AROUND OUA: Blues down Gaels 2-1 in shootout thriller
The No. 6 University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's hockey team defeated the Queen's Gaels 2-1 in a shoot out in their 2015 home opener on Friday, October 16 at Varsity Arena.
SCOREBOARD
Blues down Gaels in shootout thriller
The No. 6 University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's hockey team defeated the Queen's Gaels 2-1 in a shoot out in their 2015 home opener on Friday, October 16 at Varsity Arena.
With the win, the Blues improve to 3-0-0, while handing the Gaels (2-1-0) their first loss of the season.
Fourth-year forward Taylor Day was the lone goal-scorer in the shoot out and rookie netminder Valencia Yordanov stopped all three shots en route to the win.
An action-packed first period saw Valencia Yordanov come up with a huge stop on a Megan Farrell penalty shot midway through the frame. The rookie goalie posted eight saves to keep the game scoreless after one.
Gaels forward Kyla Crouse opened the scoring just 45 seconds into the third period, burying a rebound deep in Blues territory. Things were looking grim until fourth-year forward Sonja Weidenfelder capitalized on a Queen's turnover with just over three minutes to go in regulation. The Toronto native deked around Gaels goalie Caitlyn Lahonen to find the back of the net and force overtime.
Yordanov posted 24 saves in her third straight victory.Lions blanked by Lakers in seaon opener
Source: Toronto Varsity Blues
Lions blanked by Lakers 3-0 in home opener
The York University Lions women's hockey team was shut out by the Nipissing Lakers by a score of 3-0 on Friday (Oct. 16) in their season opener at Canlan Ice Sports.
The Lakers offence was aggressive from the get go, but Megan Lee (Orillia, Ont.) shut the door on all of the early scoring opportunities, which was highlighted by an outstanding save that saw Lee move across the crease to kick out the pad on a potential tic-tack-toe goal.
The narrative of the Friday's game was the battle of the goaltenders, as both Lee and Lakers goaltender Natalie Graham put on a show for the crowd at Canlan.
The number of shots coming from the Lakers in the first period began to climb and eventually one by Kaley Tienhaara beat Lee to give the Lakers the 1-0 lead with five minutes remaining in the first period.
The second period was much of the same story, as the goaltenders stole the show. Carly Marchment, the captain of the Lakers, got behind the York defence and broke in on a breakaway from the redline. She had plenty of time to formulate a goal scoring move, but Lee read the play perfectly and denied the forehand-backhand combo to keep the game in reach.
Moments after the first breakaway occurred, a Laker was sprung free for another breakaway, but the result differed as Sam Strassburger found Lee's five hole which gave Nipissing a 2-0 lead going into the third.
The third period had both teams sharing time in the penalty box, but neither could capitalize on the odd-man advantage. With five minutes remaining in the game the Lakers added a third goal by Stacey Henshaw which sealed the victory and gave the Lions their third loss to start the 2015-16 season.
The Lions are back on home ice on Saturday (Oct. 17) to face the Laurentian Voyagers at 7pm. They will be looking for their first victory of the year, while Laurentian is 1-0-2 and ranked No. 10 in the CIS.
Source: York Lions
MacCulloch nets pair as Laurier beats Windsor
WATERLOO, Ont. (October 16, 2015) – Rookie forward Madison MacCulloch scored her first two career goals as a Golden Hawk to lead Wilfrid Laurier past the Windsor Lancers 4-2 on Friday night at the Waterloo Recreation Complex.
MacCulloch, a native of Toronto, opened the scoring five minutes into the first period, and then, after her team fell behind 2-1, evened the score at two midway through the second period. Her second tally started Laurier's rally as they would add two in the third period to come away with their second win of the season.
Fifth year forward Jessie Hurrell of Palgrave, Ont., buried the game-winning goal with six minutes to go in the game. For Hurrell, the goal is already her third of the season and gives her five points this season, the most in the OUA.
Jessica Prevette of Mississauga, Ont., iced the game in the final minute with a breakaway tally for her first of the year.
Defenceman Blair Connelly of Amherstburg, Ont., joined MacCulloch in having a multi-point night as she picked up a pair of assists.
