The Ottawa 67s skated to a hard-fought 3-2 road victory over the North York Storm in a penalty-filled U22 Elite matchup. The game was defined by special teams, with three of the five goals coming in shorthanded or power-play situations. Ottawa struck first, capitalizing on their own penalty kill when Polly Almstedt scored a shorthanded goal just 1:38 into the opening period, assisted by Vanessa Sciampacone. The 67s doubled their lead midway through the period as Quinn Toll found the back of the net. The Storm responded before the intermission, however, with Emily Wallace converting on the power play with assists from Breazzlyn Taylor and Samantha Wong to cut the deficit to 2-1.
The second period saw the 67s restore their two-goal cushion. Maude McCarthy netted what would prove to be the game-winning goal, with an assist from Paetyn Stansell, making it 3-1. The Storm pushed back hard in the third, outshooting Ottawa and finally breaking through again while shorthanded. Olivia Lehti scored a crucial goal for North York to bring the score to 3-2 with just under six minutes to play. Despite a late surge and pulling their goalie for an extra attacker, the Storm could not find the equalizer against Ottawa's Livia Debnarova, who turned away all 32 shots she faced for a complete-game shutout performance.
The game was a chippy affair, with ten minor penalties called between the two sides. North York's Jade McNicol took two separate kneeing penalties in the third period, hampering her team's comeback effort. While the Storm's goalie tandem of Veronica Mancini and Kaitlyn Earl combined for 33 saves, it was Debnarova's perfect night in the Ottawa crease that proved to be the difference. The 67s' ability to score in all situations, including two even-strength goals and a critical shorthanded marker, secured them the narrow victory.
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