LONDON, Ont. – The Golden Hawks travelled to London Saturday evening to take on the Western Mustangs for the second time in three games. The purple and gold were looking to get their second win against Western this season, however, the Mustangs' early lead made for a tough comeback as they held off Laurier 3-2.

Laurier starting goaltender Acadia Carlson stood tall in the net the entire period as both teams brought lots of pressure and offence for the first 20 minutes. Even with that, the period finished scoreless.

The second period saw Western dictate the pace of play while the Golden Hawks tried to clamp down defensively. Despite their best efforts, it only took four minutes before the Mustangs potted their first goal, coming on the powerplay, with a bar-down shot from Elizabeth Gauthier, her first goal in 15 games. 

The Golden Hawks tried to even the score with lots of puck movement but Adeline Kristoff managed to get a second goal past Carlson after a quick pass from Alyssa Wouda, doubling Western's lead to 2-0 before the end of the frame.

The Mustangs had no intention of slowing down in the third period with their two-goal lead. Five minutes in, Adeline Kristoff found the back of the net for the second time to put her team in a comfortable three-goal lead over the Golden Hawks. 

After consistent back-and-forth play, Laurier finally managed to get one past Western's goaltender Kaitlyn Booth on a powerplay of their own. Manager of hockey operations and head coach Kelly Paton decided to pull Carlson from her net to give her team a six-on-four advantage. It ultimately paid off as Brianna Bowman's shot from the point got the Golden Hawks on the board and gave Bowman her first career OUA goal.

The tactic seemed to work for the Golden Hawks as, less than two minutes later, Olivia MacMillan potted Laurier's second goal from the same position to reduce Western's lead to just one. 

Despite their best efforts, the visitors weren't able to complete the comeback with the time they had left.  

When asked about an aspect to improve on, Paton noted she will be "looking for more successful and clean breakouts to get the transition game faster" in the coming games.

Three stars

Adeline Kristoff – Western Mustangs: two goals

Brianna Bowman – Laurier Golden Hawks: first career OUA goal

Kaitlyn Booth – Western Mustangs: .917% save percentage

Up next

The Golden Hawks are back at home to take on the Guelph Gryphons on Thursday, January 12 at 7:00 pm. Tickets are on sale now!