The Pembina Valley Hawks had a bit of a slow start in the first period as they fell 2-1 to the Harfangs Du Triolet in the 2017 Esso Cup National Female "AAA" Midget Hockey Championship Friday night.

"We didn't get off to as good of a start as we wanted," said hawks forward Kelly-Rae Zdan. "We stilled played alright, but it wasn't our full potential. I think we really brought it to them in the second and third. It's a tough loss because we played so well."

In the first period, Zoe Thibault was able to score and Chloe Gendreau were able to beat Hawks goaltender Halle Oswald to give the Harfangs a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes of play. 

Also in the first, the Hawks were outshot 14-6, which was the third time in six games Pembina Valley was outshot in the opening period. 

Meanwhile, in the second period, the Hawks turned on the ignition switch so to speak and the Hawks went to work.

Pembina Valley outshot the Quebec representative's 14-3 and were able to capitalize on a powerplay. Laurie Dumont was given an interference penalty and Brooklyn Platt picked up a rebound and put it top shelf. Hannah Petrie and Mackenzie Hutchinson got the assists on the goal. 

"The coaches gave us some things to work on in between periods," said Hawks alternate captain Katelyn Heppner. "We just tried our best to be doing those. We just tried to listen to our coaches as much as possible and get everything to the net and it just is too bad with the way it ended."

Despite having multiple chances and great pressure in the Harfangs zone the Hawks couldn't get the equalizer. 

Oswald made 28 saves in the loss for Pembina Valley, while Michelle Thibault kicked aside 26 of the 27 shots she faced. 

In the other semifinal the Pacific representative St. Albert Slash shut out the Ontario representative Durham West Lightning 1-0. With Friday's action complete the finals are set. The gold medal game will feature the Slash and Harfangs and the bronze medal game will be played between the host Hawks and Lightning. 

"I think we have to come out and be ready in the first period and not come out slow. We need to play a full sixty minutes and play our game," said Hawks captain Mackenzie Hutchinson.

Puck drop for the bronze medal game is 1:00 p.m.