Box Score Game Summary

Alberta forward Melody Howard recorded a five-point night as the No. 4-ranked Pandas skated to an 8-1 victory over the Regina Cougars on Friday night at Clare Drake Arena in Edmonton.

Howard had a hat trick and a pair of assists for a career night, while linemate Leah Copeland notched a goal and three assists. Alannah Kedra-McCormack tallied two goals near the end of the game, while Sarah Grandinetti and Sarah Hilworth both scored singles.

Third-year forward Rianne Wight got the lone goal for the Cougars, scoring her conference-leading 10th goal of the season.

Alberta's top line of Howard, Copeland, and Monika Moskalski came out strong in the first period. They opened the scoring at the 4:41 mark when Howard's pass coughed out from the corner to Copeland at the hash marks, who fired a wrister home for her sixth goal of the season.

Howard, who scored the winning goal at last year's CIS championship, took a Moskalski pass to earn a partial breakaway before roofing a backhand to make the score 2-0.

The former Grant MacEwan Griffin got her second goal of the opening frame when another Moskalski pass found Howard open in the faceoff circle where she sniped the top corner on Cougar netminder Lisa Urban.

Wight, moments after mishandling the puck on a clear breakaway, broke the goose egg for the visitors when she slipped a loose puck between the legs of Pandas goaltender Kanesa Shwetz at the midway point of the second period. Wight's 10th goal pulled her out of a three-way tie with Calgary's Hayley Wickenheiser and Saskatchewan's Breanne George, who both have nine after Friday night action.

Wight's goal shifted the momentum in Regina's favour, almost bringing the goal deficit to one, but Shwetz's stretched-out pad save on rookie Crystal Duhaime's rebound chance kept the score at 3-1.

Alberta would add to the lead before the middle frame would end as Grandinetti sifted a shot through a crowd for her first goal of the season.

Howard then capped off her hat trick, after assisting on the Hilworth goal, by putting another backhand past Urban, this time just over her glove-side pad at the 3:25 mark of the final period. Alannah Kedra added two late goals for the Pandas.

Regina finished 1-for-8 on the power-play, while Alberta went 1-for-5.

The second game of the weekend series goes Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at Clare Drake Arena.