WATERLOO, Ont. - The Golden Hawks were looking to finish the season on a high note but fell short, losing 2-0 against the #10 Guelph Gryphons on Senior Night. 

Friday's game was the final time wearing the purple and gold for four Golden Hawks forwards and one netminder. Before puck drop, captain Steph Caleca, assistant captain Emily Lange, Kenedy Choma, Chloe Saxton and goaltender Victoria Kelaiditis were presented with flowers by their families at centre ice. 

The game kicked off with back-and-forth action. Laurier had a couple of good chances. One shot went off of a body in front of the net and beat Guelph's Martina Fedel but not the post. Neither team was able to break the ice and went into the first intermission tied at zeros.

The second period began with more back-and-forth action, but halfway through the frame the Golden Hawks got into a little penalty trouble and spent almost four minutes in the sin bin. 

Guelph's powerplay was unable to get many quality scoring chances on the advantage. Everything that Guelph threw toward the net was either blocked or stopped by Kelaiditis. 

Both penalty kills were successful and Laurier was rewarded with a powerplay of their own. 

However, Laurier also couldn't take advantage of the powerplay and, to add salt to the wound as the penalty expired, Guelph's Chihiro Suzuki connected with Abby Davies on a two-on-one rush to give the Gryphons the lead.

The Golden Hawks got another chance on the powerplay in the third period, but Guelph's penalty kill stood strong. The purple and gold pushed hard and Kelaiditis made big saves to keep her team in the game, but the Golden Hawks couldn't put the puck past Fedel. 

Laurier's manager of women's hockey operations and head coach Kelly Patton signalled for Kelaiditis and sent an extra attacker on the ice with four minutes remaining in the period. With just over two minutes left in the game, Brianna Bowman attempted to center the puck to Chloe Davidson, but the puck took a bad bounce and ended up in the back of Laurier's empty net. 

Laurier was awarded a powerplay for the last minutes of the game, but the Gryphons held on for a 2-0 victory. 

In her final game in the Golden Hawk sweater, Keliaditis left it all on the ice, putting up 30 saves on 31 shots - good enough for a .968 save percentage. 

"It's unfortunate for them that they missed a season due to COVID, but they were a big part of my transition. Their departure leaves us with some huge holes that we have to fill," said Patton after the game. "Today was filled with good energy. It was nice to celebrate them today."

When reflecting on the day, fourth-year kinesiology major and assistant captain Emily Lange said, "It has not hit me yet. I was a little emotional this morning and during the game but it was a great run here." 

"It was very nice to have my family here tonight. They've supported me through this whole journey ever since I was a little kid," she added.

Captain Steph Caleca had similar remarks relating "a very bittersweet feeling."

"It's very nice to celebrate these big moments, but it's sad to leave a big chapter behind. But you have to dial in for the last sixty minutes. You don't want to be thinking about the end while you're playing."

With their season concluded, the Golden Hawks will look to build on their final record of 4-17-3-2 (and a four-point improvement from a year ago) in 2023/24.