The Burlington Barracudas delivered a commanding performance from start to finish, cruising to a 5-0 victory over the Ridley Tigers. The tone was set early as the Barracudas' relentless offensive pressure resulted in a 17-7 shot advantage in the opening period. Gabrielle Catalano opened the scoring at the 8:21 mark of the first, finishing off a play with assists from Danica Wilson and Chelsea Tiller. The Tigers' discipline began to waver, taking two minor penalties late in the period. On the second power play, with just 24 seconds left on the clock, Elleh Frigui capitalized to give Burlington a 2-0 lead heading into the intermission.
The middle frame saw more of the same, with the Barracudas continuing to control the shot clock. Addison Butler extended the lead midway through the period, assisted by Caileigh Tiller and Hayley Thompson. As the period wound down, Lauren Kruzel found the back of the net with just 28 seconds remaining, assisted by Frigui, to make it a 4-0 game. The physicality began to ramp up, with coincidental minors for roughing and head contact being assessed to Frigui and the Tigers' Claire Bourgeois. Ridley swapped goalies after the first period, with Grier Cooper taking over for Jennifer Murphy, but the change could not stem the tide.
Any hope of a Tigers comeback was extinguished in a penalty-filled third period. The Barracudas added a final power-play goal, with Lauren Kruzel netting her second of the night, assisted again by the playmaking Elleh Frigui and Addyson Lee. The period was marred by multiple head contact infractions, including double minors assessed to Burlington's Keelin Song and Ridley's Julyana Farray. Through it all, Barracudas' goalie Riley Manna was a picture of calm and focus, turning aside all 24 shots she faced to earn a well-deserved shutout. The Barracudas' special teams were decisive, going 2-for-4 on the power play while their penalty kill was a perfect 5-for-5, capping off a complete team victory.
Mississauga Hurricanes #5875