Esso Cup Media Recap – April 26

The Fraser Valley Rush, Stoney Creek Sabres and Regina Rebels secured wins on Day 4 in Prince Albert.

Fraser Valley Rush 4, Northern Selects 3

• Fraser Valley scored four-consecutive goals, including three in the third period, to overcome a three-goal deficit and secure its third win.
• Vienna Rubin (West Vancouver, B.C.) led the offence for the Rush with a pair of goals.

Stoney Creek Sabres 2, Étoiles de Laurentides-Lanaudière 1

• Darragh Browne (Toronto, Ont.) scored the eventual game-winner less than two minutes into the third period, 91 seconds after Laurentides-Lanaudière tied the game.
• Andréanne St-Pierre (Mirabel, Que.) scored the lone goal for the Étoiles, her second of the tournament.

Regina Rebels 5, Prince Albert Bears 2

• Greta Henderson (Regina, Sask.) and Berlin Lolacher (Regina, Sask.) scored two goals apiece to lead the Rebels to its second win.
• Prince Albert goaltender Annika Neufeldt (Waldheim, Sask.) turned in a 48-save performance in her Esso Cup debut.

Next Games (Thursday, April 27):

Fraser Valley Rush vs. Étoiles de Laurentides-Lanaudière – 12 p.m. MT/2 p.m. ET

Northern Selects vs. Regina Rebels – 3:30 p.m. MT/5:30 p.m. ET

Stoney Creek Sabres vs. Prince Albert Bears – 7 p.m. MT/9 p.m. ET

All preliminary-round games, as well as both semifinals and the bronze medal game, can be live-streamed at HockeyCanada.ca. TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will broadcast the gold medal game on April 28 at 4 p.m. MT/6 p.m. ET. To download game highlights from the 2023 Esso Cup, please CLICK HERE.

Quotes:

“When we were down 3-0 before the end of the second, we kept telling ourselves to just get one [goal]. We wanted to get one goal before the end of the [second] period, which we did, and we were able to build some momentum. We knew we had a lot of time left, and after our second goal we really started to push. We have to give [the Selects] credit, when we made it 3-3, they really pushed back hard. It really could have been either team’s game, and I thought both teams played great.”

-      Fraser Valley Rush head coach Tony Lindsay (Richmond, B.C.) on his team’s come-from-behind win

“Our defensive play has been great for most of this tournament, and we showed that tonight. I do think we turned the puck over too much, so we will need to clean up a few things before tomorrow’s game. Looking ahead, we need to play well tomorrow so we can regain some of our confidence, and make sure our players are feeling good heading into the semifinals.”

-      Stoney Creek Sabres assistant coach Spencer Abbott (Hamilton, Ont.) on the team’s defence and preparing for the medal round

“I did not think too much about [the number of shots faced]. I just wanted to stay focused on where the puck was and stop the next shot, and that was my mentality throughout the game. The save [on Greta Henderson’s breakaway] was important. That helped me build some confidence, and that is a key to my success.”

-      Neufeldt on facing over 50 shots

For more information on Hockey Canada and the 2023 Esso Cup, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along through social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and by using #EssoCup.