AROUND OUA: Gaels pick up big road win against the rival Golden Hawks
WATERLOO, Ont. (February 20, 2015) - With the OUA playoffs just around the corner and still much to be determined on where the standings will shuffle out the Gaels (12-2-7-2) picked up a big 4-1 win at Laurier (10-3-9-2) and more importantly three points in the standings.
SCOREBOARD
Gaels pick up big road win against the rival Golden Hawks
WATERLOO, Ont. (February 20, 2015) - With the OUA playoffs just around the corner and still much to be determined on where the standings will shuffle out the Gaels (12-2-7-2) picked up a big 4-1 win at Laurier (10-3-9-2) and more importantly three points in the standings.
The Gaels now sit just two points behind Nipissing for fourth in the OUA and have ensured themselves of an opening round matchup with the Lakers. Should the Gaels defeat Brock in regulation or overtime Queen's would finish fourth and claim home ice advantage. If Brock beats Queen's in any capacity the Gaels will be the road team in their opening series.
GAME FLOW
The Gaels got themselves an early lead just 7:31 into the opening frame against their rivals the Laurier Golden Hawks as Megan Farrell (Barrie, Ont.) was able to sneak a puck past Golden Hawk starter Amanda Smith. Clare McKellar (London, Ont.) tallied the lone assist on the opening goal. The Gaels fired a total of nine shots at Smith in the opening period and were unable to take advantage of their lone power play chance but held a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
In the second the home side kicked up the pressure and got to Gaels starter Caitlyn Lahonen (Saskatoon, Sask.) early in the frame. Just 1:41 into the period Jessica Prevette recorded her sixth goal of the season to even the score at 1-1. Jessica Hurrell picked up her second penalty of the game and the Gaels took advantage. In the late stages of the Gaels power play rookie sensation Katrina Manoukarakis (Scarborough, Ont.) notched her 15th goal of the season and her ninth power play goal on the year to restore the Gaels lead.
The Gaels killed off a four minute Laurier power play chance and headed to the dressing room with a one goal lead.
Queen`s found themselves in more penalty trouble early in the second but the Gaels penalty kill unit was able to stave off a pair of tripping calls in the first 10 minutes. Hurrell made her third visit to the box for the Golden Hawks and Queen`s made her pay as Courtenay Jacklin (Regina) scored her fifth of the year to make it 3-1 Gaels. Jacklin recorded another for good measure into an empty net and the Gaels skated away with a 4-1 win.
Lahonen stopped 29 of the 30 shots she faced to pick up her 14th win on the season.
BY THE NUMBERS
2nd - Manoukarakis has 15 goals which is 2nd in the OUA
1st - In power play goals for Manoukarakis in the OUA with 9, five more than any other player
601 - Saves by Lahonen on the year, most in the OUA
114 - Career points for Taryn Pilon who had two assists. She sits in sixth on the Gaels all-time list, just three points behind Becky Conroy for fifth
UP NEXT
Queen's travels to St. Catharines to take on the Brock Badgers tomorrow afternoon at 2:15pm to close out their regular season play.
Source: Queen's Gaels
The Warriors took care of business on Saturday afternoon at the CIF arena, topping the visiting Ryerson Rams 2-1 to wrap up their regular season on a winning note.
With the win Waterloo finishes the regular season with a 14-9-1 record and 41 points which currently has them sitting in fifth place in the OUA. Queen's still has two games remaining and is just two points behind the Warriors who will finish either fifth or sixth. Waterloo will play one of Western or Nipissing in the first round of the playoffs depending on results to come tonight and tomorrow afternoon.
In the game itself it was Alison Hanson (Toronto) and Paula LaGamba (Toronto) who provided the offence. Hanson snipped a nice wrister after a beautiful setup by Amy Barnard (Cambridge) to put the Warriors ahead after 20 minutes. LaGamba made it a 2-0 game late in the second period following a nice bounce pass of the boards by captain Kaitlyn McDonell (Kincardine), who played in her final regular season game donning the black and gold. LaGamba took the pass and made a nice move to get herself on a partial breakaway and finished it off with a nice blocker side shot.The Rams would make it interesting down the stretch with Melissa Wronzberg banging home a loose puck but that is as close at the visitors would come as the Warriors held on for the 2-1 win. Rebecca Bouwhuis (Orillia) made 27 stops in the win while Sydney Authier allowed two goals on 27 shots at the other end.
Waterloo recognized their four graduating seniors prior to the game; Kaitlyn McDonell (Kincardine), Rebecca Bouwhuis (Orillia), Paula LaGamba (Toronto) and Lindsey O'Neill (Richmond Hill).
Source: Waterloo Warriors
Badgers fall to No. 1 Gryphons 3-2
ST. CATHARINES, ON - The Brock University women's hockey team had their playoff hopes come to an end Saturday as they dropped a tough 3-2 decision to the No. 1 ranked Guelph Gryphons.
After a scoreless opening 25 minutes, Brock got on the board first five minutes into the second period as Maggie Spratt-Mallick (Caledonia, ON) and Brenna Murphy (Odessa, ON) setup Jazz Kennedy (Oakville, ON) who beat Guelph starter Valerie Lamenta for her second goal as as rookie.
Guelph evened the score 1-1 with just over a minute left in the second period as Mackenzie Wong found Kelly Gribbons for her 10th goal of the season.
Just 43 seconds later, the Badgers regained the one goal lead as Spratt-Mallick and Cara Sayles (Welland, ON) setup captain Laura Neu (Ayr, ON) for her sixth goal of the campaign.
