Banner Season: Toronto flips the script in McCaw Cup victory over Waterloo

Waterloo, Ont. (via Waterloo Warriors) - In March of 2024, the Waterloo Warriors went into hostile territory and lifted the McCaw Cup, ending the hopes of a second consecutive OUA title for the Toronto Varsity Blues. But in the championship rematch this season, the Blues got to return the favour.

Fueled by a blistering start and some timely saves from rookie goaltender Lyla McKinnon, the Varsity Blues claimed the McCaw Cup with a 3-2 win over the defending champion Warriors on Saturday afternoon at the  Columbia Icefield Arena in Waterloo.

The atmosphere was electric in the tight confines of the Icefield, but if there was ever any doubt that the visitors could tune out the noise, it was ended in just 14 seconds: shortly after the opening puck drop, Sophie Grawbarger deftly deflected an Emma Potter point shot straight down and through the legs of Waterloo goalie Kara Mark, giving the Blues a lead in the game’s first shift.

The smaller but vocal Blues fan section got even more to cheer about later in the first, when Aili McKeown and Taylor Delahey worked a give-and-go to perfection, ending in a Delahey marker and a 2-0 Toronto lead after the opening 20 minutes.

The physicality picked up in the second period, and the Warriors found themselves in some penalty trouble. Waterloo was able to kill off an extended 5-on-3 advantage and gain some momentum mid-way through the period, but McKinnon made several key stops to keep the Toronto advantage at 2-0. Then, late in the frame, with the Blues again on a two-skater advantage, Emma Irwin shoved home a loose puck in the crease to widen the Toronto lead to 3-0 heading into the third.

Needing a massive effort in the third, the Warriors got a spark just minutes into the final stanza, courtesy of OUA player of the year Carly Orth. The fourth-year forward took a Faith Mitchell pass in stride through the neutral zone, and marched in on goal to slam home her own rebound past McKinnon to ignite the crowd and get Waterloo on the board. The Warriors came close throughout the final frame, and with Mark on the bench for the extra attacker, former Varsity Blues star Nikki McDonald notched her seventh of the playoffs to draw the Warriors within one in the game’s final minute. The hosts made a frantic bid for the equalizer in the game’s closing seconds, but McKinnon and the Blues held on to reclaim the OUA title that they last won in 2023.

Both combatants will now turn their attention to the 2025 MIller Waste U SPORTS Women’s Hockey Championship, hosted by the Warriors in Elmira, Ontario.