OUA Women's Hockey Roundup (Feb. 12)

February 12, 2018

February 9, 2018

Guelph 3 Nipissing 6

While the score was likely higher than many would have predicted, the Nipissing Lakers women's hockey team doesn't mind.

The Lakers came up with a big victory, doubling up on their rivals, the Guelph Gryphons 6-3 Friday night at Memorial Gardens.

Led by Maria Dominico's hat-trick, the Lakers picked up their 13 th win of the season, as they continue the battle for home ice in the post-season.

Nipissing was first to get on the board, as Bronwyn Bolduc continued her impressive 2018, picking up her ninth goal of the season.

Jade Gauthier and Madison Solie grabbed assists on the goal.

The Gryphons replied and tied the game, but Nipissing wasted little time getting the lead back.

Just 23 seconds after Guelph tied the game, Dominico made it 2-1 Nipissing, set up by Zosia Davis and Sam Strassburger.

Midway through the second period, the Lakers extended their lead to 3-1 thanks to Katelyn Heppner's first OUA goal, which came unassisted on the power play.

Up 3-1 after two, the Lakers looked to close things out in the third, but Guelph had different plans and scored twice before the 10 minute mark to tie the game at three.

From there, however, Nipissing elevated their game.

Dominico scored twice and Gautheri added an empty-netter to seal the win and grab the full three points.

Kaley Tienhaara, Bolduc and Strassburger all earned assists on the final three tallies for Nipissing.

Jackie Rochefort picked up the win, finishing with 14 saves, as the Lakers outshot the Gryphons 25-17.

Source: nulakers.ca

York 0 Western 1

LONDON, Ont. — April Clark and Megan Taylor provided the offence for the Mustangs on Friday, scoring one goal each in the shootout to help Western take a 1-0 win over the York Lions at Thompson Arena.

"If we look at our overall game, it wasn't our best effort as a group," said head coach Kelly Paton. "I think our puck management could have been improved, and our fundamental pass and receive, especially through the neutral zone—it could've helped generate a bit more speed on the attack. But, overall, we're happy with the two points, and we're going to continue to hopefully climb, or at least stay at the top of the standings and get home ice."

Western now sits at 13-3-5-2, good for second place in the OUA standings, with the shootout victory extends their winning streak to five games. York is ranked third last, placing at 13-2-5-3 with the loss.

Prior to puck drop, the Mustangs had a Senior Day red-carpet ceremony to honour the team's six senior players. Lindsey O'Neill, Brianna Rice, Megan Taylor, Ali Beres, Amanda Pereira, and captain Emma Pearson are in their final seasons with the Mustangs, with Friday night's contest marking their final regular season home game. They received bouquets from Paton, and their parents were brought on the ice to celebrate their careers with them.

"It means so much to us," said Pearson about being honoured. "I mean, most of us have been playing hockey since we've been four or five years old, and so to be able to be celebrated like this really means a lot. The girls made a really big effort before the game to make us feel special and they really did, so it was really nice for us."

No goals were scored in the three periods and overtime by either team, with Carmen Lasis stopping 33 shots to record the fourth shutout of her OUA career, while Lauren Dubie made 25 saves in the loss.

Both sides were fairly even in the opening frame with almost uninterrupted back-and-forth play, as they played through the 20-minute period in 25 minutes. The only notation on the scoresheet was one York penalty for too many players on the ice.

The second frame also went by without a goal for either team. Western had several close opportunities, but the players were unable to complete their passes due to the Lions' traffic in front of the net.

Lasis did not see a shot on net until four minutes into the second, when two York players took on the same number of Mustang defence rushing the net. They completed a cross crease pass, but Lasis slid to make the save.

On Western's second power play of the night, they almost secured a scoring opportunity, but the puck slid behind Dubie and hit the post, just missing the goal line.

"York plays us tough. They're a physical team," said Clark. "They just take the body, and we got to work on playing a full 60-minutes. We can't let that happen again."

