W-HOCKEY ROUNDUP: No. 7 Golden Hawks shutout Lions

Saturday, October 25th

Brock 2 @ Guelph 3

Guelph, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphon women's hockey team defeated the Brock Badgers in overtime, with an exciting 3-2 finish on Saturday afternoon at the Gryphon Centre. The win moves the Gryphons to 3-0-1 and drops the Badgers to 0-3-1.

The Badgers got off to a good start after scoring on a power play in the opening period.  Trailing 1-0 in the 2nd, the Gryphons would tie things up thanks to promising rookie Kaitlyn Lowy (Toronto, Ont.).  Lowy's second goal of the season came on a quick shot from the top of the circle. Later in the period, 2013 OUA first team All-Star Jessica Pinkerton (Oshawa, Ont.) would give the Gryphons a 2-1 lead with her second goal of the season.

In the 3rd, the Badgers would tie it up after a wrap-around attempt from Brock's fifth year veteran Jessica Fickel (Fort Erie, Ont.) would skim Stephanie Nehring's (Oshawa, Ont.) pads and hit the back of the net. The Gryphons would fail to break the tie before the end of regulation time as things would head into overtime tied at 2-2. After a pair of good scoring chances from Kelly Gribbons (Port Elgin, Ont.) nearly ended the game, the Gryphons would be given another golden opportunity after Brock was called for too many men on the ice.  On the ensuing power play, Averi Nooren (Aylmer, Ont.) would score the game-winning goal with just 15 seconds remaining in the overtime period.  After the game head coach Rachel Flanagan said "We're happy to get the two points today.  Brock is a young team that works really hard and they gave us a good game today."

The Gryphons will hit the ice again on November 1st against the York Lions in Toronto with the puck set to drop at 2:00 p.m.

Source: Guelph Gryphons

Laurier 2 @ York 0

The York University Lions women's hockey team suffered a 2-0 loss against the No. 7 nationally-ranked Laurier Golden Hawks on Saturday (Oct. 25) at Canlan Ice Sports. 

Despite the loss, Lions goaltender Megan Lee (Orillia, Ont.) played an impressive game, making 30 saves out of 32 attempts. Her counterpart, Amanda Smith, made 26 saves for the shutout. It was because of the strong displays of goalkeeping from the two that the first period ended without a goal. 

At 5:04, Laurier almost scored from a defensive mistake by the Lions. Lee saved the shot and dropped it back into play. 

Laurier received another clear scoring opportunity with 12 minutes to go. The Lions' defenders crowded the area, but it was Lee who deflected the shot. 

The Lions went on the counterattack within the same minute. Jenna Gray (London, Ont.) powered a shot on target, which Smith saved. 

With 2:36 remaining, the Lions had Smith scrambling for the puck, but the attackers failed to find an opening as she safely caught the puck in her gloves. 

Lee continued her sparkling form in the second period as the Lions goalie saved a one-on-one attempt after two minutes of play. 

Less than three minutes later, Laurier caught the Lions by surprise as an interception led to a counterattack. The Lions were unable to transition in time, resulting in the opponents scoring through Laura Brooker at 4:36. Danelle Im and Megan Howe were involved in the lead-up to the goal. 

Kristen Barbara (Mount Hope, Ont.) took a shot on the goal almost immediately after the restart but Smith was there to catch the puck. The Lions picked up their pace as they looked for an equalizer. 

From the left flank, Sarai Whitty (Kingston, Ont.) made a hopeful shot that went barely an inch from the goal, and soon after Lions defender Jessa McAuliffe (Odessa, Ont.) took a chance from distance that bounced off a defender and went wide. 

The final 10 minutes of the second period were mostly played on the Lions' attacking half. Veteran forward Lisa Stathopulos (Toronto) successfully passed her marker to shoot on goal, forcing the goalie to only deflect the shot. Defenders were able to drive it to safety as the whistle blew for the final break. 

Laurier immediately extended their lead under one minute into the third period when a pass from Jessie Hurrell found Tammy Freiburger, who laid it past a defender for Dollee Meigs to tap in. 

