W-HOCKEY ROUNDUP: Mustangs remain undefeated despite scare from winless Badgers
LONDON, Ont. – The winless Brock Badgers gave the OUA's top team all they could handle on Friday night but had to settle for an overtime loss, as Sydney Kidd scored just over three minutes into the extra frame to give the Western Mustangs a 2-1 victory over the Badgers at Thompson Arena.
Friday, November 21
Brock 1 @ Western 2 (OT)
LONDON, Ont. – The winless Brock Badgers gave the OUA's top team all they could handle on Friday night but had to settle for an overtime loss, as Sydney Kidd scored just over three minutes into the extra frame to give the Western Mustangs a 2-1 victory over the Badgers at Thompson Arena.
Kidd's goal came on a scramble in front of the Badgers net, a fitting end to a game that saw the two teams trade chances for the majority of play and the Mustangs struggle to take control. Nonetheless, Western assistant coach Dave Edwards indicated after the game that the Mustangs would take the victory, Western's ninth straight, regardless of how they got it.
"It's nice to get a victory— it wasn't the best display of hockey for our team but two points is two points," Edwards said after the game. "Give Brock credit, I thought they played very well. They out skated us, they out chanced us. Brock just wanted to win it more, I think, and when you're number one in the league and teams come to your place they just play harder."
Entering the game, the Mustangs and the Badgers were on opposite ends of the OUA standings, with Brock holding down last place and Western in first. But at times on Friday you wouldn't have been able to tell which team was in first and which in last, as the Badgers came out with the sole intention of taking a win home with them to St. Catherine's.
"We didn't control the puck well, we made some poor decisions and sometimes it's not about working harder, it's working smarter," Edwards said of his team's performance Friday. "I think that was a thing that we didn't do well… which resulted in turnovers in our zone and opportunities for Brock. Again, give credit to Brock for creating those kinds of turnovers."
The game was largely a goaltender battle, with Katie Jacobs and Brock's Emily Kelly stealing the show in the back-and-forth affair. Kelly was rock solid when Brock needed her, finishing with a game-high 39 saves on the night and standing tall in a pair of 12-shot periods. Her performance certainly didn't escape the eye of Edwards, who made a point to note that she played "very, very well."
Jacobs was also stellar, getting the call for Western in place of starter Kelly Campbell and finishing with 23 saves on the night. She was busy early and often, and the Badgers' many odd-man rushes ensured that she wouldn't have any time to rest in the match.
"We're very comfortable with Katie, she works hard everyday in practice so I mean the girls are very comfortable," said Edwards of Jacobs after the game. "Obviously Kelly is an outstanding goaltender, but you know what? We're confident with how Katie's played and same with [fellow backup Peyton Parker] so… I think the team's going to respond to the goaltenders."
Brock came charging out of the gate with purpose, pressuring Western early to make sure they couldn't get on their game. That strategy worked for at least the first five minutes, before the Mustangs finally got momentum on their side and started controlling play. Stacey Scott would capitalize on that momentum just over 12 minutes into the first period, sending a nice wrester over the shoulder of Brock's Emily Kelly to open the scoring for Western.
The Badgers first goal would also come on a nice shot, with Peirson sending a wrist-shot of her own into the top shelf just under seven minutes into the second frame. The goal—Peirson's first of her OUA career— was the culmination of some strong Brock play to begin the second period.
Western would regain control and get back on their feet for the second half of the second frame, although the shots would end up being 9-5 in Brock's favour. The Mustangs carried that momentum into the third, keeping up the pressure despite their inability to beat Kelly. Jacobs still had to be strong though, highlighted by a nice save just over 12 minutes into the frame that saw her locate a bouncing puck through traffic to keep it out of the net.
In overtime, the two teams traded chances until Kidd was able to drive in the final nail on the power play just over three minutes into the frame. The Badgers' Kelly was absolutely stellar once again, saving seven shots in the extra frame alone to cap off what turned out to be her best performance of the year.
"In the overtime I thought we controlled the play," said Edwards. "We got the puck back to the points and we got decent shots on the goal, which resulted in a goal— just mucking in front of the net, old-time hockey so to speak."
Guelph 4 @ Windsor 3 (SO)
For the second straight game, the Lancer women's hockey game was decided in a shoot-out. However, unlike last week's result, Windsor was unable to capitalize on their scoring opportunities and fell 4-3 to the Guelph Gryphons on Friday night at South Windsor Arena.
