WATERLOO, Ont. – For the second time in its existence, Laurier women's hockey was the feature team for the eighth annual Golden Hawks School Day Game on Thursday morning. The sixth-ranked Guelph Gryphons put a bit of a damper on the festivities with 2,660 fans in attendance though, beating Laurier 4-1.
With this year's School Day Game being the first one since 2019, Laurier netminder, Acadia Carlson expressed that skating onto the ice through the inflatable Golden Hawk was something she had never experienced before.
"It was pretty special to be able to do that with this group of girls," Carlson reflected after the game.
It hadn't been long since the Golden Hawks had faced Gryphons, as they battled it out on Friday night, with the Golden Hawks taking the win in overtime, 1-0.
With already a buzz of excitement around the Waterloo Memorial Rec Complex, the Golden Hawks scoring first sent fans into a frenzy.
Only five minutes into the game, Kylie Laliberte poke-checked the puck away from a Guelph defender in the Golden Hawks zone and took off with the puck up the ice.
Unfortunately, she couldn't get the puck past Guelph goaltender Martina Fedel, but she did draw the hooking penalty, giving the Golden Hawks the game's first powerplay.
Despite not scoring on the ensuing advantage, they used that momentum to get the opening goal minutes later.
Arielle MacDonald walked the puck to the net and went bar-down to take the lead. MacDonald's goal was assisted by Tieneke Gedge, her first of the season.
The Golden Hawks wrapped up the first period leading by a goal.
That would be the only – and last – time they would though, as Guelph came back on the ice in the second period and dominated the remainder of the game.
Halfway through the middle frame, the Gryphons capitalized on a power play to tie things at 1-1.
With two minutes left in the second period, the Gryphons took their first lead.
Four minutes into the final period, Guelph's Chihiro Suzuki notched her second goal of the game, extending the Gryphons' lead.
Just over halfway through the third period, Guelph scored their fourth and final goal of the game, securing the three-goal win.
After the game, Carlson explained how despite the loss against a team they're jostling for the top spot in the OUA West with, it was still "a growing opportunity" for the team.
"We learned a lot about the other team, ourselves, and what it is going to take to win a playoff series come February and March," she said.
With the loss, the Golden Hawks remain in second place in the OUA West division and drop to 8-4 in the regular season.
THREE STARS:
1st Star: Chihiro Suzuki, Guelph Gryphons – 2 goals
2nd Star: Katherine Heard, Guelph Gryphons – 1 goal, 1 assist
3rd Star: Arielle MacDonald, Laurier Golden Hawks – 1 goal
Up Next:
The Golden Hawks will host Ontario Tech University on Saturday at 3:30 pm for its OUA Hockey Pride Game at the Waterloo Rec Complex.
Fans are encouraged to participate in the family skate in between the women's and the men's hockey games on Saturday afternoon.
Free Golden Hawks pride pins will be given out to the first 100 fans, so come out and show your support!
If you can't make the game, follow @WLUAthletics on X for live updates and find all the action live on OUA.tv
