W-HOCKEY WEEKEND ROUNDUP: No. 6 Gryphons shut out Lancers in "Fight for Kevin" game
In a matchup of the two top teams in OUA women's hockey, it would be the No. 3 Western Mustangs who would come out on top of a 3-1 score against the No. 6 Guelph Gryphons on Saturday afternoon at the Gryphon Centre. The Gryphons led 1-0 after 40 minutes of play, but three goals in the final period would allow the Mustangs to improve to 17-1-3 while the Gryphons fall to 15-3-3.
Windsor 0 @ Guelph 3 (Sunday)
Sunday afternoon at the Gryphon Centre, the Gryphons women's hockey team won 3-0 over the Windsor Lancers in the 2nd Annual "Fight For Kevin" game. It also marked the final home game of the Gryphons regular season schedule. With the win, the Gryphons improve to 16-3-3 while the Lancers fall to 13-5-4. Averi Nooren (Aylerm, ON) scored twice while Stephanie Nehring (Oshawa, ON) recorded her fourth shutout of the season by turning away all 29 shots sent her way.
The opening period was a free-flowing affair with just one whistle being blown in the opening 10 minutes. Gryphons All-Star goalie Stephanie Nehring (Oshawa, ON) was called upon several times and stood tall to keep the game scoreless. With two minutes remaining the Gryphons would catch their break, as Averi Nooren (Aylmer, ON) would score her seventh goal of the year to give Guelph a 1-0 lead heading to the second period.
Saturday, February 7
Western 3 @ Guelph 1
In a matchup of the two top teams in OUA women's hockey, it would be the No. 3 Western Mustangs who would come out on top of a 3-1 score against the No. 6 Guelph Gryphons on Saturday afternoon at the Gryphon Centre. The Gryphons led 1-0 after 40 minutes of play, but three goals in the final period would allow the Mustangs to improve to 17-1-3 while the Gryphons fall to 15-3-3.
In the opening ten minutes of the game, chances were few and far between as the top two teams in the conference were getting a feel for the flow of the game and their opponent. A penalty taken by Western's Megan Taylor would allow Guelph to record the first shot of the game seven minutes into the period. The Gryphons would add four more shots on net during the power play but were unable to find the back of the net as Western goalie Kelly Campbell (St.Thomas, ON) stood tall. With seven minutes remaining in the period, converted winger Leigh Shilton (Belleville, ON) would break the dead lock with her fifth goal of the season on a great individual effort. In what was a one-on-three single-man rush, Shilton was still able to get off a shot that would fool Campbell and give the Gryphons a 1-0 lead. With four minutes remaining in the opening period, the Mustangs would get a great chance to tie the game on the power play. After some nice passing from the Mustangs, it appeared the game was going to be knotted at 1-1, but Gryphon goalie Steph Nehring (Oshawa, ON) would make a huge save, going post-to-post to keep Guelph's 1-0 lead intact heading to the second period.
In the second period, the Gryphons had several chances to extend their lead, but finding a way past Western goalie Kelly Campbell would prove to be a difficult task, as it usual is for OUA opponents. Six minutes into the period, Katie Mora (Guelph, ON) found herself with the puck in the slot and ripped a shot, but Campbell was able to get down and get a blocker on it to steer it to the corner. With eight minutes to go, the Gryphons would get another couple of chances, as Kelly Gribbons (Port Elgin, ON) would shoot twice from the slot but was denied both times. Campbell would keep the Mustangs in the game, as she made several big saves while the Gryphons pressured Western's defence. When the horn sounded after 40 minutes of play, the Gryphons had out-shot the Mustangs 26-10, but still just had a 1-0 lead to show for it.
Four and half minutes into the final period, the Mustangs would finally get to Nehring as a shot from the point by Anthea Lasis (Toronto, ON) would squeak by the screened Gryphons netminder to tie the game at 1-1. Moments later Rebecca Daniel (Vaughan, ON) would take a boarding penalty sending the Mustangs to the power play. They would make quick work of their opportunity, as Kendra Broad (Petrolia, ON) would give Western the lead with their second goal in less than three minutes. With under 10 minutes remaining in the game, the Mustangs would strike for a third time. A beautiful saucer pass by Kendra Broad on a two-on-one found the stick of Ali Beres (Lion's Bay, BC) who would increase the Mustangs lead to 3-1.
