EDMONTON - Gabby Lindsay scored the winner 2:33 into double overtime, giving the Mount Royal Cougars a 3-2 win over the Alberta Pandas to open their Canada West Semifinal series. 

Julia Duke's point shot was stopped by Pandas goalie Grace Glover, but the rebound was quickly swatted in by Lindsay to give the visiting Cougars a 1-0 series lead. The loss for the Pandas in their playoff opener is their first in 13 games, dating back to a November 29th loss to these same Cougars. 

"It's a tight game, they are a very good team that plays with a lot of pace. You saw by the shots there wasn't a lot of space on the ice," said Cougars head coach Scott Rivett. "I thought we started to find our pace and start playing the way we want to play against them in the later part of the third period and into overtime. I liked where we finished." 

Lyndsey Janes and Sydney Benko also scored for the Cougars, who are now one win away from a spot in the Canada West Final, and a trip to the U SPORTS Championship. Kaitlyn Ross stopped 16 of the 18 Pandas shots she faced, including both in overtime in the win. 

Natalie Kieser and Jadynn Morden scored for Alberta, who will now need back-to-back wins to stay alive. First team All-Star Grace Glover made 23 saves in her Canada West playoff debut. 

The rest was evident for the Pandas in the first, who had two consecutive weeks off before this semifinal series. The Pandas first and only shot of the first came 14 minutes into the game, which didn't challenge Ross.
 
Janes opened the scoring halfway through the frame, as she was gifted the puck in the slot off a turnover from Ryann Perrett, before beating Glover under the glove.
 
The first was also full of physicality, with this being the third-straight time the two teams have met in the CW Semifinal.
 
The Pandas found their legs in the second, stealing momentum back from the Cougars. Alberta outshot MRU 9-3 in the frame, generating a pair of powerplays, which resulted in the game-tying goal.
 
After Abby Soyko's shot was blocked in front, Kieser scooped up the loose puck, and blew a wrist shot past Ross.
 
 Morden gave the Pandas their first lead of the game just 54 seconds into the third period. Madison Willan forced a turnover behind the MRU net, feeding Morden in front, who beat a screened Ross. The lead was short lived, however, as Benko beat Glover just three minutes later on a Cougars powerplay to tie the game at 2-2. 

The goal seemed to wake up the Cougars, who started to generate quality looks on the Alberta net. MRU outshot Alberta 8-6 in the third, but where unable to break the deadlock in OT. 

Mount Royal continued their strong play in overtime, outshooting the Pandas 8-2 across 12 minutes of OT play. The two saves Ross did have to make, however, were big, including a prime look in the slot from Kieser. 

Lindsay finally capitalized on the Cougars pressure, scoring early in double overtime. 

Game 2 of the best-of-three series is set for 7:00 p.m. tomorrow night at Clare Drake Arena.