W-HOCKEY WEEKEND ROUNDUP: Lakers playoff bound for first time ever despite loss
The Nipissing Lakers women’s hockey team, despite a 1-0 setback against the second place Guelph Gryphons Saturday afternoon will be playing in the OUA playoffs for the first time in their brief two year existence.
Photo by Brian Doherty
Guelph 1 @ Nipissing 0 (Saturday)
Playoffs? Playoffs!
The Nipissing Lakers women's hockey team, despite a 1-0 setback against the second place Guelph Gryphons Saturday afternoon will be playing in the OUA playoffs for the first time in their brief two year existence.
Thanks to four wins in a row leading into Saturday's game, the Lakers were in a good spot to clinch a playoff spot.
With either a win, or a Waterloo loss in regulation, the Lakers would advance and Waterloo was thumped by Laurier, meaning the Lakers had already earned a spot no matter what the result of their game was.
A goal about half way through the third period was the only scoring of the game Saturday, as the Gryphons picked up the two points and clinched second place, but both teams flooded the ice, celebrating.
The Gryphons were happy about the win and the Lakers were pumped about moving on.
It'll be the first place Western Mustangs who will be the first round opponent for Nipissing, with the series likely to start Wednesday night in North Bay, with games three and four to be played on the weekend in London.
Western lost just one in regulation all season and only four times total, but both games against the Lakers were tight one goal games, including a shootout win by the Mustangs in January.
The other game, early in the year in North Bay was 2-1 in favour of Western.
Two winning streaks really helped the Lakers achieve their goal of making the playoffs as they won five in a row in November and four in a row late in the season.
Friday, February 13
Queen's 1 @ Western 4
Goals from Brianna Iazzolino, Sydney Kidd, andBrittany Clapham provided the offence, while Kelly Campbell turned aside all but one of the shots she faced as the CIS No. 3 Western Mustangs defeated the No. 5 Queen's Gaels 4-1 on Friday night at Thompson Arena.
"The first period we weren't very good [but] as soon as we got through that first period we [were] a different team and the second and the third periods were the best we've played all year," said Mustangs head coach Chris Higgins.
With the win the Mustangs, who clinched first place in the OUA standings last week, improve their record to 19-1-3 and extend their winning streak to four games. The loss for the Gaels gives them a 15-5-3 mark, good for fourth place in the OUA.
The Gaels came out into the opening period strong and left the Mustangs playing catch-up as the tricolour got on the scoreboard first when Addi Halladay found the back of the net just under six minutes in.
The Mustangs fought hard to respond to the Gaels one-goal lead but the visitors high-powered offence controlled the play in the opening frame, outshooting the Mustangs 14-5. Despite the shot discrepancy, the purple and white made use of the scoring opportunities that they did have when Western's Iazzolino put the puck past Gaels netminder Caitlyn Lahonen to even out the score with just two and a half minutes left in the period.
The Mustangs came back out onto the ice in the second period looking like an entirely different team as they dominated the play, keeping possession of the puck deep in Gaels territory for a large part of the frame. The purple and white offensive unit kept Lahonen busy between the pipes with seventeen shots while the Gaels responded with only two shots on Campbell throughout the period.
Lahonen was impressive throughout the period, however despite her best efforts, Sydney Kidd netted a goal late in the period to give the Mustangs a 2-1 lead heading into the third.
In the final frame the Mustangs continued to battle for control of the play while the Gaels were determined to even out the scoreboard. Much to the delight of the Western faithful in attendance, it was Mustangs who continued to post points on the board as Clapham picked up the rebound off of Kidd's shot and fired a wrist shot into the top left corner of Lahonen's net to extend the Mustangs lead 3-1 with just under three minutes left in the contest.
Trailing by two goals and time running out, the Gaels pulled Lahonen for an extra attacker, however it was the Mustangs who would benefit as Clapham picked up the puck and brought it into the Queen's zone before depositing it into the empty net to seal a 4-1 victory for Western.