The Golden Hawks remained persistent in the attack, testing the Lions' defence a number of times. However, the Lions kept the marking tight until the end of the period. 

The loss marked the Lions' current record of 2-3-0 as they stand in mid-table with four points in the OUA conference standings. Their next game is against the Waterloo Warriors on Sunday (Oct. 26) in Canlan Ice Sports beginning at 2pm.

Source: York Lions

Western 2 @ Nipissing 1

A late push and a flurry of chances weren't enough as the Nipissing Lakers women's hockey team dropped their home opener to the Western Mustangs Saturday afternoon.

A second period power play goal stood up as the winner for Western, as they skated away with a 2-1 victory, spoiling the Lakers return to Memorial Gardens after spending the first four games on the road.

The Lakers found themselves down 1-0 just four minutes into the game as the Mustangs forced a giveaway and Sydney Kidd broke in alone and found the back of the net.

Almost exactly half way through the game, the Lakers tied things up as Brooklyn Irwin rippled the twine and made the score 1-1.

Zosia Davis and Kaley Tienhaara, who leads the OUA in assists, picked up helpers on the Nipissing goal.

The tie game didn't last long, however, as Western was awarded a power play less than four minutes later and capitalized, making the score 2-1 after 40 minutes.

While the shot total doesn't necessarily reflect it, the Lakers threw everything at the net and had a number of good chances to tie things up in the final period.

On more than one occasion, a loose puck sat in the Mustangs crease, but the Lakers were unable to jump on it and tap it in.

Lakers goalie Jackie Rochefort finished with 24 saves in the contest.

After Saturday's results, the Lakers now sit with a 2-2-1 record through five games, good for five points.

They will be looking to bounce back and earn a split tomorrow when they host the Windsor Lancers at Memorial Gardens.

Game time is 5:30 p.m.

Source: Nipissing Lakers

Toronto 1 @ Queen's 2

KINGSTON, Ont. (October 25, 2014) - Jessica Wakefield (Lucan, Ont.) collected both goals for the No.3 Gaels as they went on to defeat the No.10 Toronto Varsity Blues 2-1 Saturday afternoon at the Memorial Centre.

The lone tally of the first frame came near the midway point of the period as Wakefield buried her first of the season. Wakefield received a great feed from captain Shawna Griffin (Redwood Meadows, Alta.) in the slot and made no mistake as she slid the puck passed Toronto goaltender Nicole Kesteris. The Gaels came close to doubling their lead a few minutes later but Nadia Larocca (Mississauga, Ont.) found iron after being sent in on a partial breakaway. Caitlyn Lahonen (Sharon, Ont.) started in net for Queen's, turning aside all 10 shots that she faced in the period.

Scoring opportunities were few and far between in the middle period as each side had difficulty maintaining offensive zone pressure. Both squads came close to capitalizing on the powerplay but goaltenders Lahonen and Kesteris shut the door. The Varsity Blues knotted the score late in the frame when Taylor Day dove at a loose puck in the slot and swatted it home to the top right corner. 

The Gaels notched the game-winner in the final five minutes of the game as Wakefield deposited her second of the afternoon. Addi Halladay (North Augusta, Ont.) made a fantastic play, chipping the puck off the boards and past the Toronto defence to set up a two-on-one. Halladay then dished the puck over to Wakefield who buried it into the back of the net. The Varsity Blues generated offensive pressure after pulling their goalie in the final minute, but could not find the equalizer. 

Wakefield led all skaters with two points for the game. Final shots totalled 27 to 20 in favour of Toronto. Lahonen collected 26 saves for the win while Kesteris registered 18 in the loss.

The Gaels (4-0-0) return to action Sunday afternoon when they take on the Ryerson Rams (1-2-0). Puck drop is set for 2:30pm at the Memorial Centre.

Source: Queen's Gaels

Ryerson 3 @ UOIT 4

OSHAWA, Ont. – The UOIT women's hockey team held on to win their second game of the season on Saturday afternoon, 4-3 over the Ryerson Rams.
 
