W-HOCKEY WEEKEND ROUNDUP: Blues Kesteris earns 50th career regular season win in 2-0 shutout over Warriors

TORONTO - Ryerson's women's hockey team fell just short in Friday night's game against Laurier, losing 2-1 to the Golden Hawks, who now sit fifth in the OUA.

The Rams (10-9-0), coming off a three game win streak, couldn't match Laurier's (11-4-3) intensity for a full 60 minutes.

"I thought Laurier was the better team in the second," said head coach Lisa Haley. "But for 40 minutes we were toe-to-toe with perennial champions."

Rams defencemen Cassie Sharp (Carleton Place, Ont.) was first up on the board to end the first period. Her slapshot from the point was too hot to handle for Golden Hawks goalie Amanda Smith. By the end of the frame, both teams were even in shots at 11 each.

Less than five minutes into the second, Laurier centre Heather Platt would put her fifth goal of the season passed Ally Sarna (Whitby, Ont.). The Rams would only put two shots on Smith in the frame.

Coming into the third, the Rams stepped up their game. Emma Rutherford (Kanata, Ont.) and Melissa Wronzberg (Thornhill, Ont,) came close on a 2-on-1 early in the period, while Alex Rodriguez (Toronto) nearly netted one on the following play. Ultimately though, the Rams couldn't solve Smith, who has a top five save percentage in the OUA.

Allowing no chance for Sarna, Danelle Im scored the game winner, off a 2-on-1 pass from Laura Brooker.

Despite the loss, Haley comments that last year at this time, the Rams weren't even in the running for a playoff position.

Ryerson remains tied for seventh slot in the standings, with York and Waterloo.

"It's a great boost of confidence for our players to see that they can compete with pretty much any team in the OUA."

The Rams hit the road next week, looking for points in two tough matches against the Western Mustangs and the Windsor Lancers.

With only five games left in the regular season, picking up points in these matchups will be vital if the Rams plan on making playoffs for the first time in team history.

Source: Ryerson Rams

Brock 2 @ UOIT 5

OSHAWA, Ont. – The streak is over and the monkey is off their backs.
 
UOIT's women's hockey team snapped their nine-game losing streak, which dates back to Nov. 9, by defeating the Brock Badgers 5-2 at the Campus Ice Centre on Friday night.
 
The Ridgebacks had five different goal scorers in the win, with Nicole Gorda (Edmonton, A.B.) and Zoe Battie (Nanaimo, B.C.) each picking up a goal and an assist. Tori Campbell (Lethbridge, A.B.) made 22 saves between the pipes for UOIT.
 
Chelsea Ball (Maple, Ont.), Sam Forchielli (Hamilton, Ont.) and Mikaeli Cavell (Edmonton, A.B.) also found the back of the net for the Ridgebacks.
 
Christina Leradi and Maegan Wall each scored for Brock, while Emily Kelly allowed four goals on 13 shots for Brock before Stephanie Loukes allowed one on nine attempts.
 
UOIT led 1-0 after the first period and just 1:59 into the second found themselves ahead 3-0.
 
Brock then scored two goals in two minutes to close the gap to one before Gorda's goal restored the Ridgeback's two-goal lead 6:34 into the frame. Cavell's insurance marker came with 1:46 remaining in the game.
 
The Ridgebacks have Saturday off before hosting the Guelph Gryphons Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.

Source: UOIT Ridgebacks

Saturday, January 24

Western 3 @ York 0

The York University Lions women's hockey team lost 3-0 to the No. 3 nationally-ranked Western Mustangs on Saturday (Jan. 24) at Canlan Ice Sports.
 
Kristen Barbara (Mount Hope, Ont.) made the first shot on target four minutes into the game after a good attacking play by the home team.
 
Six minutes later, the Lions found another opportunity to score as the Mustangs scrambled to defend their post. Barbara took another shot on target from a distance, but her attempt bounced off Western goalie Kelly Campbell.
 
Lions' goaltender Megan Lee (Orillia, Ont.) displayed good reflexes by denying a power play goal twice in one minute. The game remained scoreless after the first period of play.
 
At 2:07 of the second, a defensive mix-up led the Lions to concede the first goal. A Mustangs forward took a shot out wide of the goal. The puck ricocheted off the backboard as Casey Rosen scrambled to slide it into the net.
 
Less than two minutes later, the Mustangs doubled their lead with a counter-attack after the Lions heavily pressured the oppositions' ice. Ali Beres intercepted and dashed forward with the puck, and Katie Hubert neatly tucked in the Mustangs' second of the match from a well-timed pass by Beres.
 
Almost immediately after the puck drop, the Lions nearly conceded a third if it was not for a tremendous save by Lee. Stacey Scott intercepted the pass and powered a shot, forcing Lee to deflect it wide.
 
