LAURIER AND TORONTO SET TO FACE OFF IN OUA WOMEN'S HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP BEST 2 OUT OF 3

HAMILTON, Ont. - The Laurier Golden Hawks are no stranger to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Women's Hockey Championship. For the past four seasons they have come away victorious, and will be looking for their fifth straight OUA title. The Golden Hawks have solidified themselves as one of the premier programs in the country, and finished the regular season ranked third in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Top 10. The No. 6 Toronto Varsity Blues will make a return trip to the championship as the Guelph Gryphons defeated the Blues in the semifinals of the 2006-07 season. Game one of the best of three series gets underway this Wednesday February 27, at 7:30 pm.

The Golden Hawks (23-2-2-0), obvious favourites to win their fifth consecutive title, earned a return trip to the OUA Championship after defeating the Queen's Golden Gaels (12-9-6-0) in OUA semifinal action. The Golden Hawks swept the Gaels in their best two out of three series with a 3-1 win, and a 1-0 overtime victory this past weekend. The Hawks boast a truly gifted offensive team, which saw three Laurier teammates in the top ten OUA scorers this season. 2007-08 OUA Player of the Year, Lauren Barch (Burlington, Ontario) will look to continue her dominating presence into the playoffs. Barch is an essential component of this exceptional Laurier squad and finished the season second in OUA scoring with 15 goals and 17 assists on the year. She is also a threat on the powerplay scoring five power play goals this season, and three game winning goals. Fifth-year defenseman Laura Meschino (Toronto, Ontario) has been the backbone of the defense core for the Golden Hawks, while also being a top contributer offensively. Meschino is a fast skater, and is usually matched up against the top players in the league while tallying seven goals and 18 assists on the year. She will look to have a perfect career this weekend as a Golden Hawk winning the OUA Championship all five seasons with the Hawks.

After finishing second in the regular season, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues (20-5-1-1) clinched a spot in the OUA Women's Hockey Championship this past weekend as they defeated the Guelph Gryphons (17-9-0-1) in their semifinal series with scores of 3-0 and 2-1 in overtime. The Blues bring with them an offensive weapon of their own in Janine Davies (Peterborough, Ontario) who led the OUA in scoring finishing the season with 22 goals and 14 assists in the regular season. Goaltender, Stephanie Lockert (Thunder Bay, Ontario) will also need to continue her dominating presence in net for the Blues throughout the championship. Lockert finished the season with a 1.38 goals against average having played in 26 of Toronto's 27 games on the year. She guided the Varsity Blues to six shutouts, and had a .938 save percentage.

In three meetings this season between the Golden Hawks and the Varsity Blues, Laurier has taken five of six points. The Golden Hawks took two 2-0 victories earlier in the season. In the most recent battle on February 9th, the two teams skated to a 2-2 overtime draw.

2007-08 OUA CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Game 1 - February 27, 2008 @ Laurier - 7:30 pm
Game 2 - February 29, 2008 @ Toronto - 7:30 pm
Game 3 - March 2, 2008 @ Laurier - 2:00 pm (If Necessary)

Official Sponsors of OUA Women's Hockey Playoffs: Harrow Sports Canada Ltd., Pioneer Petroleums, and Pizza Pizza

- OUA -

Michelle Church
Communications & Media Relations Coordinator
Ontario University Athletics

Tel: (905) 540-5156
Fax: (905) 574-2840
E-mail: michelle.church@oua.ca
Web: www.oua.ca