Brock 2 @ Nipissing 4
It has been a season of streaks for the Nipissing Lakers women's hockey – some good, some not so much, but their current streak is great and perfectly timed.
The Lakers, earlier in the season, had losing streaks of three games and then four games, but they have also had a winning streak of five games and are now currently on a four game winning streak, which has them in right in the thick of things when it comes to the playoffs.
The Lakers picked up their fourth straight win Friday evening, by doubling up on the Brock Badgers by a final of 4-2.
Nipissing led from start to finish and really controlled the pace of the game on their way to a win.
Sam Strassburger led the way with two goals, Janica Vossos got the offence rolling for the Lakers with the first goal of the game and Brittany Crago added a beauty at the end of the first period.
Vossos scored after great work by her line, as the trio of Vossos, Carpenter-Boesch and Brooklyn Kallusky cycled the puck, won a handful of battles and got the puck to the front of the net.
The second year forward and North Bay native was then able to jam the puck in.
Crago would pad the lead as she used her speed to go wide on the defender and then made a slick move in tight to the goalie to tuck it away and put the Lakers up 2-0 after the first period.
In the second, the Lakers would extend their lead to 3-0 as Sam Strassburger would score her first of two thanks to some nice puck movement and a great burst of speed up the middle. She then fired the puck blocker side to add to the lead.
After Brock spoiled the Lakers shutout streak, Strassburger would add her second of the game, finding a rebound off a Mariah Fell shot as she tapped the puck home.
Bronwyn Bolduc picked up assists on two of the Lakers goal, recording a multi-point night.
Jackie Rochefort played two periods and Sabrina Picard closed things out in the third, as the two combined for 11 saves in the win.
York 3 @ Toronto 1
The No. 10 University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's hockey team dropped a 3-1 decision to the York Lions in their regular season finale on Friday night (Feb. 13) at Varsity Arena.
The Varsity Blues end their 2014-15 regular season campaign with a 16-5-3 record, having already clinched a top four position and home ice advantage in the first round. U of T awaits the conclusion of the regular season to determine their final standing and first round opponent.
York netminder Megan Lee posted 35 saves in the win, while Kristen Barbara scored two goals within 24 seconds of each other early in the third period to seal the win.
The Blues opened the scoring midway through the first period as Taylor Day forced a turnover and found Kristi Riseley, who made no mistake backhanding the puck past Lee.
U of T goalie Katey Teekasingh made a nice save on Raeanna Kelly a few minutes later and Lee kept the game within reach, robbing Blues defenceman April Looije all alone in front of the net on the powerplay at the end of the frame.
Lee continued to deny the Blues chances, making a nice pad save on a Becki Bowering one-timer in front and a few minutes later, York's Lisa Stathopulos notched her OUA-leading 17th goal of the season, wiring a shot past into the top corner.
Late in the second period, the Blues came up with a 3 on 1 off a turnover high in U of T's zone, but Lee once again denied the attack and the game was deadlocked 1-1 heading into the final frame.
Teekasingh made 22 saves in the loss.
UOIT 3 @ Windsor 5
Led by Krystin Lawrence's first OUA hat trick, the Lancer women's hockey team defeated the UOIT Ridgebacks 5-3 at South Windsor Arena on Friday night.
Heading into their final regular season game against the Queen's Gaels on Saturday, the Lancers sit in fifth place just one point behind the Gaels in the standings. Saturday's win will determine home ice advantage between the two teams.
The Ridgebacks took an early lead when they opened the scoring 2:43 into the game on a rebound goal from Jennifer Sisson.
In the second, the Lancers came out strong and just over four minutes in Erin Noseworthy buried a rebound that came to her in the slot, tying the game at one a piece.
Only two minutes later, the Lancers took a 2-1 lead as rookie Danielle Butler of Vernon, B.C., scored her first goal of the season, with assists going to Larissa Borowiec and Laura Monforton.
