WATERLOO, Ont. – Laurier's women's hockey team remained winless on the season after falling 3-0 to the #7-ranked Toronto Varsity Blues on home ice Thursday night.
The Golden Hawks came out fast in the first period to set the tone against the East division's second-place team. Laurier's defence remained strong for most of the period until a shot from the point by Juliette Blais-Savoie managed to sneak through Kayla Renaud's to open the scoring.
The pressure was on as the Golden Hawks attempted to tie it up. However, with two minutes left in the frame, Blues forward Nikki McDonald cut in towards the net and roofed the puck on her backhand to put the Blues up 2-0.
The second period was scoreless as Renaud, making only her second career OUA start, kept Toronto's seven shots out of the cage. At the other end, the Golden Hawks struggled to get one past goaltender Erica Fryer. It was nonetheless exciting to watch as the purple and gold's pressure was consistent, both offensively and in their zone, allowing for more time and space to generate opportunities.
The third period started with the Golden Hawks bringing the heat again. Toronto seemingly overcame that though when forward Katy McKenna wscored her second goal of the season after cutting in deep off a faceoff to put the Blues up 3-0. The remainder of the period remained scoreless as Laurier dropped its eighth game in the past ten match-ups against the Varsity Blues dating back to November 2016.
The Golden Hawks will now look to break their nine-game losing streak to start the season in the GTA on Sunday afternoon against York. The Lions have already beaten the Golden Hawks once this season, however, the Lions' record (3-5) is comparable to Laurier's. With the consistency of Thurday's second period, there will be more scoring opportunities this time around as well for the Golden Hawks.
Three stars
Erica Fryer – Toronto Varsity Blues: first shut-out of the season
Rylee Crego – Laurier Golden Hawks: great defensive game
Juliette Blais-Savoie – Toronto Varsity Blues: game-winning goal
Up next
The Golden Hawks take on the York Lions at Canlan Ice Sports in Toronto on Sunday at 2:15 PM. Catch all the action live on OUA.tv.
