Soft silken flakes floated down on Matthews Arena midday Sunday as the final
day of the Husky Tournament began.  The host Northeastern Huskies were edged
by the Stingers of Concordia 0-1.  It was an intense match that saw both teams
put together some amazing attacks.  In the end, Concordia won the match and
the tournament.
 
In the first, there was no scoring.  The contest was played at a brisk pace.
Play flowed up and down the ice as both sides went close.
 
As the second period started, Concordia and Northeastern both cranked up their
games.  The NU team speed was looking good.  The squads took turns putting
pressure on each other, but again there was no scoring.
 
In the final frame, the tempo quickened again.  It was a remarkable show by
the teams, especially considering that this was the third game in three days.
The Huskies were putting more sustained pressure on the Stingers than any
other team had done in the tourney.  Either team could have walked off with
victory.  As it turned out, Concordia's Catherine Bertrand (Corinne Swirsky,
Lisa-Marie Breton) claimed the winner with less than five minutes left.
Bertrand collected a nice centering pass right in front of net, waited a
second and drilled her chance high into the netting.  Northeastern went close
several times in the dying seconds, but the Stingers hung on.
 
Concordia is a lovely team to watch.  They skate so well, and while their
passing was not as sharp today, the Stinger's offense is always engaging.  You
have to give a ton of credit to their defensive abilities today, as they faced
and shutout a much more varied attack.  In goal, Lisa Herritt was able to
block huge chucks of the net.  She gave the shooters very little room.  On
defense, Delaney Collins stood out with fine vision and skill to lay on the
brilliant pass.  The line of Kari Colpitts, Anne Rodrique and Mai-Lan Le made
some super plays.  They also stood up to the pressure by NU well.  The
Concordia woman of the match was the line of Breton, Swirsky and Tara
Campbell.  They are a fun unit that uses each other exceptionally well.
Breton does so many things well, and today demonstrated some superb back-
checking talent.  Swirsky's touch and misdirection passing was marvelous.
Overall, it was such a treat to get to see the Stinger's superior skate and
pass game.
 
Northeastern saved their best form for the final match.  The players got stuck
into this match and produced some excellent hockey.  Shannon Meyers played a
great game in net.  She made several critical saves look simple.  Jaime Totten
and Keri-Anne Allan held the team together at the back with their wonderful
intercepts and refined passes.  Kim Beneduce, Kelly Martin, Jessica Ferwerda
and Emily Sweeney put body and soul into their blue line play.  Up front, Beth
Claggett, Betsy Dyke and Sarah Smythe hustled over the ice, in their defensive
roles, and helped to prevent the Stinger's potent attack from gaining the
upper hand.  The Northeastern woman of the match was sophomore sensation
Hilary Witt.  She went so close to giving the Huskies the lead.  Witt also
made many fine setup passes and was easily the most dangerous NU attacker.
Overall, when Northeastern skates, watch out.
 
 
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 good shooting
 hungerf
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