UOIT opened the scoring at the 3:29 mark of the first period as Nicole Gorda scored her first goal as a Ridgeback on the power play. Melissa Berney and Nicole LoPresti had assists on the play.
 
With 7:19 remaining in the first, LoPresti made it 2-0. Mikaeli Cavell and Samantha Forchielli picked up assists.
 
Ryerson cut the lead in half in the second period as Kayla Karbonik, assisted by Melissa Wronzberg and Kaitlyn Mullett, scored 12:54 into the frame.
 
LoPresti got her third point and second goal of the game 4:05 into the final 20 minutes. Forchielli and Cassie Charette got the helpers.
 
The Rams bounced back again, this time four minutes later, with Blair Malthaner cutting the lead to 3-2.
 
Cavell scored her first goal of the season with 8:17 to play in the third. Forchielli earned her third assist of the game on the play, while LoPresti capped off her four-point night.
 
Ryerson cut the lead to one just once more with 2:49 to play, but UOIT held them off the board to improve their record to 2-2.
 
Charette's 33-save performance earned her the win for UOIT, while Alex Armstrong made 23 saves in Ryerson's loss.
 
Sunday afternoon the women are back in action, hosting the Toronto Varsity Blues at 3:30 p.m. at the Campus Ice Centre.

Source: UOIT Ridgebacks

Windsor 3 @ Laurentian 2

The Laurentian Voyageur Women's hockey team played their season home opener against the Windsor Lancers on Saturday, October 25. The women were coming off a series of 3 games on the road and were looking to earn their first win of the year in front of their home crowd at the Countryside Arena in Sudbury. The women played an excellent game, and kept the fans on the edge of their seats until the very end. After  ending the regular time tied at 2-2, and without a goal in overtime, the Lancers got the win in a shootout, edging the Voyageurs 3-2.

Both teams came out with a high level of intensity right from the start of the game. The Lancers offense was dominant in the first, recording 14 shots on net to Laurentian's five. Laura Deller was solid in net for the Voyageurs and stopped everything that was fired her way. Neither team was able to find the mesh, and headed into the first intermission tied at 0-0

After a scoreless first twenty minutes of play, both teams picked up their play coming into the second period. The Voyageurs opened the scoring when forward Amanda Pereira scored her first of the season and the only goal in the second. 

The Lancers' offense continued to cause trouble for the Voyageurs, but Deller remained solid and denied them any goals. The Lancers ran into some penalty trouble in the second, which allowed the Voyageurs to control the flow of the game and keep their 1-0 lead heading into the second intermission.

The third period proved to be the one to watch for both teams. Less than three minutes in the Lancers tied the game when Erin Noseworthy slotted the puck past Deller for her first of the game. The Voyageurs ran into some penalty trouble, and the Lancers made the most of their powerplay to get ahead 2-1 a little under the midway mark in the third.

The Lancers lead would be short lived, as the tables turned and the Voyageurs were on the powerplay. Laurentian captain Julie Hebert scored the tying goal less than a minute after the Lancers' goal, tying the game at 2-2 with a little over 10 minutes remaining in the period.

After finishing the game tied at 2-2, the women headed into overtime. Neither team scored in the extra time, therefore forcing the game to go to a shootout. 

In the end the Voyageurs were outscored 2-1 in the shootout, however earned their first point of the season in a well-played game.

The women need to have a quick turnaround as they face the Western Mustangs tomorrow at 1:50pm at the Countryside Arena in Sudbury.

Source: Laurentian Voyageurs

Sunday, October 26

Western 5 @ Laurentian 2

SUDBURY, Ont. – Goals from four different players helped the Western Mustangs women's hockey team tally their second victory of the weekend with a 5-2 win over the Laurentian Voyageurs on Sunday afternoon at Countryside Arena.

With the win, the Mustangs now hold a 4-0-1 record, good for second place in the OUA standings, while the loss for the Voyageurs gives them 0-5-1 record.