Lasis was the third period's MVP, making 11 saves and keeping Western in the game. The deadlock continued in the third frame, and the Lions and Mustangs headed to three-on-three overtime to settle the score.

Evra Levesque made two great plays in overtime, first snatching a shot out of the air with her glove on a defensive two-on-one, and then on a breakaway with one-minute left. Neither team could beat the other's goalie, leading to Dubie and Lasis going head-to-head in the shootout.

"Three-on-three is stressful, but it's also kind of fun to have so much space to work with on the ice," said Taylor. "The girls got a lot of speed, and that really shows their skills off. It's fun, but I'm glad we got the win at the end of the day."

Lasis saved both York shots, and Clark and Taylor each scored on Dubie to end the shootout after two shooters and lead Western to a 1-0 win.

"I was really nervous when Kelly picked me first," said Clark, "But I just went down, and I've played with this goalie before, so I knew I couldn't deke and do my move. I saw the top corner, so I just shot it there, and luckily it went in."

Western faces Waterloo tomorrow night for their final regular season game.

"Another small rink, so we can expect some physical play," said Paton. "They're a fast team too, so I think it's going to be a quick game, and, you know, puck management's going to be really important and trying to get on our fore-check early."

Source: westernmustangs.ca

Queen’s 3 Toronto 1

TORONTO (February 9, 2018) - The No. 8 Queen's Gaels (14-3-3-3) spoiled the Toronto Varsity Blues (13-0-8-2) senior night, handing them a 3-1 come from behind win in Toronto on Friday night.

With the Gaels regulation victory they now sit with 51 points on the season with one game remaining. A Guelph loss today leaves them seven points behind Queen's with two games left while the Western Mustangs were able to win in overtime but still trail Queen's by four points with one game remaining. These results mean the Gaels have clinched 1st place in the OUA heading into the playoffs.

GAME FLOW
The first period of play was a back-and-forth affair, with puck pressure coming from both sides. The first quality opportunity of the game came from Gaels Clare McKellar (London, Ont.), whose shot was stopped when Toronto goaltender Madeline Albert managed to pull off a spectacular goal-scoring save. Coming back the other way, it was Varsity Blues forward Breanna Berndsen who put the home team on the score board with eight minutes remaining in the first. Despite leading in shots 10-7, the Gaels would enter the second period down 1-0.

The second period started out similar to the first, both teams battling, pushing the pace on the ice. With seven minutes remaining, who else but the Gaels leading goal scorer Katrina Manoukarakis (Scarborough, Ont.) came up big for the Tricolour, burying a shot to level the score 1-1. Not done yet, Manoukarakis would find the net again with a snap shot to give the Gaels the edge 2-1 with just two minutes remaining before the final period.

Coming out firing in the third period, the Gaels kept the offensive pressure up on the Varsity Blues. A scrappy affair, the Gaels would hold their lead and add one more empty-netter off the stick of Jessica Wakefield (Lucan, Ont.) to secure the 3-1 victory.

Source: gogaelsgo.com

UOIT 2 Laurier 3

WATERLOO, Ont. (February 10, 2018) – The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks women’s hockey team kicked off head coach Rick Osborne’s final weekend on home ice in style on Friday night as they earned a 3-2 victory over the UOIT Ridgebacks at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex.

Danielle Wark of Baltimore, Ont., scored the only goal of the shootout, while Hannah Miller of Georgetown, Ont., stopped all three Ridgeback shooters to complete a strong effort in relief of starter Cohen Myers of Shakespeare, Ont., giving Laurier their fourth win of the season.

For Osborne, who will retire at the end of the season, the victory was the 414th of his illustrious career, across all competitions, in his second-to-last game behind the bench at the rink he’s called home for the past 15 seasons.

Laurier opened the scoring on Friday night as Jaden Head of Whitby, Ont., scored her team-leading fourth goal of the season just three minutes into the game to give the Hawks the early lead.

