The University of Regina's women's hockey team lost to the University of Alberta Pandas 2-0 in Game 2 of a Canada West quarterfinal series.
 
With the victory, Alberta wins the best-of-three series and will move on to the Canada West semifinals.
 
Payton Laumbach was the hero for the Pandas, scoring a goal in the first period that stood as the eventual game winner. Her second goal of the series stood as the lone goal on the board for majority of the game. Pandas goalie Halle Oswald played great between the pipes, recording a shutout to help her team sweep the Cougars.
 
The first period was tight defensively as both teams didn't give up many shots. Regina forward Trinity Grove was called for body checking to give Alberta their first power play of the game. The Cougars successfully killed it and were given back-to-back power play opportunities but couldn't convert on either of them. With just over a minute left in the frame, Laumbach stole an errant pass in the Cougars zone and made no mistake to put the puck away for the opening goal.
 
The second period was similar to Game 1, as no goals were scored by either team. The Cougars again had two power play opportunities but failed to score on either of them. They got close, but a Jordan Kulbida shot rang off the post and went wide. Alberta outshot the Cougars 8-2 in the second and held onto their 1-0 lead heading into the second intermission.
 
The Cougars pushed for the tying goal in third period but could not get good looks at the net. The Pandas defense played well to hold the Cougars to just three shots on goal. Alberta also stayed out of the penalty box in the third to limit the Cougars opportunities. With less than two minutes left in the game, the Cougars sent goalie Arden Kliewer to the bench in hopes of tying the game with an extra attacker on the ice. With just over a minute left, Taylor Anker cleared a puck off the boards that went all the way down the ice and into the Cougars net to seal the series for the Pandas.
 
The Pandas will head to Vancouver to take on the second-seeded UBC Thunderbirds in a best-of-three series that begins on March 4.

 

Kliewer makes a big save on a point-blank shot! pic.twitter.com/KMeVyAF4ZQ

— U of R Hockey (@URWomensHockey) February 27, 2022