Yesterday played out in a  remarkably similar way for both the Toronto Furies and Markham Thunder. Both teams came back from a three-goal deficit to take the game to overtime, and both ended up losing. Would either GTA team be able to force a weekend split and end 2017 on a winning note?

CWHL Recap: Markham and Toronto both lose in OT

Markham vs Montréal

After losing to Montréal in overtime last night, Markham returned to action this afternoon to try and get three points out of the weekend. The scratches were the same for the Thunder—Nicole Kosta, Ellie Seedhouse, Alexis Woloschuk, and Jenna McParland. Liz Knox replaced Erica Howe in goal, and with Markham’s short bench, Taylor Woods played defense on a pairing with Lindsay Grigg. Les Canadiennes stuck with Emerance Maschmeyer again today.

The game remained scoreless until late in the second period, when Marion Allemoz scored for les Canadiennes with a little over five minutes remaining. At first, it seemed like Becca King tied the game up quickly for Markham, but she was instead called for goalie interference—a letdown if there ever was one. The second period ended 1-0 Montréal.

Halfway through the third, Markham finally got on the scoresheet (for real this time). Jamie Lee Rattray scored her thirteenth (!) goal of the season, tying the game for the Thunder. Rattray is second in the league in goals behind Kunlun Red Star’s Kelli Stack, and tied for second in points with Cayley Mercer of the Vanke Rays. The tying goal was unassisted, because Rattray is so awesome, she doesn’t need help.

Rattray’s goal was enough to take the game to overtime, but Maschmeyer and Knox were both sharp today, and unsurprisingly we ended up in a shootout. Katia Clement-Heydra was the only scorer, putting Montréal’s first attempt past Knox, and Maschmeyer shut the door on Woods, Rattray, and Laura McIntosh. The Thunder have to settle for two points on the weekend.

Three Stars:

3rd: Liz Knox, Markham Thunder (32 saves on 33 shots)

2nd: Jamie Lee Rattray, Markham Thunder (1 goal)

1st: Emerance Maschmeyer (22 saves on 23 shots)

Toronto vs. Calgary

After coming back from 3-0 to force overtime against the Inferno, the Furies, like the Thunder, were looking to make this a three-point weekend. Sonja van der Bliek got her second start in a row for Toronto, while Calgary switched goalies and went with Lindsey Post. For the second weekend, Toronto’s short bench led to Brooke Beazer playing defense instead of her usual position at forward.

Fortunately for Toronto, both Michelle Saunders and Brittany Zuback were back in the lineup. They both missed yesterday’s game serving suspensions after receiving game misconducts for punching and spearing (respectively) during last Saturday’s game against Montréal. This at least means Toronto’s bench wasn’t quite so desperately short.

The first period was full of action. Elana Lovell opened the scoring for the Inferno about seven minutes in, but Shannon Moulson of the Furies tied it 17 seconds later. Twenty-nine seconds after that, Laura Dostaler of the Inferno made it 2-1 Calgary, making that three goals scored within a single minute. It stayed that way until two minutes left in the period, when Rhianna Kurio gave Calgary a two-goal lead. It was Kurio’s sixth goal of the season, leading the Inferno.

4:09 into the second period, Kayla Gardner scored her third goal of the weekend, bringing the score to 4-1 Inferno. Despite a flurry of penalties, including a ten-minute misconduct for Ella Stewart along with roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct (I would very much like to know what happened there, specifically), the Furies came very close to getting out of the period without allowing another goal. Unfortunately, Brittany Esposito had other ideas, scoring with 19 seconds left in the period to make it 5-1.

Right at the start of the third period, Carolyne Prévost continued her weekend of great play with another goal, making it 5-2. Under a minute later, Jenna Dingeldein scored again for the Furies. For a few minutes there, it looked like the Furies might manage to mount a comeback, but unfortunately the Inferno were able to buckle down. Esposito got another goal in the dying minutes, and the Furies lost the game, 6-3.

Three Stars:

3rd: Hayley Williams, Toronto Furies (2 assists)

2nd: Katelyn Gosling, Calgary Inferno (2 assists)

1st: Rhianna Kurio, Calgary Inferno (1 goal)

This post has been updated to reflect accurate shot counts for Liz Knox and Emerance Maschmeyer.

Women's HockeyCanadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL)