AROUND OUA: O'Brien nets two as Blues down No. 5 Mustangs
Only one week after notching her first career goal, second-year forward Meagan O'Brien scored both goals in leading the No. 6 nationally ranked University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's hockey team to a 2-1 victory over the No. 5 Western Mustangs on Friday night (Jan. 29) at Varsity Arena.
SCOREBOARD
O'Brien nets two as Blues down No. 5 Mustangs
Only one week after notching her first career goal, second-year forward Meagan O'Brien scored both goals in leading the No. 6 nationally ranked University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's hockey team to a 2-1 victory over the No. 5 Western Mustangs on Friday night (Jan. 29) at Varsity Arena.
With the win, the Blues improve to 7-2-4-3 and sit six points back of second place with four games in hand in the highly competitive OUA standings.
O'Brien opened the scoring just 2:52 into the game, tipping a Cristine Chao point shot past CIS all-Canadian goaltender Kelly Campbell.
Western was quick to respond though, as Amanda Pereira found the back of the net just over five minutes later. The two teams were tied 1-1 after 20 minutes of action.
O'Brien put the Blues ahead with 1:34 remaining in the second period, burying a Chao rebound to give the home team a 2-1 advantage heading into the final frame.
Toronto held off the Mustangs in a scoreless third period, with rookie netminder Valencia Yordanov making 6 of her 16 saves in the win.
Source: Toronto Varsity Blues
Lakers storm back for big win over York
It may not have been the start they were after, but the Nipissing Lakers women's hockey team sure made up for it.
The Lakers struggled in the first period, giving up two goals and were outshot 13-3, but they managed three straight goals and took over on their way to a 3-2 victory Friday night on home ice over the York Lions.
The win is the second consecutive for Nipissing, who entered the weekend on the heels of a clutch 3-2 win on the road at Western.
The two wins have almost completely erased a tough week and a half where the Lakers dropped three straight and with a win tomorrow, they'll have nullified those defeats.
The Lions got things going early thanks to the man-advantage.
Midway through the first period the Lions struck twice, both on the power play, as they took an early 2-0 lead.
Lakers goalie Sabrina Picard was beaten twice, but still managed 11 saves in the period, as the Lions held a 13-3 shot advantage.
Things turned in the second period thanks to improved play from Nipissing.
Brooklyn Irwin cut the lead when she scored her fifth of the season, with Sam Strassburger and Alexane Papineau drawing the assists.
Stacey Henshaw tied the game on the power play with just over three minutes left in the middle frame.
Fellow defender Zosia Davis and Kaley Tienhaara picked up the helpers on Henshaw's third tally of the campaign.
The teams went back and forth in the third before Taylor Murphy found the back of the net for her second game-winner of the season.
Strassburger earned her second assist on the goal that came with just 58 seconds left in the game.
Picard finished with 25 saves for her second straight victory.
The Lakers remain on home ice, hosting the Brock Badgers Saturday afternoon in their annual Pink The Rink game, this year, sponsored by Scotiabnk.
Puck drop is set for 4:30 p.m. at Memorial Gardens.
Source: Nipissing Lakers
TORONTO - The Windsor Lancers' top line proved to be too much for the Ryerson Rams to handle in OUA women's hockey action Friday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. Erinn Noseworthy, Krystin Lawrence and Shawna Lesperance each found the back of the net once to propel the Lancers to a 3-1 win. Windsor improves to 6-1-10-1 on the year and are now nine points back of the eighth and final playoff spot held by the Laurier Golden Hawks. The Rams fall to 2-0-14-1 and have now lost four straight.
BOXSCORE
The Lancers' dynamite offensive trio has been lights out all season. They scored four of the Windsor's five goals in a 5-0 victory over Ryerson Jan. 15 and have combined for nearly 70% of their team's offense this season (34 of the team's 49 goals). It didn't take long for them to get going in this one.
A little over eight minutes into the first, Lesperance fired a shot past Ryerson's rookie goaltender Sydney Authier (Wallaceburg, Ont.). Her league-leading 13th goal of the season made it 1-0.
Making her first OUA start, Authier settled in nicely afterwards. She finished the period with nine saves to ensure the Lancers didn't do any more damage.
In the second, Emma Rutherford knotted the score up at one. Reunited with Melissa Wronzberg (Thornhill, Ont.) and Kayla Karbonik (St. Andrews, Man.), Rutherford netted her sixth of the season. Both of her linemates picked up assists on the goal at 5:53.
"I think playing with Wronzberg and Karbonik just feels so good out there because I always know where they are," said Rutherford after the game. "We always communicate really well and we work really well together, especially down low in their zone."
Windsor quickly responded on the powerplay two minutes later. Natalie Barrette slid a pass to Lawrence and she sent it between the pipes for her ninth goal of the year.
Wronzberg and Rutherford had a few glorious chances to tie the game back up but the Lancers' goaltender Hanna Slater shut the door multiple times.
Late in the frame, Noseworthy got on the board to extend Windsor's lead to 3-1. Her tally rounded out the scoring as neither team lit the lamp in the third.
"They've got the first, second and third (point) scorers in the OUA and they did what they've been doing all season long," said Ryerson head coach Lisa Haley when asked what the difference was in the game. "They found ways to put the puck in the net despite our efforts of trying to make sure that we held them tight."
Slater finished with 22 saves in the win while Authier stopped 20 shots at the other end of the ice.
"I've definitely been working hard and I've wanted this for a long time," said Authier while wearing the Rams' golden 'Player of the Game' helmet. "I come to practice every day and I try to put out the best effort. I get mad at myself when I don't because I know I have to earn my ice out there with two older goalies and they're both fantastic… But, it definitely felt good to get out there into the game."