With the loss, the Lancers are now 7-2-2 heading into Saturday's game against the Brock Badgers. The puck is set to drop at 7:30pm at South Windsor Arena and can be seen live at www.oua.tv.
Guelph was sent to the power play early in the first period and capitalized on the opportunity as Noreen Averi put one past Windsor goaltender Marissa Kozovski. The Lancers fought back and Candace Kourounis placed one over the shoulder of Guelph goaltender Stephanie Nehring to tie the score at 1-1 heading into the second period.
Midway through the middle frame Natalie Barrette fired a shot from the point that got through the traffic in front of the net and into the back of the net, putting the Lancers up 2-1 going into the third.
Windsor built a two goal lead as Erinn Noseworthy scored on the power play five minutes into the third period, with assists from Jenny MacKnight and Natalie Barrette.
From there, the Gryphons stormed back and scored a pair of goals from Leigh Shilton and Kaitlin Lowy to tie the game at three with just under eight minutes remaining in regulation.
Both the Lancers and Gryphons had many chances in overtime but the defense on both sides was strong and forced a shootout.
In the shootout, Guelph's third shooter Jessica Penkerton beat Kozovski to score the only goal in the shootout and take the win.
Kozovski finished with 24 saves while Guelph's Nehring had 32 saves in the win. Offensively, Windsor was led by Barrette with a goal and two assists.
Nipissing 6 @ Ryerson 3
TORONTO – The Ryerson Rams women's hockey team started slow and could not rebound against the Nipissing Lakers on Friday, losing 6-3 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
"It looked like we were the team who spent five hours on the bus," said Ryerson head coach Lisa Haley following the loss.
Not only was the game a loss on the score sheet, but Ryerson's captain Jessica Hartwick (Brampton, Ont.) was forced to leave the game after a slash to her forearm from Lakers Brooklyn Irwin in the third period. Hartwick did not return to the ice.
Nipissing (6-4-1) held Ryerson (5-6-0) in their own zone for most of the first period. There were not many whistles, but this did not prove helpful for the Rams, who struggled against a Lakers team looking to add a fourth win to their streak.
The Lakers Sam Strassburger and Kaley Tienhaara combined for two goals and two assists in the first, followed by a one-timer from Bronwyn Bolduc to make it 3-0 going into the second.
Strassbuger would add another, following a goal from Carly Marchment that stunned Rams goalie Alex Armstrong (Toronto), and ultimately sent her to the bench to be replaced by Ally Sarna (Whitby, Ont.) in the third period.
Facing a 5-0 deficit, the Rams came out looking for answers in the third. Chloe Richardson (Calgary, Alta.) was the first to get the puck past Lakers goalie Sabrina Picard. A determined Claire Sabine (Woodstock, Ont.) would shovel the puck in two minutes later, and Kayla Karbonik (St. Andrews, Man.) would later add another on the powerplay.
"We tried to salvage a little bit of pride in the third but it wasn't enough," said Haley. "You'll see a different team tomorrow."
Laurentian 1 @ Toronto 4
Third-year forward Kristi Riseley scored with 3:37 to go in the game to lead the University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's hockey team to a 2-1 win over the Laurentian Voyageurs on Friday night (Nov. 21) at Varsity Arena.
With the win, the Blues improve to 6-3-1, while the Voyageurs drop to 1-7-3 on the season.
A native of Pickering, Ont., Riseley's goal marked her 12th point in 10 games.
The Blues opened the scoring late in the first period with a powerplay marker off the stick of sophomore forward Katherine Gale.
The Voyageurs evened the score with a powerplay goal of their own as Amanda Pereira found the back of the net with 3:28 to go in the second period.
Fifth-year Blues netminder Nicole Kesteris posted 19 saves in the win.
Saturday, November 23
Laurentian 2 @ Ryerson 4
TORONTO - As promised by head coach Lisa Haley, the Ryerson Rams (6-6-0) were a very different hockey team Saturday against the Laurentian Voyageurs (1-8-3). Coming off a loss against Nipissing on Friday, redemption for the women's team came in the form of a 4-2 win against the Voyageurs.
Emma Rutherford (Kanata, Ont.), a first-year Ram, coming off a two year stint in the NCAA, scored the Rams first-ever hat trick.
"It's what we needed today, especially after yesterday's game," said Rutherford, clutching her 'player-of-the-game' helmet.
Despite a strong entrance by the Rams, Voyageur Jessica Staats was able to jam in a rebound past Ally Sarna (Whitby, Ont.) midway through the first period.
But Staats' goal would soon be forgotten after Rutherford banged in her first two past Voyager goalie Emily Toffoli in the second, giving Ryerson their first lead in three games.
The Voyageurs didn't put a shot on Sarna until the midway point of the second.
Later in the frame, Claire Sabine (Woodstock, Ont.) scored shorthanded off a perfect pass from Blair Malthaner (Toronto) and Rutherford would add her seventh of the season on the powerplay with just three seconds to go in the period.
"That's the team I know and expect to show up every game," said Haley. "We needed some [players] to step to the forefront and [Rutherford] certainly did that today."
The victory was the Rams sixth of the season which sets a new team mark for most wins in a season.
Staats would add another goal in the third, but with a final shot count at 34-18 in favour of the Rams, Laurentian couldn't solve Ryerson's unwavering play.
UOIT 0 @ Waterloo 6
In each one of her three previous wins, Waterloo Warriors netminder Stephanie Sluys (Clinton) had to be perfect to pull her team to victory. So when the Warriors offense erupted on Saturday afternoon, she did the only suitable thing.
She was perfect again.
Sluys made 18 stops for her third consecutive shutout, Rachel Marriott (Waterloo) registered three points, and the Warriors scored three power play goals to cruise to a 6-0 victory over the UOIT Ridgebacks on Saturday Afternoon at the Columbia Icefield Arena.
In addition to Marriott's goal and two helpers, three other Warriors – Angela MacDonald (Kitchener), Marissa Redmond (Ajax), and Carolyn Burke (Mississauga) – each notched a goal and an assist in the victory. The win is Waterloo's third in a row, improving their record to 4-5-3 on the season.
Sluys, the reigning OUA and CIS female athlete of the week, extended her shutout streak to 186:16 and improved her dazzling save percentage to .949 for the year. Tori Campbell made 19 saves for the Ridgebacks, who saw their record fall to 5-5-1.
Redmond scored the only goal of an evenly-matched first period, and Marriott extended the lead to 2-0 with an unassisted marker less than two minutes into the second. The turning point came midway through the middle frame, when the Ridgebacks took a pair of penalties that put the game out of reach.
With UOIT's Victoria MacKenzie in the box, Stephanie Digness (Aldergrove) struck on the power play to make it 3-0 for Waterloo. Just seconds later, Ridgeback Samantha Forchielli took a five-minute major head checking penalty, and the Warriors power play made the visitors pay.
Waterloo got power play goals from MacDonald and Burke in the five-minute advantage, and just like that, special teams had turned a 2-0 game into a 5-0 blowout. Rebecca Rutherford (Ajax) rounded out the scoring for the Warriors in the third, and Sluys shut the door the rest of the way.
Guelph 1 @ Western 4
LONDON, Ont. – Two of the best goalies in the OUA faced off against each other on Saturday night when the Guelph Gryphons rolled into town. But it would be Western's Kelly Campbell that would lead the Mustangs to a 4-1 win on their home ice at Thompson Arena.
In the team's September 4th meeting before the regular season had even started, Mustangs head coach Chris Higgins said, "win nationals and beat Guelph" when asked about his goals.
"This is [the] first time in our history that we've beaten this team," continued Higgins, "and now we've accomplished one of [our goals]."
Saturday night's victory extends the purple and white winning streak to 11 consecutive games and allows the Mustangs to maintain their hold atop the OUA standings with a 11-0-1 record. The loss for the Gryphons moves the team to a 7-2-2 record, good for third in the OUA.
Despite the results on the scoreboard in Saturday night's action, the game was evenly matched with the Gryphons playing aggressively throughout the entire three periods to prove that they can contend with the number one team in the league.
With just under six minutes into the play Gryphons Marcie Landman took possession of the puck deep in Mustang territory, flipping it into the top right corner of Campbell's net to take an early one-point lead.
The Gryphons advantage did not last long however, as the Mustangs leading scorer Kendra Broad responded by picking up the puck at center ice and taking it all the way in on Stephanie Nehring to even out the scoreboard with an impressive backhanded goal.
But Broad didn't stop there, just three minutes later she followed it up with another charge down the ice, out-skating Guelph defenders before finding the back of Nehring's net to give the Mustangs a one goal advantage heading into the first intermission.
In the second frame Broad continued to post impressive performances on the ice as the Petrolia, Ont., native fired off a shot from just inside of the Gryphon's blue line. Nehring stopped the shot but was unable to control the rebound andStacey Scott capitalized on the opportunity by tapping the puck into Nehring's net to extend the Mustangs lead 3-1.
The Gryphons applied heavy offensive pressure in the Mustangs end of the ice in an attempt to cut the Western advantage. It looked like the Gryphons pressure would have paid off if it hadn't been for the post that stopped Kaitlyn Mora's shot from making it past Campbell midway through the period.
But it wasn't just a lucky post that kept the Gryphons from cutting the purple and white lead, it was Campbell herself who saved 29 shots throughout the action. Not only did the St. Thomas, Ont., native defend against a high-powered offensive attack by the Gryphons in the third period, but she single-handedly protected the Western advantage after blocking a Gryphon penalty shot six and a half minutes into the period.
With a little more than five minutes left in the contest, the Gryphons pulled Nehring from the net in hopes of finding the Mustangs week spot with a six player offensive assault. However, the strategic move was of no avail for the Gryphons and she was swiftly put back between the posts for a Mustangs power play.
As the third period wound down with just 1:58 left in the action, Brianna Iazzolino secured the purple and white victory as she put the puck past Nehring and finish the game off 4-1.
As of last week, Guelph goaltender Stephanie Nehring had been leading the OUA in both the save percentage and goals against average categories. Despite the statistics, Campbell proved that she is the best of the best, as her efforts between the posts in Saturday's match-up largely contributed the Mustang's 4-1 win over the Gryphons.
"We have no doubt that our goalie is the best in Canada, she makes the saves when you have to." states Higgins on Campbell's outstanding performances throughout the season.
Queen's 5 @ Laurier 4 (OT)
WATERLOO, ONT., - The No. 8 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks women's hockey team suffered a 5-4 loss in overtime to the No. 5 Queen's Gaels Saturday night at the Waterloo Recreation Complex.
In a rematch of last year's OUA Championship series, the Hawks forced the games into overtime thanks to Robyn Degagne of North Bay, Ont., who scored one of three powerplay goals Laurier had on the night with less than six minutes left in the game.
In the overtime period, Addi Halladay of North Augusta, Ont., scored the game winner off the powerplay to give the Gaels their third consecutive victory.
Captain and team leading scorer Laura Brooker of Fergus, Ont., and center Jessie Hurrell of Palgrave, Ont., each had a goal and an assist on the game to lead the Golden Hawks' offence.
On the other side of the ice, Queen's players Shawna Griffin of Redwood Meadows, Alta., Clare McKellar of London, Ont., and Jessica Wakefield of Lucan, Ont., led the charge for their team, each recording two points on the night.
Nicholle Kovach of Schomberg, Ont., suffered the loss as she made 34 saves, while Caitlyn Lahonen of Sharon, Ont., picked up the win stopping 23 of the 27 shots she saw.
With the single point the Golden Hawks record improves to 6-3-2 and now sit in sixth in the conference.
Brock 1 @ Windsor 6
Led by a Jenny MacKnight hat trick, the Lancer women's hockey team dominated the Brock Badgers 6-1 in their final home game before the holiday break on Saturday night at South Windsor Arena. .
With the win, Windsor moves to 8-2-2 on the season while the Badgers are still looking for their first win of the year with a 0-8-3 record.
Windsor came out hard to start the game and just less than two minutes in Krystin Lawrence received a beautiful pass from Candace Kourounis to put the Lancers up 1-0.
Windsor continued to dominate the play in the first period and at 9:47 Erinn Noseworthy put one past Brock goaltender Emily Kelly, with Jenny MacKnight picking up the assist. In the same shift, only 16 seconds later, MacKnight scored with assists from linemates Noseworthy and Bree Polci to put the Lancers up 3-0 going into the 2nd period.
With this goal, MacKnight reached an impressive CIS career milestone registering her 100th point throughout her five years as a Windsor Lancer.
The Lancers continued to dominate the play in the second period. Just 1:12 into the period MacKnight notched her second of the night, again assisted by Noseworthy and Polci.
Kourounis added another goal as she slipped one through the legs of the Badgers goaltender, extending Windsor's lead to five. Just before the end of the second period, MacKnight scored her third goal of the night in an exceptional performance putting the Lancers up 6-0.
