The East Ottawa Stars executed a clinical road victory, defeating the Windsor Southwest Wildcats 4-1 in a game defined by opportunistic scoring and a dominant defensive stand. The Stars struck early and often, taking full advantage of their first power play. Just over a minute into the game, a penalty to the Stars' Béatrice Gauvin gave Windsor a brief man-advantage, but it was East Ottawa who capitalized shortly after it expired. Macyn Driver opened the scoring at the 1:53 mark of the first period, assisted by Molly Cote and Genevieve Bisson, a goal that would stand as the game-winner. The Stars doubled their lead just 30 seconds before the intermission when Kessa Hogue found the net, with assists from Ava Hillier and Annabelle McKenzie, stunning a Wildcats team that had fired 20 shots in the period but had nothing to show for it.
The middle frame was a tighter, more defensive battle, though the Wildcats' momentum was hampered by penalties. East Ottawa's Gauvin took a second minor for head contact, but the Wildcats' power play couldn't solve Stars' goaltender Madelaine Ouellette. Windsor's Emma Holm also served a slashing penalty, and the period ended without a goal, despite the Stars beginning to find their offensive rhythm with 10 shots. The story of the game, however, was the remarkable shot disparity; the Wildcats poured 42 shots on Ouellette over 60 minutes, but the Stars' netminder was a perfect 42-for-42, turning away every single one in a stunning statistical shutout performance.
Any hope of a Windsor comeback was extinguished early in the third period. Just 31 seconds in, Béatrice Gauvin redeemed her penalty-filled night by scoring an even-strength goal, assisted by Macyn Driver, to make it 3-0. The Wildcats finally broke through on Ouellette when Taylor Wilkins scored at 15:44, with helpers from Tristan Larocque and Cassidy Cooper, to make it 3-1. But the Stars snuffed out the flicker of hope just over six minutes later, as Macyn Driver netted her second of the game, again assisted by Genevieve Bisson, to seal the 4-1 victory. Despite outshooting East Ottawa 42-22, the Wildcats were left frustrated by an impenetrable goaltender and a Stars squad that made their limited chances count.
Mississauga Hurricanes #5875