions was captain Brooke Hausermann with a hat trick. Nagy again backstopped the Lions to their third consecutive shutout.
Sunday's game proved to be a tougher test for the Lions, as they skated away with a 2-1 win. Scoring for the Lions were Pennell and Hausermann. The Colts took a 1-0 lead in a penalty-filled affair. The Lions responded with a short-handed tally by Pennell to tie the game at 1-1 after two periods of play.
The Lions took the lead early in the third period on a breakaway by Hausermann, while Nagy shut down several late charges from the Colts to preserve the 2-1 win for the Lions. "It was good to see some of the things we've been working on in practice translate to our games," commented coach Chad Holinaty. "We've been working on being sound defensively and with only one goal against us in four games, it shows we're on the right track.
"On Saturday, there were a few times when we ran a regroup or a breakout play that we had practiced and it was good to see that work pay off in a game situation."
Another Lions coach, one Dean Shyiak, shared that Sunday's game was very different from Saturday night's contest. "Swift Current was missing several players from their lineup on Saturday and they came out much more aggressively Sunday. They came out strong, and we were caught on our heels a bit early in the game. To their credit, the girls responded well, showed some patience and battled back to get the win. It might not have been pretty, but we'll take the win any day."
The next action for the Lions will be a weekend home set against the Moose Jaw Mavericks, with games Saturday and Sunday in Churchbridge. Both games will start at 1:00p.m.