The Ridgebacks responded with a pair of goals from Tailor Campbell of Palmerston, Ont., and Kassidy Ford of Gananoque, Ont., before the period was out to hold a 2-1 lead.

That spelled the end of Myers, who was making her seventh start of the season, as she was replaced by Miller after allowing two goals on 11 shots.

The move seemed to spark the Hawks who came out flying to start the second and ended up outshooting the Ridgebacks 12-7 in the middle frame. They were rewarded for their efforts midway through the period when Annalyssia Price of Richmond Hill, Ont., scored her first career OUA goal to tie the game at two.

That scoreline would stand through the third period and overtime, sending Laurier to their fourth shootout of the season.

Entering the game 0-for-3 in their previous three games that went to a shootout, Wark gave Laurier the lead with a nice move to the backhand on UOIT starter Briar Hughes of Thornton, Ont.

Miller would shut the door from there, as she finished with 19 saves in regulation and overtime to earn her fourth win of the season.

Hughes took the loss in goal for UOIT, finishing with 33 saves, as the Ridgebacks were officially eliminated from playoff contention.

The Hawks will now turn their attention to their final home game of the 2017-18 season on Saturday night when they host the No. 8 Queen’s Gaels.

Source: laurierathletics.com

Waterloo 4 Windsor 5

The Lancer women's hockey team closed out the 2017-18 season with a pair of wins on home ice. Windsor came away with a 5-4 win over the Waterloo Warriors on Friday night, before defeating the Ryerson Rams 4-1 on Saturday afternoon in their season finale.

FRIDAY vs Waterloo
The Lancers were the first team on the board when they broke through just over seven minutes into the game with a Lexi Contratto goal assisted by Ashley Maitre. The Lancer struck again ten minutes later when Danielle Butler was able to get one past the Warriors' Taylor Reimer with some help from Taylor Conte and Contratto. The Lancers were able to take their 2-0 lead into the intermission.

It didn't take the Warriors long to score in the second period, just over four minutes in, when Pye was able to beat Emma Verbuggan to cut the Lancer lead in half. Muna Fadel was able to briefly restore the two goal lead before Samantha Burbridge cut it back to one at the 8:32 mark of the second period. Two minutes later, Kennedy Snivley again put the Lancers up by two, unfortunately the lead was just as shot lived as the last. Just a minute after Snivley's goal, Emma Pye netted her second goal of the game.

Pye continued her scoring ways, completing a hat trick under four minutes into the third period to tie the game with her third goal. Later, at the 6:50 mark of the third period Emily Bowman was able to put the Lancers up for good. The Lancers beat the visiting Warriors 5-4.

Playing in her first OUA career game, freshman goaltender Verbuggan had a solid night between the pipes, stopping 29 of 33 shots for the Lancers. Warriors starter Taylor Reimer made 12 saves on 15 shots and her relief, Stephanie Sluys made six stops on eight shots.

Emma Pye had a solid night for the Warriors, registering her first OUA career hat trick with three goals on the night. Windsor spread the wealth on the score board and Taylor Conte was the Lancer assists leader, setting up two goals.

Despite winning the game, the Lancers were significantly out shot; 33-23 in favour of the Warriors.

Source: golancers.ca

February 10, 2018

Guelph 3 Laurentian 0

SUDBURY – Bouncing back from adversity is the sign of a resilient group. The Guelph Gryphons women's hockey team showed that characteristic Saturday afternoon. The No.7-ranked Gryphons responded to their worst performance of the OUA season with an impressive 3-0 shutout win over the Laurentian Voyageurs at Sudbury's Countryside Arena.

Guelph experienced a low point after giving up a season-high six goals in a loss to Nipissing Friday. But the two-time defending OUA champions came right back with a disciplined game, jumping out to an early 2-0 lead, while also showing the necessary grit to limit Laurentian's scoring opportunities.