UOIT evened the score on a power play goal from Nicole Lopresti. Then with only 1:23 left to play in the second period, Zoe Battie put one past Marissa Kozovski, giving the Ridgebacks a 3-2 lead going into the third.
With the Lancers looking to even the score, they were sent to the penalty kill halfway into the third period. Kozovski turned away many Ridgeback chances and Candice Chevalier led the Lancers penalty kill unit, as they killed off the penalty and gained momentum. This led to a breakout from the Lancer end as Jillian Rops found Chevalier who sent the puck up ice to spring Krystin Lawrence on a breakaway, where she made no mistake evening the score at three apiece.
The Lancers were then sent to the power play with under four minutes to play, and after controlling the play, Borowiec found Lawrence open in the slot, and she put a beautiful shot over the shoulder of Ridgeback goaltender Cassie Charette, to give the Lancers a one goal lead.
Lawrence added an empty net goal, giving her a natural hat-trick, and securing the 5-3 win for the Lancers.
UOIT's Charette turned away 36 shots in the contest, while Kozovski made 20 saves to earn the win for the Lancers.
Saturday, February 14
Brock 5 @ Laurentian 2
The Brock Badgers women's hockey team closed out its 2014-15 season with a 5-2 victory over the Laurentian Voyageurs Saturday in Sudbury.
A three goal second period was all the Badgers would need.
Christina Ieradi led the way with two goals, giving her a team-high 14 on the season, and one assist.
Kailey Peirson, Ally Graham and Alex Finlayson had the other Brock goals who finished the season with a (2-18-4 OUA) record. Graham would also add an assist in her final university game, while Emily Kelly closed out her Badgers career with a hugh performance making 39 saves for the victory.
The win was also the first for Brock interim head coach Corey Williamson.
UOIT 0 @ Western 3
The Western Mustangs women's hockey team claimed a 3-0 shutout win over the UOIT Ridgebacks on Saturday night at Thompson Arena out the regular season with a 20-1-3 record.
"20 games is the most games we've won in Mustang history," said Mustangs head coach Chris Higgins. "We only lost one game in regulation and we're pretty pleased,"
With Saturday's win, the Mustangs have recorded their best season in program history. Having reigned over the OUA standings all season long, the purple and white now wrap up their regular season with an impressive 20-1-3 record. The loss for the Ridgebacks gives the team a 7-15-2 record on the season, leaving them just three spots shy of a playoff position.
The contest opened with a scoreless period that saw the Mustangs outshoot the Ridgebacks 11-4. If you didn't know any better you might have thought that the Mustangs came back onto the ice in the second frame on a power play as the purple and white seemed to effortlessly cycle the puck around deep in Ridgeback territory for a solid five minutes. With Western controlling the play, Mustangs head coach Chris Higgins decided to take Kelly Campbell out of the net and send in back-up goalie Katie Jacobs to get some ice time.
The Mustangs strong offence paid off when Casey Rosen put the puck past UOIT goaltender Tori Campbell midway through the frame to give the Mustangs the 2-1 advantage.
Despite fighting hard to cut the Mustangs advantage, the Ridgebacks were unable to find an opening in Jacobs' net. With less than a minute and a half left in the period, Western's Ally Galloway notched the second goal of the game on a power play to put the purple and white up 2-0 as the game headed into the second intermission.
The third period saw the intensity heat up between the two teams, and despite bringing a little more physicality and aggression to the game the Ridgebacks were unable to put themselves onto the scoresheet as Jacobs held the goal line firm for the Mustangs.
With Jacobs holding strong between the pipes, the Mustangs offence continued to put heavy offensive pressure on Campbell deep in Ridgeback territory. With only five minutes remaining, Kendra Broad collected the third goal of the game and her 15th of the season to give the Mustangs the 3-0 advantage.