The Gryphons out-shot the Mustangs 32-17 on the day but suffer just their third regulation loss of the season. The Gryphons will not have any time to dwell on the loss as they are back in action in less than 24 hours. The Gryphs will play in their final home regular season home game of the 2014-2015 season schedule on Sunday afternoon at 2pm versus the Windsor Lancers (13-4-4). That game also marks the 2ndAnnual "Fight For Kevin" Charity Game played in honour of Gryphon alum Brooke Siddall's late brother Kevin.
Note: Prior to the game, the Gryphons honoured a pair of seniors in Captain Katie Mora and fourth year defenceman Gina Murray.
Windsor 2 @ Brock 1
The Brock Badgers women's hockey team (1-16-4 OUA) were seconds away from picking up a point in a 2-1 loss to the Windsor Lancers (13-4-4) Saturday afternoon at the Seymour-Hannah Centre.
After a scoreless first period, Candace Kourounis opened the scoring for the Lancers 11:43 into the middle stanza. Brock would then tie things just under 90 seconds into the third when Ryde Isle of Wright, United Kingdom native Sophie Herbert scored her second goal of the season.
However, with just 1:36 left in regulation time Erinn Noseworthy would find the back of the net for what turned out to be the game-winning goal.
Stephanie Loukes was very strong between the pipes for the Badgers making 41 saves. Marissa Kozovski turned aside 16 shots for Windsor.
Brock finished the game 0-for-1 on the powerplay, while the Lancers were 0-for-2.
Laurier 1 @ Queen's 3
The No.4 women's hockey team extended their winning streak to three games after defeating the Laurier Golden Hawks 3-1 Saturday afternoon at the Memorial Centre.
The Gaels struck first in the opening frame on a powerplay tally fromTaryn Pilon (Peterborough, Ont). Addi Halladay (North Augusta, Ont.) took the initial shot that lead to Pilon depositing the rebound. The Golden Hawks responded immediately in the following minute to knot the score on a goal from Jessie Hurrell.
Queen's regained their lead at the 4:19 mark of the middle period as Pilon deposited a rebound to collect her second of the afternoon.Courtenay Jacklin (Regina) and Danielle Bishoff (Calgary) were credited with the assists. Pilon was able to control the puck along the boards and prevent Laurier from clearing before she found her defence. She then headed to the net and was able to tap in the easy rebound.
Both squads continued their intense play in the final frame with each team refusing to give up an inch of the ice. The Golden Hawks generated numerous scoring opportunities but could not solve Gaels goaltender Caitlyn Lahonen(Sharon, Ont.). Shawna Griffin (Redwood Meadows, Alta.) added the empty-netter as the Gaels went on to earn the 3-1 victory.
Final shots for the afternoon totalled 34 to 21 in favour of Queen's. Lahonen was credited with the 20 save victory while Laurier's Nicholle Kovach suffered the 31 save loss.
The win marked the first time Queen's has beaten Laurier at the Memorial Centre since February 2011 when Queen's defeated Laurier 2-1 in overtime to advance to the OUA Championship which they would eventually win.
Queen's honoured their graduating athletes prior to puck drop. Four players received recognition as Griffin, Verbeek, Coughlin and Lester received a special momento.
Ryerson 5 @ Laurentian 1
It wasn't the first time the Rams (12-9-1) pulled off a win against Laurentian (3-13-5), but this time, more was at stake.
Ryerson's 5-1 victory against the Voyageurs moves the Rams two points up on York in seventh place in the standings. The top eight teams will qualify for the OUA playoffs.
Rams captain Jessica Hartwick (Brampton, Ont.) was first to net a shot from the point, giving Ryerson the all-important lead in the first frame. In the second,Michelle Evagelou (Scarborough, Ont.) put away her second of the season past Voyageurs goalie Laura Deller.
The Rams put the game out of reach in the final frame. Kayla Karbonik (St. Andrews, Man.) and Melissa Wronzberg (Thornhill, Ont.) added goals within a minute of each other, giving Ryerson the four goal lead.
With five minutes left, Hartwick grabbed her second of the game for good measure.
With less than one minute left in the game, Laurentian's Nicole Vigilanti would get the Voyageur's only goal past Alex Armstrong (Toronto).
Just shy of the shutout, Armstrong stopped 35 of 36 shots on net. The Rams were 2-for-5 on the powerplay.
Toronto 0 @ Nipissing 1
If there was ever a time when the Nipissing Lakers women's hockey team had to come up with a big effort and steal two points, Saturday night was it.
