Hockey

A third-period burst put Canada ahead in Friday night's game between the Canadian national women's hockey team and the Leduc Oil Kings.

On the way to improving its Midget Series record to 8-3, Meghan Agosta of Ruthven, Ont., Hayley Wickenheiser of Shaunavon, Sask., and Caroline Ouellette of Montreal, Que., all scored third-period goals, leading the Canadians to a 7-5 win.

Canada got off to an early lead, with Jayna Hefford of Kingston, Ont., opening the scoring with a goal that shot past Oil Kings goaltender Jordon Cooke at the 6:50 mark.

Just over a minute later, Agosta added another at 8:03, followed by Jennifer Botterill of Winnipeg, Man., just 12 seconds later.

The Oil Kings, an AMHL team, bounced back, narrowing the gap to 3-2 with goals from James Dobni and Luc Recknagle before the end of the first period.

Leduc continued its comeback early in the second, with Ryley Bennefield matching things up at 3-3 just one minute into the period.

Delaney Collins, from Pilot Mound, Man., and Austin Wilson traded goals midway through the middle frame, sending the game to the second intermission tied 4-4.

But Leduc couldn't keep it up in the third period, with Agosta finding the back of the net for a second time on a pretty pass from Wickenheiser. Minutes later, the Canadian captain scored one of her own, making the score 6-4.

The Oil Kings made one last push on Dobni's second of the night, but Ouellette sealed the deal for Canada in the dying seconds to round out the scoring.

Canada's National Women's Team continues it's the NWT Midget Series with two games in Calgary next week, the first against the Calgary Northstars on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. MT) and then versus the Calgary Buffaloes on Thursday (7:30 p.m. MT).