The Stoney Creek Sabres rode a dominant shot advantage and a stellar defensive performance to a 2-0 victory over the Ottawa Senators in U22 Elite action. From the opening puck drop, the Sabres dictated the pace, unleashing 16 shots in the first period alone against Senators netminder Ivy Nellis. Despite the barrage, Nellis stood tall, turning aside everything thrown her way to keep the game scoreless through twenty minutes. The Senators struggled to generate offense early, managing only three shots against the Sabres' Grace Kipfer, and found themselves in penalty trouble with first-period minors to Charlotte Wheeler and Avery Wojtyk, forcing Nellis and the penalty kill unit to work overtime.
The pressure finally told in the second period. After weathering another Sabres storm and killing off a body-checking penalty to Wheeler, the Senators' resistance broke at the 7:07 mark. Ashley Austin, wearing number 9, found the back of the net at even strength, with an assist from Reese Kletke, to give Stoney Creek a well-deserved 1-0 lead. The Sabres continued to control play, outshooting Ottawa 18-12 in the middle frame, but Nellis remained a fortress, making several key saves to keep her team within striking distance heading into the third.
Any hope of an Ottawa comeback was extinguished just 21 seconds into the final period. Ashley Austin sealed the victory with her second goal of the game, an empty-netter, to make it 2-0 for the Sabres. The Senators pushed harder in the third, but the Sabres' defensive structure and Grace Kipfer's quiet yet effective presence in the crease—facing 22 shots total for the shutout—proved insurmountable. The story of the game was written in the shot totals, with Stoney Creek firing an overwhelming 48 shots to Ottawa's 22, and in the brilliant goaltending of Ivy Nellis, who made 46 saves in a valiant losing effort for the Senators.
Mississauga Hurricanes #5875