The Lakers were entertaining the third place team in the OUA, needing points to qualify for the playoffs and they came up big.
Carly Marchment scored the lone goal of the game and Jackie Rochefort made 19 big saves to give the Lakers a 1-0 win and earn a massive two points as they close in on the playoff picture.
Marchment's goal came in the second period and was the lone goal of the game.
The Lakers penalty kill was a perfect 8-for-8 and despite being outshot 19-13, they came away with the win, setting up an even bigger game Sunday night against Ryerson.
Currently, the Lakers sit two points back of the final playoff spot, but have games in hand, meaning they'll need to pick up wins in those game to close the gap.
Waterloo 3 @ UOIT 2 (SO)
Marissa Redmond's goal in the opening round of the shootout was enough to lift the Waterloo Warriors to a 3-2 victory over UOIT on Saturday night in OUA women's hockey action.
Redmond was able to beat UOIT goaltender Tori Campbell (Saskatoon, Sask.) to move Waterloo (10-8-4) into the final playoff spot for the time being, one point ahead of the York Lions (10-9-3).
Stephanie Sluys, who was coming off her worst outing of the season one week ago, shut the door on all three UOIT shooters, to earn eighth win of the year.
UOIT (6-13-2), who is looking to play spoiler in the final two weeks of the regular season, picked up a point for only the second time in their last 13 games.
The teams traded goals in the opening frame, which included Sam Forchielli's (Hamilton, Ont.) solo effort as she cut in front of the net and slid one past Sluys for her fourth of the year. Carolyn Burke of Waterloo scored on the power play late in the period to level the score.
Waterloo would take their first lead of the game 6:37 into the second period, after Angela MacDonald notched her seventh goal.
In the third, Forchielli made her way back on the scoresheet, this time setting up defender Laura Marchese (Burlington, Ont.) who scored her first goal since the season opener. Nicole LoPresti (Hamilton, Ont.) added a second assist on the game-tying goal.
The Ridgebacks had a great chance to finish the game in overtime as they had one of their three power play opportunities, but time eventually ran out as the game headed to a shootout.
UOIT's penalty killing unit was a big reason why the game was forced into overtime, as the Ridgebacks fought off seven of eight Waterloo power play opportunities. UOIT was 0-for-3 with the man advantage.
Shots finished 38-31 in favour of the Warriors, as Campbell made 36 stops in the losing effort.
Sunday, February 8
Toronto 7 @ Laurentian 2
Third-year forward Kristi Riseley notched her first career hat trick and veteran forward Amanda Ricker recorded a career-high five points in leading the No. 10 University of Toronto Varsity Blues to a 7-2 victory over the Laurentian Voyageurs on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 7) in Sudbury, Ont.
With the win, the Blues improve to 16-4-3 and remain in second place in the OUA standings. The victory also solidifies home-ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs, which begin two weeks from now (Feb. 18-22).
Ricker opened the scoring 14:39 into the game, but the Voyageurs answered right back with a goal off the stick of Marissa Ukos. Veteran forward Sonja Weidenfelder then scored on the powerplay to give the Blues a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes.
The Blues scored three second-period goals, two on the man advantage, with Riseley netting the eventual game-winner 6:47 into the frame. Sophomore defenceman Rebecca Bourgeois scored on the powerplay and April Looije added another and the Blues took a 5-2 lead into the final frame.
Riseley scored two in the third period, both set up by Ricker, to complete the hat trick performance.
Second-year Blues goalie Katey Teekasingh made 12 saves in the victory.
The Varsity Blues wrap up their regular season schedule next Friday, February 13 as they host the York Lions at Varsity Arena. The Blues will honour their graduating seniors in a special pre-game ceremony before the puck drops at 7:30 p.m.
The Brock Badgers women's hockey team (1-17-4 OUA) closed out the home portion of their 2014-15 schedule with a 2-1 loss to the first place Western Mustangs (18-1-3 OUA) Sunday afternoon at the Seymour-Hannah Centre.
The game was also dubbed Senior Day as the Badgers honoured their graduating players.
All three goals in the contest were scored in the second period.
Western opened a 2-0 lead on goals from Tia Kipfer and Kendra Broad. Christina Ieradi would put Brock on the board at the 18:33 mark of the middle stanza to close out the scoring.
Emily Kelly made 36 saves for the Badgers in the loss, while Payton Parker picked up the win.
Brock closes out its season next weekend with road games at Nipissing on Saturday and Laurentian on Sunday.
