After a home heavy first semester the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns women’s hockey team will have to be road warriors the second half of the season if they are going to make a return to the post-season. That challenge begins this weekend in Regina versus the University of Regina Cougars.
Entering the second semester, the Horns (5-8-3) trail the Calgary Dinos by two points for the final playoff spot but will play eight of their 12 games this semester on the road.
During the first semester, the Horns scored 33 times but surrendered the second most goals in the conference with 47 and suffered six one-goal losses.
If the Horns are going to be successful during the second semester, one area that will have to improve will be their speciality team play. Heading into this weekend, the Horns are ranked seventh in power play percentage at 8.3% and last in penalty killing (82.1%).
Sadie Lenstra and Kirsten Reeves lead the Horns offensively with nine points each and Lenstra also leads the team in goals with six.
After splitting the goaltending duties earlier this season, it looks as if Crystal Patterson has emerged as the team's number one goaltender. Patterson started the final six games before the semester break and she sports a 2.34 goals-against-average and a .923 save percentage.
The Cougars (9-6-1) enter the second half of the season six points ahead of the Horns and in fifth place but have their sights set on the Manitoba Bisons and Alberta Pandas for a coveted home playoff date in the opening round of the playoffs. The Cougars trail the Bisons by one point and the Pandas by two points.
Having scored and allowed the exact same amount of goals with 32, the Cougars have played in close games for the majority of the season, including nine one-goal games, winning five of those contests.
Offensively challenged through the first semester, the Cougars are led by a trio of players with seven points in Meghan Sherven, Kylie Gavelin and Tori Head. Sherven leads the team with five goals.
In the crease, the Cougars have two solid options with Jennifer Schmidt and Toni Ross. Schmidt has a stingy 1.54 goals-against-average, while Ross sports a 2.20 GAA.
In October, the Cougars swept the Horns in Lethbridge with 5-1 and 2-1 wins, the second one coming in a shootout. The puck drops both Friday and Saturday nights in Regina at 7 p.m. CST and both games will also be streamed live on Canada West TV.