Jessa McAuliffe (Odessa, Ont.) was close to scoring a tap-in goal at point blank range. Campbell showed good strength to save it, and Western carried the 2-0 lead into the second intermission.
 
The Lions increased the offensive pressure throughout the final period. Lee was pulled out in the final moments of the game, and the Lions did well in the attacking half until Hubert intercepted a pass and shot into the empty net for her second goal and the Mustangs' third.
 
Lee ended the game with 28 saves while Campbell made 32.
 
The loss drops the Lions' record to 9-8-2 on the year and they are now in a three-way tie for seventh place in the OUA standings. The Mustangs continue to hold down the top spot with a 15-1-2 record.
 
The schedule remains tough for the weekend as the Lions will host the third-place Windsor Lancers at Canlan Ice Sports on Sunday (Jan. 25) beginning at 2pm.

Source: York Lions

Laurier 4 @ Toronto 5 (SO)

Fourth-year forward Jacqueline Scheffel was the lone goal scorer in the shootout as the University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's hockey team overcame a three-goal deficit to defeat the Laurier Golden Hawks 5-4 on Friday night (Jan. 24) at Varsity Arena.

With the win the Blues improve to 12-3-3 and move into a tie for third place, while the Hawks drop to 11-4-4 and remain in fifth.

Fifth-year Blues netminder Nicole Kesteris made 30 saves in the win, while Laurier goalie Amanda Smith posted 29.

Laurier pressured Toronto early, with Kesteris making numerous saves. The Hawks did open the scoring five minutes into the contest as a quick shot from Baxter found the back of the net.

Laurier added to their lead seven minutes later when third-year forward Robyn Degagne capitalized on a Toronto turnover in front of the net and had a clear angle for the goal.

The Blues did cut the deficit before the first period expired when fourth-year defenceman April Looije's point shot found its way through traffic and into the net.

The Hawks extended the gap to two again early in the second period when veteran forward Jessie Hurrell sent a centering pass to Tammy Freiburger who tipped it in.

Freiburger struck again with a powerplay marker midway through the frame but U of T rookie Kassandra Roache brought the game back within reach, scoring her first career goal five-hole on Laurier netminder Amanda Smith.

Less than four minutes later, third-year forward Kristi Riseley tipped in a Stacey Oue pass on a 5-on-3 opportunity and the Blues trailed the Hawks 4-3 heading into the final frame.

After a back-and-forth third period, Riseley notched her second of the game with 1:34 remaining to force overtime. Kesteris came up with a huge save on a 2-on-1 towards the end of the frame, while Laurier successfully killed off a four-minute penalty which carried over into OT and a shootout was needed to decide the winner. 

The Varsity Blues are back in action tomorrow afternoon as they host the Waterloo Warriors in their eighth annual Think Pink game at Varsity Arena. The puck drops at 2 p.m.

Source: Toronto Varsity Blues

Brock 3 @ Queen's 4 (SO)

KINGSTON, Ont. (January 24, 2015) - The No.4 women's hockey team topped the Brock Badgers 4-3 Saturday night at the Memorial Centre after converting on all three shootout attempts.

The Gaels struck first as Addi Halladay (North Augusta, Ont.) opened the scoring in the first frame after her tough-angle shot found the back of the net for her eighth on the year. Brock responded and took advantage of a Queen's interference penalty as Ally Graham collected the powerplay tally. The Gaels answered right back in the final minute of the period as Halladay buried her own rebound for her second of the evening.

It did not take long for the Badgers to even the score as Christina Leradi registered the tally eleven seconds into the second period. The Gaels regained the lead just over one minute later after Nadia Larocca (Mississauga, Ont.) deposited a wrap-around to put Queen's ahead 3-2. 

The Badgers continued to display resilience and overcame their third deficit of the evening as Leradi collected her second of the game. Neither squad could add the game-winner in regulation or overtime, forcing the shootout. 

The Gaels were able to seal the victory in the shootout as Jessica Wakefield (Lucan, Ont.), Taryn Pilon (Peterborough, Ont.) and Fiona Lester (Peterborough, Ont.) all converted on their respective attempts. 

Final shots for the night totalled 32 to 25 in favour of Queen's. Goaltender Caitlyn Lahonen (Sharon, Ont.) started in net for the Gaels, earning the 22 save victory while Brock's Stephanie Loukes was charged with the 28 save loss.

The No.4 Gaels (13-4-2) Thursday evening when they travel to Oshawa, Ontario to take on the UOIT Ridgebacks (6-11-1)

Source: Queen's Gaels

Nipissing 1 @ Laurentian 2 (SO)

After a devastating loss to the Golden Hawks the week before, the Voyageur's women's hockey team headed back to Countryside Arena for another game Saturday night against the Nipissing Lakers. Even though the Voyageurs had a difficult time keeping up with their opponents, a spectacular third period and amazing goaltending saw them skate away with a shootout win.

