Kitchener, ONT. – The Golden Hawks took the Battle of Waterloo to the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium on Wednesday night. Despite the venue change, it was a similar result to the two previous match-ups against Waterloo so far this season as the purple and gold fell to the #8-ranked Warriors 3-2 in overtime. 

Acadia Carlson got the start between the pipes for Laurier and was sharp from the get-go, stopping all eight shots she faced in the opening frame. With Laurier getting the same amount on Waterloo goaltender Kara Mark without any luck, the score remained at zeros heading into the second period.

Six minutes into the second period, the Warriors' leading scorer Tatum James opened the scoring when she roofed the puck over Carlson on the first powerplay of the game for either team. 

The puck possession was back-and-forth as the period went on, however, with only two minutes remaining in the period, Waterloo's Brooklyn Cole got a second puck past Carlson on a rebound from Keiara Raitt's shot. The period closed off with the Warriors up by a pair.

The Golden Hawks wasted no time in mounting their comeback in the third though. With an early powerplay of their own, Chloe Davidson sniped a shot in the slot off a faceoff, beating Mark high glove-side to put her team on the board. 

The purple and gold didn't stop there. Taking advantage of a five-on-three, Olivia MacMillan got her second goal of the season off another faceoff in the Warriors' zone. Taking after her teammate, she walked out into the slot for a quick wrist shot, hitting the top corner behind Mark, tying the game. 

The remaining 10 minutes of regulation remained scoreless despite both teams having close opportunities.

The ensuing three-on-three overtime lasted five minutes before Waterloo's Raitt jumped on an errant back pass for a breakaway. Executing a forehand-to-backhand move, she managed to slip the puck around Carlson's outstretched right pad for the game-winner.

"We've had a rough go this year and coming back from a deficit has been hard for us. But even two-down, we didn't throw in the towel and pushed them to overtime," Golden Hawks captain Stephanie Caleca said after the game. "Even if it wasn't the outcome we'd hoped for, I'm proud of ourselves."

Three Stars

Keiara Mark – Waterloo Warriors: two assists and game-winning goal in OT

Hayley Szymanowski – Laurier Golden Hawks: two assists

Tatum James – Waterloo Warriors: fifth point in five games

Up Next

The Golden Hawks take on the Brock Badgers in St. Catherines Friday at 6:00 pm. Catch all the action live on OUA.tv