"We really got back to basics and focused on an overall team effort," said head coach Rachel Flanagan. "All four lines and three D pairings were good today."

Emma Forcey, Karli Shell and Kelly Gribbons scored for Guelph (17-6-0), whiched moved back into second place in the OUA standings ahead of Western and behind only Queen's.

Valerie Lamenta stopped all 26 shots she faced for her 11^th win and fifth shutout of the season. The Montreal native wasn't tested too often but she produced some key saves in the second period, one with a quick glove and another stop on a hard one-timer from the slot on a Voyageurs' power play to keep the Gryphons up by two goals. It was an excellent effort after a disappointing outing against Nipissing.

"Val and I watched the chances against from yesterday and she wasn't happy with her game," said Flanagan. "But as a veteran goalie, she gets the opportunity to work through it. And she did that today."

The Gryphons apparently learned a lesson from Friday's loss and came out noticeably energized. Forcey got things started with a tip-in past Laurentian goaltender Karen Collins at the 5:47 mark of the first period, a goal that proved to be the game-winner. Guelph doubled the lead midway through the period after Shell got to the net and slid the puck under the Voyageurs' goalie.

The Gryphons worked hard throughout the second period and were rewarded in the third. Captain Kaitlin Lowy sent a pass to the front of the net that Gribbons skillfully redirected through Collins's five-hole for the 3-0 goal that locked up the game.

Source: gyrphons.ca

Ryerson 1 Windsor 4

SATURDAY vs Ryerson
The game was scoreless for nearly half the first period before the Rams were able to break through and score on Morgan Farrow to give the Rams an early lead. Later, in the 19^th minute of the first period Emily Bowman was able to make the most of chance out in front of the net and tie the game at one heading into the first intermission.

In the second, the Lancers started the period the same way they ended the last one, with a goal. This time it was Amy Maitre who scored for the Lancers not even two minutes into the second period with Muna Fadel and Reagan Kaufman picking up assists. Despite the Rams effort to tie the game in the second period after the goal was futile as the Lancers took the one goal lead into the final intermission, up 2-1.

In the third, the Lancers kept their foot on the gas. Playing their last game together as a team the Lancers had 20 minutes to make sure a disappointing season ended on a high note. Syndey Dobbin made sure she did her part with a goal midway through the third period. Danielle Butler added some extra insurance with a goal at the 16:09 mark with some help from Meridith Goldhawk. The Lancers prevailed in holding the Rams off 4-1 to end their season.

The Lancers outshot the Rams 33-27 on the night as the Lancers rush was too much for the Rams to handle.

Both teams had great days on the penalty kill, with the Lancers killing all three of their penalties while the Rams killed both of theirs.

Despite the loss, Ryerson's Rachel Sealy actually made more three more saves than Morgan Farrow, Sealy stopped 29 shots while Farrow got in front of 26 pucks.

Source: golancers.ca

Western 3 Waterloo 2

WATERLOO, Ont. –Three goals from three different players in a 44-second span proved to be all the offence the Mustangs would need as Western defeated the Waterloo Warriors by a 3-2 score on Saturday night at the CIF Arena.

The win gives the Mustangs a 14-3-5-2 record after their final regular season contest, and has the team in second place in the OUA standings with a three point lead over Guelph, although the Gryphons have one game in hand on Western. Waterloo moves to 8-3-11-0, good for eighth in the OUA.

Alyssa Chiarello, April Clark, and Claire Balas, all got in on the Mustangs scoring outburst in the second period, with each one finding the back of the net late in the second period. Sarah Rettinger and Rachel Marriott provided the scoring for Waterloo in the loss.

Carmen Lasis had another strong game in the Western net, stopping 23 of the 25 shots sent her way to pick up her 12th win of the season. Stephanie Sluys made 16 saves for the Warriors in the loss.

