The U13 AA Female Panthers hit the road this past weekend, dropping a hard-fought game Saturday in Lloydminster before bouncing back with a strong win Sunday in Leduc.

Saturday – Lloydminster

In the Border City, the Panthers skated toe-to-toe with the Lloydminster Steelers and were very much in the game through two periods. Heading into the third, the Panthers trailed by just one goal, with shots nearly even at 15–13 in favour of the Steelers.

Special teams told the story, unfortunately, and not in the Panthers’ favour. Lloydminster took six two-minute penalties compared to four assessed to the Panthers, but despite several good looks on the power play, the Panthers couldn’t solve the stingy Steelers goaltender.

Worse yet, the Steelers didn’t sit back while short-handed. They stayed aggressive and struck twice while killing penalties in the third period. Add one more power-play goal and an even-strength marker, and the Steelers pulled away for a 4–0 final.

Sunday – Leduc

Sunday afternoon in Leduc saw the Panthers take on the North Central Impact, and while the result was much better, the start was anything but sharp.

The Panthers came out sluggish, struggling with footing, bunching up in the neutral zone and making short passes with little jump. Energy was lacking, and the Impact controlled much of the early play.

One thing that did get fixed — quickly — was the power play.

Following a lecture from head coach Shaun Hubert, the Panthers capitalized midway through the first period. On the power play, defenceman Tessianna Shirt took the puck end to end and scored a beauty to give the Panthers a 1–0 lead after 20 minutes.

Just 26 seconds into the second period, the Impact tied the game at one while continuing to outplay the Panthers. But once again, the power play came through. Midway through the game, Vienna “Bug” Colbourne finally found the twine after knocking on the door four times earlier. The goal was assisted by Jada Fineday.

By the third period, the Panthers finally found their groove.

Jada Fineday added an insurance goal, assisted by Brenna “Mighty Mouse” Brunet and Vienna “Bug” Colbourne, to give the Panthers some breathing room. Shirt followed up with her second of the game, going bar down on a booming slap shot from the top of the circle, set up nicely by Aubrey Scanie.

Kaleigha Dion added another with a sweet tip-in, assisted by a point shot from defenceman Maja Pinch, who fired a one-timer fed to her by defensive partner Baylee Brunet.

With the Panthers stepping on the gas, Aubrey capped things off with just three seconds left on the clock, scoring on yet another power play. Assists went to linemates Morgan “Sinner” Ooman and “Machine Gun” Kelly.

Three power-play goals powered the Panthers to a convincing 6–1 win.

Strong defensive play came from Avery “On Doody”, who made several key backchecks to break up breakaways when the Panthers were caught up ice. In goal, Jayvrie Houle was once again rock solid, shutting the door when the team in front of her took a little while to wake up.

The Panthers are off this coming weekend before heading to Sherwood Park on February 21 and hosting St. Albert on February 22.