Erin Monique McLean – Page 2

by Martin Merk |10 OCT 2021 IIHF

The Italian women’s national team moves to the Final Olympic Qualification for the first time.

The “Azzurre” finished the Olympic Pre-Qualification tournament on home ice in Torre Pellice with three wins in three games, the latest coming in a tough battle with Kazakhstan, 2-1 today.

Italy outshot the Kazakhs 31-15 but were playing behind a 1-0 deficit for most of the game until scoring two goals in the final period.

Italy as the higher-seeded and only undefeated team entered the game as favourite but both teams knew from recent history that it could go either way.

The teams only met three times in IIHF play in three consecutive years between 2016 and 2018 with Italy getting two wins on home ice in Asiago (2-1 SO in 2016, 4-1 in 2018) while Kazakhstan won the clash in 2017, 2-1.

The teams started with entertaining north-south hockey with Kazakhstan having more puck possession in the first minutes and making use of their first official shot on goal.

Kendra Lynne Broad saw her shot attempted interfered by Italian defender Amie Varano but Larisa Sviridova was in perfect position next to them to net the puck for the Kazakh lead at 3:45.

The Kazakhs were active from the beginning and wanted to make up for yesterday’s historic loss to Spain that made their mission on Sunday more difficult as they would need a regulation-time win against Italy.

The game continued with chances at both ends. Kazakhstan caught the eyes in Torre Pellice with good passing and experience with their system as most players come from the same club, Aisulu Almaty, while Italy created dangerous moments with persistent, physical play in front of the net and looking for rebounds.

The Italians had the upper hand late in the period including two power plays but they didn’t create enough opportunities out of it.

Kazakhstan’s Malika Aldabergenova had the biggest chance for a shorthanded goal after a takeaway in the neutral zone but saw her shot saved by goalie Martina Fedel.

With Italy running into penalty trouble late in the first and early in the second period, Kazakhstan had chances to increase the lead but the Italian penalty kill was strong.

With Aida Olzhabayeva in the penalty box for an illegal bodycheck, Italy tried to gain momentum. Aurora Abatangelo had the best opportunity when missing to reach a pass in the crease. The period ended scoreless with an 8-6 shot-on-goal advantage for Italy.

Early in the third period the Italians had their next chance to play with one more player on the ice after a tripping call against Breanna Lynn Berndsen.

The blue team patiently played the puck around the Kazakh penalty kill positions until Franziska Stocker was in good position at the right face-off dot. After receiving Nadia Mattivi’s pass she took the time she got for a top-shelf shot that went in behind Darya Dmitrieva at 2:27 to the loud joy of the Italian bench and fans in Torre Pellice’s Palaghiaccio Olimpico.

The third period continued to be the Italians’ strongest and around the halfway-mark the Kazakhs had trouble bringing the puck out of their zone.

During a puck battle behind Dmitrieva’s net Anna Caumo managed to set herself free in front of the crease and converted a drop pass from Mia Campo Bagatin to give her team the first lead in the game, 2-1.

“Italia! Italia!” chants for the first time echoed through the rink. Kazakhstan tried to react with a fast attack but a penalty for delaying the game against Erin Monique McLean didn’t make the challenge any easier for the Kazakhs.

During the last minutes the Kazakhs tried to create chances to tie the game while on the other side Abatangelo missed a good one on a breakaway. But the Italians didn’t allow their opponents to get back into the game and earned the 2-1 win and the tickets to the Final Olympic Qualification Group D in Fussen, Germany.

by Martin Merk |09 OCT 2021 IIHF

In their first-ever meeting the Spanish women’s national team scored an upset win against Kazakhstan. The Spaniards won 3-2 in shootout. Alba Gonzalo was heroic in the Spanish net with 36 saves.

“It was a great game to play. In the first period we couldn’t believe that we could be better than them but we believed in ourselves and started to play better. We were great in defence with all the bodies and didn’t allow them too many good chances,” Gonzalo said.

Even though it was the first official game in the women’s senior category between these countries, the win didn’t come entirely out of the blue.

In the U18 women’s category Spain already had a 3-1 win against Kazakhstan in 2018 – and six of those players as well as American head coach Harold Rosenholtz were on the senior team in Torre Pellice again to repeat history at senior level.

Playing a division higher, Kazakhstan entered the game as the favourite and had its chances for a win outshooting their opponent 38-13. But that didn’t seem to impress Spain too much. They continued the way they ended the game against Italy by battling hard and believing in their chances.

Although the Spaniards did not have many chances in the first period. Kazakhstan outshot their opponent 11-0 and had good opportunities especially late in the game. With four minutes left Spain needed a nice pad save from Gonzalo on a Malika Aldabergenova shot during a power play.

Two minutes later Erin McLean tried it alone against several Spanish skaters, lost the puck, had a takeaway but Gonzalo saved the shot. Also a Pernesh Ashimova breakaway attempt didn’t break the scoreless first-period tie.

The long-awaited first goal for the Kazakhs came at 6:35 of the middle frame. Roxanne Rioux skated toward the Spanish net, deked defender Elena Alvarez and lifted the puck over Gonzalo’s shoulder.

As long as the Kazakhs had to patiently wait for the lead, as short-lived was the joy about it. 14 seconds after the next face-off Spain used one of its first good opportunities to tie the game.

Vega Munoz and Haizea Fernandez de Romarategui created a 2-on-1 opportunity in front of Arina Shyokolova’s net. Munoz tried it with a shot rather than passing to the centre and found the hole high in the near corner.

The Spaniards even had the chance for more after a penalty against Rioux for boarding. A shot from Elena Ramos went through Shyokolova’s five-hole but stopped in front of the line. The Kazakh defence managed to clear the situation.

On the other side Rioux had the chance to score her second goal at 10:32. Her breakaway attempt was stopped with a hooking from Madelyn Ann Rego leading to a penalty shot for Rioux, which ended at Gonzalo’s pad.

Late in the second period the Kazakhs ran into penalty trouble with both Rioux and Anna Pyatkova in the penalty box.

A shot from ten meters by Spanish captain Elena Alvarez gave Spain the 2-1 lead at 17:14 and also ended the game for Shyokolova, who was replaced by Darya Dmitrieva.

Spain had its chances in the third period thanks to two penalties against Kazakhstan while the Kazakhs put pressure on the Spanish net with equal strength. At 11:27 they managed to put the puck behind Gonzalo. After a long shot from Munira Sayakhatkyzy, McLean was at the right spot to capitalize on the rebound and tie the game at two.

The Kazakhs continued to put pressure on the Spanish net but Gonzalo, who moved north to play for HV71 Jonkoping in the Swedish SDHL, stayed strong and made 36 saves during 65 minutes of play.

A shootout had to decide the winner of this game and it was Sofia Scilipoti with Spain’s first shot who scored the only goal in five rounds of penalty shot.

After McLean had missed with the Kazakhs’ fifth shot, the Spaniards cleared the bench and skated toward Gonzalo to celebrate the historic success.

“We are so excited. When we came here, we were not the second-best team and now this is what we are. They are better than us but today they weren’t. We won, we played hard and that’s where we are. We are Spain and we are here to stay,” Spanish captain Elena Alvarez said.

When it comes to the race for tournament win, the two points from two games were too little for Spain to finish in first place. Even if they reached the five-point mark after tomorrow’s game against Chinese Taipei, they wouldn’t be able to finish better than second, which in itself would be a success.

It will therefore remain a battle between host Italy and Kazakhstan for tournament win tomorrow and the Italians can improve their position before that game when they play Chinese Taipei tonight.

Currently Italy has three points from one game and Kazakhstan four from two.