Both teams got off to a slow start in Sunday's game, as neither team was able to put themselves onto the scoreboard in the first period, sending the match scoreless into the first intermission.

In the second frame both teams came back out onto the ice determined to take the advantage, and it was the Voyageurs Samantha Morell who was able to strike first, capitalizing on a power play just over two minutes into the period to give Laurentian a 1-0 lead.

The Mustangs responded midway through the period as Cassidy Gosling found the back of Laurentian goaltender Emily Toffoli's net to cut the blue and gold advantage and even out the score.

The score wouldn't stay even for long however, as Julie Hebert scored Laurentian's second power play marker of the day less than three minutes later to give the Voyageurs a 2-1 lead they'd take into the second intermission.

Western came out of the second break with victory on their minds, and it definitely showed out on the ice as the purple and white dominated the period. Katelyn Gosling tied up the scoreboard with a goal just over three minutes in, and two minutes later Cassidy Gosling racked up her second goal of the game to put the Mustangs ahead 3-2.

Kendra Broad made her way onto the score sheet once again on Sunday, as she added a goal at 9:40 to further the Mustangs advantage 4-2 and extend her scoring streak to three games. The Lindenwood University transfer is now tied with Cassidy Gosling as the Mustangs leading goal scorers.

The Mustangs continued to control the play throughout the period and it was Madison Turk who scored the Mustangs fifth and final goal in the 5-2 victory.

Katie Jacobs got the win in net for the Mustangs, stopping 23 of the 25 shots she faced in her first regular season action of the year. Despite taking the loss Toffoli was impressive in the Laurentian net, stopping 38 shots in over 55 minutes of ice time.

The Mustangs will be back on the road on Saturday, November 1, and Sunday, November 2, as they face-off against the Laurier Golden Hawks on Saturday before going up against the Waterloo Warriors on Sunday. Puck drop is set for 7:30 pm and 2:30 pm respectively.

Source: Western Mustangs

Waterloo 4 @ York 3 (SO)

The York University Lions women's hockey team won 4-3 in a shootout against the Waterloo Warriors after an exciting game on Sunday (Oct. 26) at Canlan Ice Sports.
 
The Lions were able to come out of a 2-0 disadvantage to score three goals in the third, followed by another Warrior's goal, tying the game. The game ended up in a shootout, with Megan Lee (Orillia, Ont.) saving all three shots she faced, and Lisa Stathopulos (Toronto) scoring the only goal, giving the Lions the win.
 
The first period started off as an even game with equal opportunities coming from both sides. The Warriors shortly broke the deadlock with a goal by Siobhan Hewitt-Kenda at 8:37.
 
Sarah Conway (Orillia, Ont.) tested her luck with a counterattack on Warriors goalie Rebecca Bouwhuis that landed too far left of the net.
 
The Warriors charged at the Lions again at 17:31 with a sliding goal by Angela MacDonald that caught Lee off-guard, landing behind her left shoulder.
 
The second period ended scoreless with several opportunities from both sides. The Lions had six shots in the second, while the Warriors had a total of eight shots.
 
Only 23 seconds into the third, Amy Locke (Toronto) scored a brilliant goal, raising the spirits of the Lions. Four minutes later, Stathopulos grabbed the puck from the Warriors, skated down the ice and sent the puck flying to Rianna Langford (Collingwood, Ont.), who buried it in the net.
 
Langford tied up the game with another goal for the Lions at 6:35.
 
At 16:31, the Warriors tied the game again when Marissa Redmond pushed the puck down the ice into the Lions' half and sent it flying to Carolyn Burke, who smacked the puck into the net.
 
The game went into five minutes of overtime, with no goals from either side, then finally ended in a 4-3 shootout victory for the Lions.
 
Both goalies, Lee and Bouwhuis, played an excellent game saving 27 shots for York and 21 shots for Waterloo.
 
The next game for the Lions is against the No. 6 nationally-ranked Guelph Gryphons on Saturday (Nov. 1) at 2p at Canlan Ice Sports.