The No.4 women's hockey team could not find the back of the net as they were shutout 2-0 by the Waterloo Warriors Sunday afternoon at the Memorial Centre.
The Warriors collected the eventual game-winner at the 14:05 mark of the opening frame as Marissa Redmond registered the tally. Waterloo added the empty-netter in the final minute of play to close out the 2-0 victory.
Final shots for the afternoon totalled 26 to 13 in favour of Queen's.Caitlyn Lahonen (Sharon, Ont.) started in net for the Gaels, suffering the 12 save loss while Waterloo's Stephanie Sluys earned the 26 save shutout.
Queen's currently holds the fourth place position in the OUA division with two games remaining on their schedule.
The No.4 Gaels (15-4-3) return to action Friday night when they travel to London, Ontario to battle the No.3 Western Mustangs (16-1-3).
The members of the UOIT women's hockey program can finally relax knowing that they will never have to talk about their winless streak against the Laurier Golden Hawks again. After eight seasons and 22 losses, the Ridgebacks ended up breaking up the streak with a 2-1 victory at the Campus Ice Centre on Sunday afternoon.
It has been a down season for the Ridgebacks, one that saw the team drop nine consecutive games that eliminated them from playoff contention for the first time in three years. But Sunday's win over Laurier will give the young squad confidence heading into the offseason which begins after a western road trip next week.
Shaylyn Pavlisko of Oshawa picked a great time to score her second goal of the season, beating Nicholle Kovach with just under four minutes to go in the game. With Kovach pulled in the final minute of play, the Ridgebacks defence was able to shut down the Golden Hawks attack and walk away with the one-goal victory.
UOIT (7-13-2) did a great job of playing spoiler, preventing the Golden Hawks (12-7-4) from clinching a playoff spot.
Jenna Carter (Whitby, Ont.) also set a milestone as she recorded her first goal in OUA conference action. The stay at home defender scored midway through the first period, with Mariah Wilson (Cobourg, Ont.) and Victoria MacKenzie(Toronto, Ont.) earning assists on the play.
Heather Platt was the lone goal scorer for Laurier, picking up her sixth goal of the season late in the second period.
Shots would end up level at 24 apiece, with goaltender Cassie Charette of Ottawa making 23 stops for her first win since Oct. 25th.
Both teams would struggle with the man-advantage as UOIT was 0-for-4 while Laurier went 0-for-2.
UOIT will look to extend their point-streak to three games next Friday night when they travel to Windsor to take on the Lancers (13-5-4). The Ridgebacks will close out their season on the following day in London, meeting up with the No. 3 CIS ranked Western Mustangs (17-1-3).
It's pretty tough to call any game perfect, as there's always ways team can improve, but Sunday night's win by the Nipissing Lakers women's hockey team is just about as close to perfect as you can get.
The Lakers dominated the visiting Ryerson Rams; they out-skated them, played excellent defence, used their speed and creativity very well, out-shot them and most importantly, out-scored them.
The Lakers recorded their second straight shutout and third of the season, as they blanked the Rams 3-0 to move into a playoff spot for the time being.
The Lakers have now won three straight games and are hot at the right time of the season.
Coming off a shutout victory over Toronto Saturday night, the Lakers posted another goose-egg, but maybe more impressively only allowed eight shots.
Jackie Rochefort has now recorded the first ever back-to-back shutouts in the program's history, as she made a total of 27 saves on the weekend.
Nipissing scored a goal in each period – Alexane Papineau, who was outstanding all night, scored what would be the game-winner as she walked out of the corner and shovelled a backhand into the net.
Lakers captain Carly Marchment would scored her second of the weekend as she finished off a solid shift by putting the puck to the back of the net early in the second period.
In the third, Taylor Murphy would capitalize on a power play, as she tapped home a centering pass by Marchment to make it 3-0.
Papineau would pick up the other assist, giving her and Marchment a goal and an assist on the night.
Both teams played very physical, but that didn't slow down the Lakers, who fired22 shots towards the Rams net, forcing them to change goalies after the second goal.
With just two games left on the schedule, the Lakers can't afford to sit back, but they are in a favourable position to advance to the post-season.
They control their own fate by having games in hand on the teams ahead of them, so if they take care of business, they'll qualify for the playoffs in just their second year.
Next weekend, the Lakers host the Brock Badgers Friday night at 5 p.m. and the Guelph Gryphons Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.
Both games are at Memorial Gardens.