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Ann-Sophie Bettez leads Montreal over Calgary 6-1 at Secret Cup

May 25, 2021 | 8:53 PM

CALGARY — Ann-Sophie Bettez scored once and set up two more as part of a four-goal third period, and Team Bauer pulled away to beat Team Scotiabank 6-1 on Tuesday at the Secret Cup women’s hockey tournament in Calgary. 

Laura Stacey, Karell Emard and Kristin O’Neill also found the back of the net in the third to turn a 2-1 lead into a blowout for Montreal’s Bauer team, while Marie-Philip Poulin and Jessie Eldridge scored in the first period.

“We saw the game as pretty close all game and we kinda opened the flood gates late,” said Bettez. “It was just a matter of getting pucks on net, getting the rebounds.”

Emerance Maschmeyer stopped 30 shots for the win. 

“She’s done an amazing job at keeping us in the game,” said Bettez. “She’s competitive and wants to get the best out of us by giving her best.”

Sarah Potomak scored the lone goal for Calgary’s Scotiabank squad, while Marlene Boissonnault turned aside 38-of-44 shots.

Poulin opened the scoring just 61 seconds into the game only for Potomak to respond less than two minutes later.

Eldridge restored the lead for Montreal at 11:43 of the first with what would turn out to be the game-winning goal.

Calgary’s Scotiabank returns to the ice Wednesday to face Toronto’s Sonnet, which opened the tournament Monday with a 3-2 loss against Bauer.  

Three teams of 20 players in the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association’s three Canadian hubs of Calgary, Toronto and Montreal are playing to hoist the Secret Cup trophy Sunday at Scotiabank Saddledome. 

The PWHPA is a movement arising from the collapse of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League two years ago. The PWHPA includes members of the Canadian and U.S. national teams. 

Their goal is a sustainable league with a living wage and the competitive supports the men’s professional leagues have. 

The last time PWHPA games were played in Canada before Monday was Jan. 11-12, 2020 in Toronto. 

Of the 28 players invited to try out for Canada’s Olympic team starting this summer, 21 are Secret Cup participants. 

The teams play each other twice in a round robin with results augmented by a points system. 

A win is worth two points, an overtime win 1.5, a shootout win one point, and half a point for an overtime or shootout loss. 

A short-handed goal, hat trick, shutout, or scoring five goals or more in a game is each worth one additional point, so Poulin added an extra point to her team’s tally Monday. 

Montreal has six points, while Calgary and Toronto are still pointless.

The two teams with the most points at the end of the round robin Saturday advance to Sunday’s final. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 25, 2021.

The Canadian Press