The Stoney Creek Junior Sabres opened their Provincial Women’s Hockey League best-of-five semifinal series against the Toronto Junior Aeros with a split last weekend.

The Sabres lost to the Aeros 2-1 last Sunday after defeating the team 4-3 last Saturday.

Sabres 1, Aeros 2
After a scoreless first period, the Sabres took the lead at the 1:33 mark of the second when Sydney McKibbon tipped in a Rosie Heffernan shot. Sarah Nurse earned the other assist.

The Aeros evened the score at the 10:34 mark of the third period and got the winner at the 18:37 mark of the period.

Brittany Smrke took the loss in the Sabres’ net, stopping 21 of 23 shots.

Sabres 4, Aeros 3
The Sabres struck first at the 5:27 mark of the opening period when Nurse snapped in a shot from the slot off a pass from McKibbon. Heffernan picked up the second assist.

The Aeros tied the game at the 2:41 mark of the second. The Sabres responded with their first power-play goal three minutes later when Caitlin Wallace banged in a rebound off a Madison Brown point shot with Sarah Quaranta earning the other assist. The Aeros evened the score at the 9:05 mark of the second period, before the Sabres netted another power-play goal at the 10:37 mark when Devon Morrison’s point shot found the back of the net. McKibbon picked up the assist.

The Aeros tied the game about five minutes into the third, before Heffernan scored the Sabres’ third power-play goal at the 7:37 mark of the period, when she scooped up a loose puck in the slot and fired a low shot past the Aeros’ goalie. Olivia Atkinson and Brown earned the assists.

Taylor Cook picked up the win in the Sabres’ net, turning away 13 of 16 shots.

The Sabres will battle the Aeros in game four on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Toronto.