EDMONTON – Lyvia Butz scored in the first period and Julia Duke added a power-play goal in the second as the Mount Royal Cougars blanked the University of Alberta Pandas 2-0 on Friday night.

Butz opened the scoring at 14:18 of the first period, assisted by Allee Gerrard, and the Cougars took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. Duke doubled the advantage on the power play at 13:15 of the second period, with Jerzey Watteyne and Jenn Shaw picking up the assists.

Alberta goaltender Grace Glover kept the Pandas in the game, stopping 31 of 33 shots, including 11 in the first period and 10 in each of the final two. Mount Royal out-shot Alberta 33-13, and Cougars goaltender Katherine Holan made all 13 saves she faced to earn the shutout. The Pandas went 0-for-3 on the power play.

The loss drops Alberta to 1-3-1 on the season, while Mount Royal improves to 5-0-0.

The two teams will meet again Saturday, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m., with Alberta traveling to face the Mount Royal University Cougars in Calgary. The game can be seen live on Canada West TV powered by BioSteel.

-UA-