With only a matter of minutes left on the clock the Ridgeback were unable to respond to the Mustangs three-point lead, and the Mustangs walked away with the 3-0 shutout victory to end their regular season.
"We're going to celebrate tonight, practice Monday and Tuesday, get on a bus Wednesday and bring back two points," said Higgins on the team's upcoming schedule heading into the playoffs.
Queen's 5 @ Windsor 2
The Lancer women's hockey team lost their final regular season home game 5-2 to the visiting Queen's Gaels on Saturday night at South Windsor Arena.
With the loss, the Lancers finish in fifth place in the OUA standings and will face the Gaels in the first round of the post season.
Prior to the game, the Lancers honoured their graduating seniors Adalena Tridico Candice Chevalier, Candace Kourounis, Kayla Dodson, Jenny MacKnight and Bree Polci.
Queen's got off to a quick start as Addison Halliday scored only 1:21 into the first period. The Lancers evened the score on the power play as Erin Noseworthy beat Queen's goaltender Caitlyn Lahonen.
The Gaels took the lead again, as captain Shawna Griffen put one past Marissa Kozovski, making the score 2-1 heading into the second period.
In the second, the Gael's extended their lead to by two as Nadia Larocca scored a power play goal.
The Lancers were then sent to the power play and Kayla Dodson fired a shot from the blue line, which was tipped in by Candace Kourounis, cutting the Queen's lead to one going into the third.
Despite some good chances from the Lancers, the Gaels were able to add two more goals in the third period from Clare McKellar and Griffen to seal the win.
Laurier 7 @ Waterloo 1
Jessie Hurrell of Palgrave, Ont., and Tammy Freiburger of Wingham, Ont., each had two goals and an assist as the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks women's hockey team defeated the Waterloo Warriors 7-1 in their final regular season game on Saturday afternoon.
The victory officially clinched sixth place in the competitive OUA conference for the purple and gold while also eliminating their crosstown rivals from postseason contention. The Hawks finish the year with 30 points thanks to a 13-7-4 record while Waterloo misses out on the playoffs by one point with an 11-9-4 mark.
After a stretch of games in which the Hawks had scored just six goals in their past four contests, the OUA's highest scoring team regained their offensive touch in their final regular season contest. Three Hawks had three-point afternoons, highlighted by H urrell and Freiburger. The two veteran forwards scored three of the Hawks' first four goals against Waterloo as Laurier put the game out of reach with a four-goal explosion in the second period.
For Hurrell, the three points means she finishes the season as the Hawks leading scorer and tied for fifth overall in the OUA with 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists). She also sets a new career high for points, goals and assists in a season.
Also finding their name on the scoresheet three times on Saturday was second year forward Jessica Prevette of Mississauga, Ont., as she had a goal and two assists to record her second multi-point game of the season.
Other Laurier goal scorers included Danelle Im of Toronto, who scored the game-winning goal early in the second period, and Heather Platt, also of Toronto, who scored one of two empty net goals for the purple and gold.
Amanda Smith of Burlington, Ont., was strong in goal, particularly in the second and third period s when the Warriors pushed back with their season on the line. However, the second year netminder surrendered just a single goal as she turned away 29 of the 30 shots she faced.
Waterloo's lone goal of the afternoon came off the stick of Siobhan Hewitt-Kenda of North Vancouver, B.C., while Stephanie Sluys of Clinton, Ont., took the loss in goal allowing four goals on 15 shots. The OUA leader in shutouts was eventually replaced between the pipes by veteran Rebecca Bouwhuis of Orillia, Ont., who allowed one goal on 16 shots.
While there is still one game to be played in the OUA schedule, the first round matchups have been set. The sixth-seeded Golden Hawks will open their defence of last year's OUA Championship against the third-seeded Toronto Varsity Blues (16-5-3) in the OUA Quarter-finals next week. Stay tuned to laurierathletics.com for the complete three-game series schedule.
Source: Laurier Golden Hawks