Source: York Lions

Ryerson 0 @ Queen's 4

KINGSTON, Ont. (October 26, 2014) - The women's hockey team remains perfect on the season with a 5-0-0 record after defeating the Ryerson Rams 4-0 Sunday afternoon at the Memorial Centre. 

The Gaels had countless scoring opportunities in the first frame but could not solve Ryerson goaltender Ally Sarna. Queen's came close to grabbing the lead on a five-on-three advantage but Courtenay Jacklin (Regina) was denied in front by the post. Jacklin had another great scoring opportunity in the final minute of the period but could not find the back of the net on the breakaway.

Queen's broke through early in the second on Clare McKellar's (London, Ont.) third of the season. McKellar broke into the zone on a one-on-one and used the screen to fire the puck through the five-hole from the top of the circle. The Gaels doubled their lead after Addi Halladay (North Augusta, Ont.) buried a loose puck in front of the net for the powerplay tally. Queen's continued to capitalize on scoring opportunities as Amber Sealey (Elora, Ont.) notched her first goal of her CIS career. Sealey moved in from the point and made no mistake after receiving a great cross-ice feed from Jessica Wakefield (Lucan, Ont.).

Queen's added another in the final frame as Taryn Pilon (Peterborough, Ont.) scored on the powerplay for her team-leading sixth of the season. 

Stephanie Pascal (Sudbury, Ont.) started in net for the Gaels and was perfect for the afternoon, earning the 20 save shutout. Pascal has been excellent in net for Queen's as she has not allowed a goal in two starts this season. Final shots for the game totalled 28 to 20 in favour of Queen's.

The Gaels (5-0-0) return to action Saturday afternoon when they travel to North Bay, Ontario to take on the Nipissing Lakers (2-2-1)

Source: Queen's Gaels

Toronto 4 @ UOIT 3 (SO)

The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's hockey team defeated the UOIT Ridgebacks 4-3 in a shootout on Sunday, October 26 in Oshawa, Ont.

With the win, the Blues improve to 4-1-0 and sit tied for third place with the Laurier Golden Hawks.

Down 1-0 after the first period, forward Sonja Weidenfelder got Toronto on the board just 1:20 into the second frame to even the score.

The Ridgebacks gained the lead with a goal from Chelsea Ball, her second of the game, but the Blues answered right back as Katherine Gale found the back of the net. The two teams were tied 2-2 heading into the third.

Toronto struck first in the third period as Alie Brind'Amour-McClure potted her second goal of the season; however, UOIT scored 24 seconds later to force overtime.

The extra five minutes solved nothing. Toronto's Kristi Riseley and Jacqueline Scheffel both scored and Blues goalie Nicole Kesteris made two big saves to earn the victory.

Kesteris posted 23 saves in the win. 

The Varsity Blues return to action next Friday, October 31 as they take on the Ryerson Rams at Mattamy Athletic Centre. The TDSB school day game will begin at 11 a.m.

Source: Toronto Varsity Blues

Windsor 3 @ Nipissing 1

While they deserved better, the Lakers women's hockey team was unable to pick up a win Sunday evening as they host the Windsor Lancers.

All the scoring was done in the second period, as the Lancers struck twice in the first 15 minutes, with the Lakers responded shortly after Windsor went up 2-0.

Sam Strassburger chipped in a rebound to make it 2-1, but before the end of the second frame, the Lancers would add another goal and take a 3-1 lead into the third, but the Lakers refused to give up.

They pushed and threw everything at the net, but were unable to score a second goal and dropped the game by two.

After starting the season on the road with four straight, the Lakers returned home looking for a few wins, but instead, they'll have to regroup and prepare for Friday's matchup with the UOIT Ridgebacks.

Kaley Tienhaara continued her hot play, picking up another assist on Strassburger's goal, while Brooklyn Kallusky drew the other helper.

Sabrina Picard was solid in net, making 27 saves, but suffered the loss.

Source: Nipissing Lakers

Game time next Friday is 4 p.m. as part of a Lakers double header.