Shawna Lesperance of Belle River, Ont., and Hillary Hettwer of Orangeville, Ont., replied for the Lancers, who lost their second straight game to open their season.
Rookie netminder Lauren Webber of Burlington, Ont., earned the win in goal as she stopped 15 of the 17 shots she faced. Her counterpart, Hanna Slater of LaSalle, Ont., was much busier as she stopped 49 of the 53 shots she faced in a losing effort.
Laurier will continue their weekend home stand on Saturday, October 17 when they host the No. 3 Guelph Gryphons (2-1-0-0) at the Waterloo Recreation Complex. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m.
NOTES: Rookies Morgan Bates of Thamesford, Ont., Danielle Wark of Baltimore, Ont., and Kianna Reeve of Hillsburgh, Ont., all picked up their first career points as Golden Hawks, each recording an assist on the night
Source: Laurier Golden Hawks
Rams give up lead, lose in shootout
TORONTO - The Ryerson Rams women's hockey team was finally able to break out of their offensive slump Friday night against the UOIT Ridgebacks. Unfortunately, it was all for naught as they gave up a two goal third period advantage and ended up losing the game 4-3 in a shootout.
A 2-1 loss to the Toronto Varsity Blues followed by a 4-0 defeat in Guelph meant Ryerson entered the game with only one goal so far this season. First year forward Karli Nummikoski (Thunder Bay, Ont.) doubled that total only three minutes in when she slid the puck past UOIT's goaltender Tori Campbell for her first career OUA marker. The Ridgebacks responded quickly. Less than two minutes after Nummikoski's goal, Nicole Gorda took a pass in the slot from Jenna Carter and snuck it between Alex Armstrong's (Toronto) pads to even things up at one.
The two sides would remain tied until early in the third period. After the Ridgebacks' Campbell was charged with a double minor for checking to the head, Ryerson's powerplay broke the game open. 3:24 into the frame, Nummikoski knocked in a rebound off a Melissa Wronzberg (Thornhill, Ont.) shot. Her second goal of the game restored Ryerson's one goal advantage and gave the Rams some momentum. Only 17 seconds later, the Rams struck again. Madison Martin (Winnipeg, Man.) broke into the UOIT zone and ripped a shot over Campbell's glove to make it 3-1. The powerplay marker was the first goal of the sophomore's OUA career and drew a loud roar from Ryerson's bench.
The Rams looked to be in the driver's seat at that point but, the Ridgebacks had other plans. Midway through the period, a couple of sloppy defensive plays by Ryerson in their own zone resulted in two quick goals by UOIT. First, Chelsea Ball chopped the puck past Armstrong at the 7:46 mark following a scramble in front of the Rams' net. Thirty-four seconds later, Rachel Budden forced a turnover down low and fed the puck to Mikaeli Cavell in the slot. She snapped it into the net to erase the Rams' lead and knot the score up at three.
The rest of the third period, five minutes of 4-on-4 overtime and four minutes of 3-on-3 overtime (a new addition this season) weren't able to break the deadlock. In the shootout, Gorda and Samantha Forchielli - on a beautiful deke - put the puck between the pipes for the Ridgebacks. At the other end of the ice, Ryerson's Alyssa Connolly (Mount Albert, Ont.) and Sarah McGilvray (Stouffville, Ont.) couldn't solve Campbell on their attempts.
The win bumped UOIT's record to 1-1-1-0 and into seventh place in the OUA standings. Ryerson drops to 0-2-0-1 but pick up their first point of the season. Campbell stopped 24 of the 27 shots she faced for the victory while Armstrong finished with 31 saves.
"Obviously, mentally, there were some mistakes made," said Ryerson's head coach Lisa Haley following the game. "I thought a team like ours would be able to hold a bit better to a two goal lead. We gotta figure out what happened."
They'll need to figure it out quickly. The Rams return to Mattamy Home Ice Saturday afternoon to take on the second-placed Queen's Gaels. The Gaels are coming off a shootout loss of their own as they fell 2-1 to the Toronto Varsity Blues Friday night. Puck drop for this matinee matchup is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
"We're focused on Queen's tomorrow," said Haley. "What happened today obviously can't be changed. It's in the past. We're going to have to put in a good effort tomorrow and try to get some points out of that game."
Source: Ryerson Rams