Waterloo opened the scoring on Saturday night, getting on the board a little more than four minutes into the first period on Rettinger's third goal of the season. The Warriors would maintain that lead for the remainder of the first period and the majority of the second before the Mustangs struck back.

Chiarello got things going with a power play marker at 17:23 of the second, converting assists from Shailyn Waites and Megan Taylor. Clark added another goal just 24 seconds later, registering her team-leading 12th goal of the season to give Western the lead. The Mustangs didn't stop here however, as Balas netted her first goal of the year at the perfect time, scoring only 20 seconds after Clark to put the Mustangs up by two heading into the third period.

Marriott responded for the Warriors early in the final frame, scoring just 56 seconds in, but that would be the final goal of the night, with Western taking a 3-2 victory.

Source: westernmustangs.ca

Queen’s 2 Laurier 3

WATERLOO, Ont. (February 11, 2018) – The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks women’s hockey team gave head coach Rick Osborne one final memory at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex on Saturday night as they upset the No. 8 Queen’s Gaels 3-2 in a shootout.

Osborne, who will retire as head coach of the women’s hockey program following the season, earned his 414th career victory across all competitions as rookie defenceman Kaitlin Saxton of Oakville, Ont., scored the only goal of the shootout to give Laurier their third win in five games.

“I really think they did,” said Osborne when asked if he thought his team rose to the occasion of his final home game. “It was nice because it was the typical Queen’s rivalry. When we play each other, we have tremendous respect, but nobody wants to lose. Finally, the team is building some momentum because for such a young team, for them to finish with two solid overtime wins, and get the job finished, was impressive. I thought we looked pretty determined in overtime and the shootout.”

With plenty of alumni in attendance to cheer on the purple and gold in their final home game of the season, Laurier (2-3-14-3) got goals in regulation from rookie Emily Visser of Caledonia, Ont., and second year Emily Woodhouse of St. Marys, Ont.

Woodhouse’s goal was particularly impressive as she went end-to-end before cutting into the slot, falling to her knees and roofing a shot past Gaels starter Stephanie Pascal of Sudbury, Ont., to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead early in the second period.

Queen’s Addi Halladay of North Auguta, Ont., tied the game moments later to eventually force overtime after Hailey Wilson of Pickering, Ont., gave the visitors the lead in the first period.

Rookie netminder Hannah Miller of Georgetown, Ont., added another tally in her bid to win OUA Rookie of the Year as she posted her second win over a nationally-ranked opponent this season. Miller stopped 22 of the 24 shots she faced to remain in first place in the conference for save percentage at a sparkling 0.946.

Pascal took the loss for Queen’s (14-3-3-4), allowing two goals on 21 shots.

Laurier will look to carry the strong play as of late into their final two road games of the season next weekend. First up, the Hawks will face the Nipissing Lakers (12-2-6-2) on Saturday, February 17 at 4:30 p.m.

Source: laurierathletics.com

Brock 1 Nipissing 3

The Nipissing Lakers women's hockey team picked up two big wins this weekend, capped off by tonight's 3-1 victory over the Brock Badgers.

Led by Robyn Degagne's two goals, the Lakers earned a valuable three points as they continue their quest for home ice in the playoffs.

After a scoreless first, the teams traded goals in the second period.

Sam Strassburger made it 1-0 Lakers, with the lone assist on the goal coming from Bronwyn Bolduc.

Brock tied it just over three minutes later and the teams went to the dressing room even at 1-1.

In the third, Degagne took over, scoring twice to put Nipissing up 3-1 by the midway point of the period.

Kaley Tienhaara, Maria Dominico and Jetta Derenoski all picked up helpers on the two third period tallies.

The Lakers locked it down from there to earn the win.

Danika Ranger made 19 saves for the victory.

Nipissing faces Waterloo and Laurier to close out the regular season next weekend on home ice.

Source: nulakers.ca

February 11, 2018

Other Scores:

Brock 5 Laurentian 2