AROUND OUA: Gryphons defeat Voyageurs 5-0 in home opener

SCOREBOARD

Laurentian 0 @ Guelph 5

UOIT 1 @ York 4

Brock 1 @ Windsor 2

Nipissing 5 @ Queen's 2

Waterloo 3 @ Laurier 2

Gryphons defeat Voyageurs 5-0 in home opener

GUELPH, ON -- The mantra for this year's Guelph Gryphons women's hockey team is self explanatory -- rebuild to repeat. And with the departed  2015-16 Championship Banner Raising key figures from last year's McCaw Cup winners in attendance, the youthful Gryphons seemed up for the task ahead in a convincing 5-0 victory over the Laurentian Voyageurs in the regular season home opener at Gryphon Centre Arena.
 
The Gryphons' past was recognized with a pre-game unveiling of the 2015/16 OUA championship banner, and the former players who helped secure last year's McCaw Cup must have been impressed with the new-look squad. 
 
"I didn't think I would be too emotional but I was," said head coach Rachel Flanagan about the banner going up with her former stars in the building. "The players were pretty fired up on the bench and we talked about using that emotion in a positive way."
 
The Gryphons certainly did that. Guelph gained momentum in the opening period and exploded for three goals in the second and added two more in the third en route to its first victory after an overtime loss at Western last week.
 
Kaitlin Lowy and rookie Sydney Davison had two goals each for the Gryphons (1-0-1), while Kelly Gribbons also scored and added an assist.
 
"We have a lot of new faces and one of the questions for us was where will the offence come from?" Flanagan said. "We knew Kaitlin Lowy would be on the brink. And we have Sydney centring the second line. She's a very skilled player."
 
Reigning Canadian Interuniversity Sport Player of the Year Valerie Lamenta made 27 saves in the Guelph net for her first shutout of the season. Lamenta didn't have much to do early but she faced 17 shots in the third period and was sharp when necessary, including a great right pad stop on Brooklyn Davis with the game still scoreless in the first. Lamenta also robbed Taylor Weber near the crease midway through the third on what looked like a certain Laurentian goal.
 
Both teams got off to a cautious start in the opening half of the first period, generating little in the way of chances or shots. But Guelph picked it up and finally forced goaltender Karen Collins into a big stop on a Claire Merrick slapper from the slot, which marked the beginning of the offensive push.
   Val Lamenta The Gryphons outshot Laurentian 13-5 in the period and 41-27 overall. 
 
Guelph's energetic finish in the first period foreshadowed an explosive start immediately following the intermission. Davison and Lowy scored in a span of 1:36, beginning with a great effort by the rookie. Davison made a move in the slot and went in alone on Collins before beating the goaltender high on the glove side for an impressive first OUA goal. She would add her second on an empty netter with 13 seconds left in the game.
 
The hosts didn't let up after Davison got them on the board and Lowy tallied her first of the young season three minutes into the period when she found the back of the net from in close while Guelph was shorthanded. Lowy added her second at 14:04, converting a pretty feed from Karli Shell high on Collins' stick side.
 
"We were tentative to start but you could feel the momentum building," said Flanagan. "We challenged them going into the second period. I wanted to know how we would respond."
 
Shell appeared to make it 4-0 on an incredible individual effort nearing the mid point of the third period. She wove her way through a couple defenders, patiently out waited the sprawling Collins and roofed the puck but the goal was waved off. 
 
Gribbons would add her second of the season moments later. 
 
Notes_ Lowy had an assist on Gribbons' goal to complete a three-point effort... Mackenzie Wong chipped in two assists... The Gryphons get back on the ice Wednesday, Oct. 19 when they host the Brock Badgers.

Lions top Ridgebacks for season opening win

The York University Lions women's hockey team played their season opener on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 15) at Canlan Ice Sports against the UOIT Ridgebacks and started the season off on the right foot as they left the game victorious with a 4-1 win.
 
Both teams entered the game with an extreme hunger for the win and the first period was a reflection of that as both teams held each other scoreless for the first 20 minutes of the match.
 
The second period was a much different story. In the second minute of the frame rookie Kelsey McHolm (Winnipeg) broke the deadlock when she snuck the puck past UOIT goaltender Tori Campbell off of an assist from Erin Locke (Toronto) for a 1-0 lead.
 
The Lions would strike again when they feasted off of the power play with a goal from Jenna Gray (London, Ont.). The goal was set up by swift passes from Lauren Cavarzan (Hamilton, Ont.) and, for the second time of the game, Locke. The third and final goal of the period came only two minutes after the second when Justine Treadwell (Huntsville, Ont.) scored at 7:46.
 
With a healthy 3-0 victory York looked to close out the game in the third period and get the win. The Ridgebacks, however, did show some fight when Kassidy Nauboris scored her team's only goal of the match to make the score 3-1.
 
The Lions would strike once more at the end of the game when Locke made her way onto the score sheet for a third time, scoring an empty netter with an assist from Tegan Duncan (Oakville, Ont.).
 
With tonight's win the Lions start 1-0 on the season. Their next opponent will be the Queen's Gaels when they travel to Kingston, Ont., on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 16). The Lions' next home game will take place on Saturday, Oct. 22 when they face off against the Brock Badgers at Canlan Ice Sports.        

Source: York Lions

Lancers double up on Badgers

The Lancer women's hockey team earned their first win of the season with a 2-1 win over the Brock Badgers on Saturday afternoon at South Windsor Arena.
 
The win moves the Lancers to 1-1 on the year, while the Badgers are now 1-0-1-0.
 