When the puck dropped twenty after seven, it was clear soon afterwards that Laurentian was going to have to step up. In the first period it seemed that the Nipissing Lakers were playing a strong offense as they repeatedly made shots at the Voyageur's net. The crowd gasped and applauded as the Voyageur's goalie kept making amazing saves for the team. However, when the Lakers got a two minute penalty for body checking, the tables turned in favour of the Voyageurs. With an assist by Meagan Burr (#13) and Renee Leclair (#10), Laurentian Voyageur Elissa Bertuzzi (#2) was able to make the first goal of the night, giving her team a 1-0 lead over the Lakers.

With the Voyageurs up a point heading into the second, the Nipissing Lakers continued to step up their game. While the Voyageurs defense and offense was somewhat declining in the second period, Voyageur goalie Laura Deller (#30) was phenomenal as she repeatedly stopped every shot made by the Lakers. With the minutes winding down in the second, the crowd was anxiously awaiting for the period to end so the Voyageurs could remain on top. Yet, with three minutes left to go, the Voyageurs got a penalty for hooking and one minute later the Lakers got their own power play goal. With an assist by Taylor Murphy (#96) and Alexis Debol (#10), forward Sam Strassburger (#25) was able to tie the game for her team.

The third period was the most intense twenty minutes of the night as the Voyageurs significantly stepped up their offense and defense. Throughout the whole period they were matching their opponents in puck control, shooting and teamwork. While each team was trying to gain the edge on each other in the first ten minutes, the Voyageurs were unable to keep their momentum up in the last ten due to all the penalties they were accumulating. Nonetheless, they still kept their opponents at bay while Laura continued to make incredible saves.

With no goal in the third, both teams had to go into the shootout to end the 1-1 tie. The crowd held their breath as; one by one, each player was unable to get a goal. However, after all three Nipissing shooters were unable to score, defenseman Nicole Vigilanti (#28) made the whole arena cheer as she was able to sneak the puck into the Lakers' net. While the game could have been settled in the third due to the incredible playing by both teams, the Voyageurs must be so happy and relieved that they were able to finally get a win on home ice.

The women will be facing off against the York University Lions next Friday, January 30th, in Toronto at 7:00 p.m. As always, you can continue to follow your Voyageurs at www.luvoyageurs.com for up-to-date news and results.

Laurentian University's Department of Athletics is home to 18 varsity sports teams. The Voyageurs decorated history of pride and tradition includes 62 provincial championships as well as 10 national championships in 52 years of competition.

Sunday, January 25

Windsor 4 @ York 1

The York University Lions women's hockey team fell to the Windsor Lancers 4-1 in a home game on Sunday (Jan. 25) at Canlan Ice Sports.
 
The first period began slowly with minimal shots or action, but began to pick up towards the end. The Lancers broke the deadlock three minutes towards the end of the period at 17:46 when Candice Chevalier came rushing the net alone in a counterattack, then slashed the puck over the top right shoulder of Megan Lee (Orillia, Ont.). At the end of the first the Lancers led the game 1-0.
 
The second period proved to be more action packed as the Lions forwards Justine Treadwell (Huntsville, Ont.) and Sarai Whitty (Kingston, Ont.) rushed the net at 2:02 with Kristen Barbara (Mount Hope, Ont.) who smacked a hard shot right into the back of the net, leveling the score at 1-1.
 
Not long after, at 9:29, the LancerS Krystin Lawrence sent the puck to Erinn Noseworthy who beat the defence and charged Lee alone.  Noseworthy slid the puck above Lee, putting the Lancers back in the lead with a score of 2-1.
 
The Lancers repeated the same goal towards the end of the second as Jenny MacKnight sent the puck through to Candice Chevalier who challenged Lee one-on-one and sent the puck to the back of the net at 16:12, scoring her second goal and putting the Lancers further in the lead with 3-1.
 
The Lions picked up the momentum in the third, bombarding the Lancers with dozens of shots. The Lancer's defence played strong, only letting 10 of the Lions explosive shots slip by for goalie Marissa Kozovski to save.
 
The Lancers found a break after a shot on their net and sent the puck flying to the Lions unprotected net. Jenny McKnight pushed in her own short-handed goal at 16:54, ending the game for the Lancers at 4-1.
 
The Lions fall to eighth in the OUA West standings with a record of 9-8-2, while the Lancers, despite extending their winning streak to two games, slip to sixth with a record of 11-2-4.
 
The next game for the Lions is a home game on Friday (Jan. 30) at 7pm against the Laurentian Voyageurs in Canlan Ice Sports.

Source: York Lions