By Hockey Canada

KITCHENER, Ont. – Needing a win to keep their gold medal aspirations intact at the 2007 National Women’s Under-18 Championship, Alberta responded in their final round robin game on Friday morning, peppering Saskatchewan goaltender Michala Jeffries with 66 shots in a 5-3 win over their Prairie neighbours.

Meg Omand, Meghan Cornelssen, Karla Bourke, Jenna Klynstra and Sam Watt – who also had an assist and was named her team’s Player of the Game – scored for Alberta (1-2), who fired 31 shots at Jeffries in the second period alone, compared to seven for Saskatchewan, but finished the frame with just a 3-2 lead. Alberta outshot Saskatchewan 66-24 overall.

Alberta won’t know their Saturday fate until after the Ontario Red vs. Manitoba game on Friday night. A win by Ontario Red would leave three teams – Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba – even at 1-2, and goal differential would decide the semi-final berth.

Tiara Schoenroth, Jessica Campbell and Player of the Game Kali Gillanders scored for Saskatchewan (1-2), who missed an opportunity to lock-up a semi-final berth. They, like the Albertans, must now wait for the round robin finale on Friday night before they know where they’ll play on Saturday.