OSHAWA, Ont. – Despite the 4-1 scoreline, Saturday night was positive for the UOIT women's hockey team as they kicked off their fundraiser for team Emma.
 
The second game of the fundraiser will take place on Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. when the Laurier Golden Hawks pay a visit to the Campus Ice Centre.
 
Emma is seven-years-old and is fighting Ewing sarcoma (an aggressive bone cancer). Emma has completed nine cycles of chemotherapy with four more to go. In October, Emma underwent a major surgery that removed her humerus and replaced it with a bone from her leg, her fibula. Emma is a brave, beautiful young girl who battles hard everyday to win this fight. Her recovery from the surgery has been remarkable. She has already laced up her skates to prove that she is most definitely 'sticking it to cancer.' 
 
On the ice, UOIT could not overcome an early deficit as the second-place Waterloo Warriors earned their fourth straight win.
 
Rachel Marriott and Kaitlyn McDonell scored first period goals for Waterloo, a lead they would hold into the third period.
 
Five minutes into the third, Mikaeli Cavell (Edmonton, Alta.) got the Ridgebacks on the board with her fourth goal of the season. Sarah Biesenthal (Chepstow, Ont.) and Sam Forchielli (Hamilton, Ont.) chipped in with assists on the play.
 
Waterloo would quickly shut down any momentum UOIT had as Marriott struck again restoring the two-goal lead. With Cassie Charette (Ottawa, Ont.) pulled, McDonell would match Marriott's two-goal night scoring an empty netter.
 
Charette made 21 saves in her fourth straight start while Stephanie Sluys stopped 18 of 19 UOIT shots on net.
 
Despite the Ridgebacks earning their first win in program history against Waterloo during their inaugural season, the Warriors have simply dominated the head-to-head match-up. You have to go back to Nov. 20, 2010 to find UOIT's last win over Waterloo.