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Las Vegas Women's Classic Champs
Date Posted: 1/28/08
The Betties' first trip to Nevada to participate in the 12th annual 'Las Vegas Women's Hockey Classic' Tournament proved a great success, as the Betties beat the Phoenix Scorpions 2-1 in the Championship game of the Caesars Palace Division.  The Betties opened the tournament with a hard-earned 3-2 victory over the defending champions, the Washington (D.C.) Wolves.  Captain Laura Garber notched her first hat-trick of the season, potting all three Betties goals, while netminder Courtney Shannon stood strong, turning aside 20 of 22 shots.  Tenacious team defense in the 3rd period by forwards Jen Ross, Ashleigh Tucker, Nadine Barber, Beth O'Dowd, and Britny Patterson, and defensemen Tracy Robinette, Megan Graham, Katie Holmdahl, and Molly Marquez helped seal the victory.  The 2nd game found the Betties matched up against a team from Houston, TX (Houston Class of '99).  The Betties, sparked by Graham's first ever two-goal game, jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead, and never looked back en route to a convincing 6-2 victory.  O'Dowd, like Graham, dented the twine twice in the game, while Garber and Patterson added solo tallies.  Ross, Marquez, and Holmdahl earned assists for their efforts, and Shannon was once again strong between the pipes, turning aside 10 of the 12 shots she faced.  With wins in their first two games, the Betties found themselves guaranteed a spot in the finals regardless of the results of their third game against the Phoenix Scorpions (who also had no motivation to play).  The game wasn't as intense as the first two, with both teams holding back for their title tilt on Sunday morning.  The final result was a 2-1 OT win for the Scorpions.  Garber got the lone Betties goal, with an assist from Barber.  The championship game provided a better result.  The Betties overcame three 1st period penalties, a late second period 1-0 deficit, and a 6 on 4 shorthanded situation the last 1:21 of the game, to eke out a hard-earned 2-1 win over the Scorpions.  Britny Patterson's goal (with assists from Marquez & O'Dowd) with 5.7 seconds left in the 2nd stanza gave the Betties hope for the 3rd, and then half-way through the final period, Tucker and Patterson expertly set up Marquez for the game-winner.  The victory earned the Betties their first tournament title since winning the Eagle, CO 'Stick Or Treat' Tournament in October of 2006.  For their stellar efforts throughout the tournament, Betties players Laura Garber (F), Molly Marquez (D), and Courtney Shannon (G) were selected to the 'All Tournament Team', in addition to those honors, Garber was named MVP of the tournament.