All three goals were scored in the first period, with Krystin Lawrence firing one past Badger goaltender Jensen Murphy just 30 seconds into the game. She followed that up with her second of the game, and season, six minutes later to give the Lancers a 2-0 lead.
 
The Badgers managed to cut the Windsor lead to one at 11:57 of the opening frame when Kiana Tobia accepted a pass from Christina Ieradi and Melissa Hurrell and put the puck behind Lancer rookie goaltender Morgan Farrow.
 
From their it was a battle of the goaltenders, as both netminders held their own and did not let anything slip past them for the remainder of the game.
 
Farrow finished the game with 26 saves, while Murphy had 27 in the loss.
 
Windsor will now hit the road to Sudbury for a contest against the Nipissing Lakers on Friday October 28th. The game can be seen live on ww.oua.tv.  

Source: Windsor Lancers

Gaels unable to avenge playoff loss to Lakers

Kingston, Ont. (October 15, 2016) - The women's hockey team (0-1) started the 2016-17 regular season Saturday night at the Memorial Centre with a 5-2 loss to the Nipissing Lakers (1-0), who eliminated Queen's from the first round of the OUA playoffs last year.

GAME FLOW
The Lakers were first on the board five minutes into the opening frame, when Alexane Papineau drew first bloodd for the visitors. The Gaels responded soon after on Hailey Wilson's (Pickering, Ont.) first CIS goal. The rookie Gaels forward drove the net and finished a perfect pass from Michele Knecht (North York, Ont.), who had flown through the neutral zone and up the right wing with the puck. Micaela Smith (Cobourg, Ont.) earned the second assist by springing Knecht up the boards with a cross-ice pass.

Knotted at 1-1 to open the second period, a flurry of action gave Nipissing a 3-1 lead. Kaley Tienhaara started the scoring in the middle stanza, collecting the puck after a high bounce off the Gaels goalie Claire Warren (Halifax, N.S.) and making a move in tight to put the Lakers ahead. Bronwyn Bolduc made a similar move in transition just over a minute later to make it 3-1 Nipissing. The Gaels caught a break with a good forecheck midway through the period, with Emily Jukosky (Stirling, Ont.) forcing the turnover and Danelle Bishoff (Calgary) finding Megan Farrell (Barrie, Ont.) in the slot, who made no mistake to bring Queen's within one. After the Lakers picked up a late goal from Taylor McManus, the teams went to the locker rooms with Queen's trailing 4-2.

Nipissing killed the latter half of a penalty to start the third period, and used that momentum to go up 5-2 on the final goal of the game on the stick of Samantha Strassburger.

Queen's outshot the visitors 34-26, but Lakers goalie Jacqueline Rochefort earned the win with 32 stops. Warren was pulled from the Gaels net after the fifth Nipissing goal, being replaced by Stephanie Pascal (Sudbury, Ont.).

BY THE NUMBERS
4 - Four players on the Nipissing roster had multi-point nights
7 - Queen's went to the power-play seven times 
1 - Hailey Wilson recorded her first CIS point with the Gaels first goal of the year

UP NEXT
Queen's is back in action tomorrow afternoon, playing York (1-0) Sunday afternoon at 2:30pm back at the Memorial Centre.

Source: Queen's Gaels

Golden Hawks lose opener in OT to Waterloo

WATERLOO, Ont. (October 15, 2016) – With just 15 skaters dressed, the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks women's hockey team pushed the Waterloo Warriors into overtime, but could not come away with a victory, falling 3-2.

Jessica Prevette of Mississauga, Ont., led the Hawks in points as she tallied a goal and an assist. Other players on Laurier with assists were Madison MacCulloch of Toronto, Ont., and Jackie Normandeau of Uxbridge, Ont.

Rookie forward Emily Woodhouse of St. Marys, Ont., scored in her first career game with the Golden Hawks. Goaltender Lauren Webber, the Burlington, Ont., native, made 31 of 34 saves in the first game of the season for the Hawks.

The scoring started while the Golden Hawks were on the penalty kill. A puck came loose out of a scrum and Prevette broke down the ice all alone beating the Warriors goalie Taylor Reimer of Morden, Man., and giving Laurier a 1-0 lead. 

The Golden Hawks lead was short lived however, as Marissa Redmond of Ajax, Ont., got the Warriors on the board during a power play with just 6:51 left in the first period and it would stay that way heading into the second.

More than halfway through the second frame Woodhouse found a loose puck in front of the Warriors net and buried it in the back of the net, putting the Hawks up 2-1 and regaining their lead that would be held through 40 minutes of play.

With Laurier killing off a 5-on-3 Waterloo advantage, it was Angela MacDonald of Kitchener, Ont., who found the back of the net for the Warriors just 29 seconds into the third period and evened the score back up at 2-2. 

The end of regulation saw the teams all square and the Battle of Waterloo in women's hockey headed to overtime. Late in the first overtime period the Hawks took a penalty sending the Warriors to the power play and it was MacDonald with her second of the game beating Webber, giving the Warriors a 3-2 overtime victory.

The Golden Hawks saw all three of the Warriors goals scored on the power play. Waterloo converted on 3/9 power play opportunities. 

Webber was strong in net for Laurier in a losing effort as she turned aside 31 shots while Reimer picked up the win for Waterloo making 20 saves.

The next game for the Hawks comes on Friday October 21, 2016 when they host the Queen's Gaels on Laurier Student Dollar Day at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex.

Source: Laurier Golden Hawks