Box Score

Jill Kennedy scored the game-winning goal at 12:31 of the first period, and Jennifer Schmidt made 21 saves in net as the University of Regina Cougars skated to a 2-1 win over the Alberta Pandas in Canada West women's hockey action on Friday night.

Tori Head also scored for the Cougars, while Amy Helfrich had the lone marker for the Pandas.

The first period saw Alberta control much of the play, however the Cougars managed to strike first. Head picked up a feed from Bailey Braden and beat Panda's goaltender Michala Jeffries through the five-hole. Less than a minute later Kennedy picked up a loose puck at the blueline, walked in and slipped a backhand shot past Jeffries to give the Cougars a two-goal lead. It also was Kennedy's first goal of the season.

Alberta answered with less than five minutes remaining in the period. Helfrich put the puck in just under the crossbar in the top corner to cut the Cougars' lead in half.

The second period was dominated by the Pandas. While they only managed three shots on Schmidt, they controlled the puck for long periods of time leading rush after rush up the ice.

Alberta continued to pressure into the third. However the Cougars finally started to gain some momentum after killing off a five-on-three midway through the period. Despite pulling Jeffries in the dying minutes, the Pandas could not beat Schmidt as the Cougars held on for a narrow 2-1 victory.

Schmidt continued her stellar play so far this season in net, picking up her sixth win of the year. She now sports a 0.99 goals-against average and a .966 save percentage. Meanwhile Head picked up her second goal of the year and also lead the Cougars with four shots on goal.

With the win, the Cougars improve to 8-3-0, while the Pandas see their record fall to 6-3-2.

The two teams will meet again tomorrow afternoon. Puck drop is set for 3:00 p.m. at The Co-operators Centre.