Eight minutes into the third period, Guelph's Averi Nooren beat Brock starting goaltender Jensen Murphy (Kingston, ON) for her 15th goal of the season, to even the score 2-2. With just under seven minutes left in regulation, the Gyphons Mallory Young would put one over the shoulder of Murphy for the eventual game winner.
In goal, Murphy recorded 31 saves in the loss. Lamenta turned aside 26 of 28 shots she faced for the victory.
The Badgers end the 2015-16 season at home Sunday, February 21st at 2:15 pm when they host the Queen's Gaels as part of Senior Day.
Source: Brock Badgers
Lions win season finale 5-4 over visiting Lancers
The York University Lions women's hockey team won their final game of the season 5-4 over the Windsor Lancers on Saturday evening (Feb. 20) at Canlan Ice Sports.
Although the Lions were officially eliminated from post season play last weekend, they were relentless in their pursuit to finish the season strong. The Lions broke out of the gates hungry to put the puck into the back of the net, and the scoring began early. The first goal was scored four minutes into the game as Erin Locke (Toronto) set up sister Amy Locke (Toronto) with a gorgeous backhand pass that opened the scoring. Just over two minutes after the Locke tally, the Lions continued their pressure in the Lancer zone, and as Dana Somerville (Hockley, Ont.) crashed the net she received a rebound that bounced of the pads of goalie Hanna Slater which Somerville retrieved and shot into the open cage.
As the first period progressed it was apparent that the Lions did not want to end their season with a defeat, and they helped their cause at the 13:52 mark of the period padding their lead. Raeanna Kelly (Cut Knife, Sask.) pounced on a goaltending error and poked it by the confused Slater to give the Lions a 3-0 advantage.
A minute following the Lions third goal, the Lancers erased their goose egg on the scoreboard off of a turnover in the Lions zone. The goal was scored by Shawna Lesperance as she beat Meagan Lee (Orillia, Ont.) to make the score 3-1 going into the first intermission.
The second period was determined by the power play, as four goals were scored with the man advantage between the two sides. The first goal came from the Lancers Lesperance, who corralled a loose puck in the crease and slid it past the goal line to bring the Lancers within one goal. The second power play marker was also scored by the Lancers, with the goal coming from Shailyn Waites, which equaled the score at 3-3 early in the second period. The Lancer scoring spree came to halt as the Lions defensive effort began to shut down the attack, and as the defense tightened the offense began to heat up.
The Lions took the lead off a point shot which hit a few bodies in front and became lost within a crowd of skates, until Erin Locke found the loose biscuit and potted it past Slater. Moments after the fourth Lion goal, they were back in the Lancers zone looking for the fifth. Justine Treadwell (Huntsville, Ont.) scored number five by flying down the right wing boards and firing a shot over the blocker of Slater, which gave the Lions a two goal lead. Unfortunately for the Lions the two goal lead was short lived, as Taylor Conte was taken down on a breakaway and rewarded with a penalty shot. As she broke down on Lee, Conte made a forehand backhand move which fooled Lee, closing the gap to 5-4.
That was as close as the Lancers would come on Saturday, as the Lions shut the door in the third period. It was a highly entertaining season finale which had a little bit of everything including exciting action at both ends of the ice, highlight goals and a few highlight reel saves.
The Lions finished 2015/16 with a strong offensive output and another win on their season record, which finishes at 5-4-10-4. The Lions will have an eight month break before taking the ice for the 2016/17 season in October.
Source: York Lions
Ridgebacks end season on a three game winning streak
OSHAWA, Ont. – The UOIT women's hockey team has plenty of optimism heading into the fall of 2016 after finishing their regular season on a high-note winning three straight games.
The Ridgebacks capped off their regular season on Saturday night with a 4-3 victory over the No. 4 ranked Toronto Varsity Blues who are heading into the postseason as the second ranked team. This marks the first time in program history that UOIT has finished their regular season on a three-game win streak.
Rachel Budden (Richmond, B.C.) picked a great time to score her first goal of the season, as she fired a shot from the point that went through the screen and in the back of the net, tying the game with 50 seconds remaining in the third period.
With both teams failing to score in overtime, Nicole Gorda (Edmonton, Alta.) scored on her first shootout attempt while goaltender Tori Campbell (Saskatoon, Sask.) stopped all three shooters giving UOIT the 4-3 victory.
Gorda also scored in regulation for UOIT while Kassidy Nauboris (Brampton, Ont.) had the other. Sam Forchielli (Hamilton, Ont.) recorded an assist on the game-tying goal, as she finishes as the Ridgebacks top scorer with three goals and 11 assists.
Jacqueline Scheffel, Taylor Day and Lauren Straatman were the goal scorers for the Varsity Blues.
Campbell earned her 20th career victory, making her the program's career win leader. Campbell stopped 32 of 35 Varsity Blues shots on goal in tonight's win.
The referees were quiet for the majority of the game as either team took one penalty.
UOIT finishes the year with an 8-14-2 record and failed to qualify for the postseason for the second straight year.
Prior to the game, Jennifer Sisson (Ajax, Ont.), Victoria MacKenzie (Toronto, Ont.) and Zoe Battie (Nanaimo, B.C.) were honoured as the graduating class of 2016.
UOIT will now focus on building for next year during the offseason with hopes of returning to the playoffs in 2017.
Source: UOIT Ridgebacks