Brock had a few chances in the third period, and Windsor goaltender Ingrid Sandven turned away all but one as Brock's Jessica Fickel scored with 30 seconds remaining, stealing the shutout from Sandven.
The Lancers outshot the Badgers 42-14 in a dominating win.
Nipissing 1 @ Toronto 0 (SO)
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's hockey team dropped a 1-0 shootout decision to the Nipissing Lakers on Saturday, November 22 at Varsity Arena.
With the loss, the Blues drop to 6-3-2 and sit tied with Laurier for sixth place in the OUA standings. Nipissing wins their fifth straight and are 7-4-1 in fifth.
First-year Lakers forward Bronwyn Bolduc of Thunder Bay, Ont., scored the lone goal in the shootout to seal the Nipissing victory.
Blues netminder Nicole Kesteris made 35 saves in the loss.
Sunday, November 23
Queen's 1 @ Waterloo 2
WATERLOO, Ont. - Taryn Pilon(Peterborough, Ont.) scored the lone goal for the Gaels as the women's hockey team was defeated 2-1 versus the Waterloo Warriors Sunday afternoon on the road.
Siobhan Hewitt-Kenda opened the scoring for the Warriors just over three minutes into the game. The Gaels evened the score in the second period on a goal from Pilon. Addi Halladay (North Augusta, Ont.) and Micaela Smith (Cobourg, Ont.) were credited with the assists on Pilon's seventh of the season. Waterloo's Marissa Redmond netted the game winning goal in the final frame as the Warriors held on for the 2-1 victory.
Final shots for the game totalled 28-25 in favour of Queen's. Stephanie Pascal (Sudbury, Ont.) started in net for the Gaels, suffering the 23-save loss, while Stephanie Sluys of the Warriors earned the 27-save victory.
UOIT 1 @ Laurier 5
WATERLOO, Ont. (November 23, 2014) - Heather Platt of Toronto, scored a pair of goals, including to the game-winner, to lead the No. 8 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks women's hockey team to a 5-1 win over the UOIT Ridgebacks on Sunday night.
The second year forward scored her first of the contest 12:19 into the first period, a marker that would eventually stand up as the deciding goal between the Hawks and Ridgebacks. She followed that up with a powerplay tally late in the second period, her fourth of the season, for the first multi-goal game of her career.
Co-captain Laura Brooker of Fergus, Ont., also had a big night for the purple and gold as she scored a pair of goals and assisted on another for a three-point night. Her performance gave her five points for the weekend, vaulting her into a tie for second place in league scoring with eight goals and seven assists in 12 games.
Dollee Meigs of Owen Sound, Ont., added Laurier's other goal, her third of the season while Chelsea Ball of Maple, Ont., scored the lone tally for the Ridgebacks.
A night after losing a hard-fought 5-4 game in overtime to the No. 5 Queen's Gaels, the Hawks were looking for a quick start and they got it thanks to Brooker. Just five minutes into the game, she scored her seventh goal of the year shorthanded to give Laurier a 1-0 lead.
Before the period was out, Platt would extend the Hawks' lead to 2-0 with her third of the season and despite the Ridgebacks outshooting Laurier 8-7 in the opening 20 minutes, the Hawks took a two-goal lead into the second.
In the middle stanza, the Ridgebacks pushed to get back into the game as they fired nine shots on Hawks starting netminder Amanda Smith of Burlington, Ont. However, Smith was there each time to keep UOIT off the board.
Late in the period, Platt would strike again, this time on the powerplay to make it 3-0 for Laurier. But less than a minute later, Ball finally found a way past Smith to pull the Ridgebacks to within two heading into the third.
The final frame belonged to Brooker though as she first set up Meigs just over seven and a half minutes into the period. Then, late in the contest, she scored her eighth of the season, helping her reach two milestones in the process. The goal gives her 70 in her career, just the second Golden Hawk to reach the mark, as well as 122 points in the purple and gold, tying her for second all-time on Laurier's career scoring list. She joins Andrea Ironside who had 122 points between 2005 and 2010 but accomplishes the feat in 13 fewer games as Ironside had 122 in 128 games while Brooker has played 115 games at Laurier.
In goal, Smith would earn the win, her fifth of the season, as she made 18 saves. Cassie Charette of Ottawa, took the loss, stopping 15 shots.
The win extends Laurier's all-time record against UOIT to a perfect 22-0-0, including playoffs. It also marks the 18th time they've held the Ridgebacks to one goal or less.