ST. CATHERINES, Ont. - The Golden Hawks snapped a three-game losing streak in St. Catherines on Saturday, shutting out the Brock Badgers 1-0 to take the season series in their tenth win of the year. It's the first time since 2015-16 that Laurier has reached a double-digit win total in the regular season.

Wrapping up a four-game road swing to start the new year, the Golden Hawks came into the third and final match-up of the season between the teams in third place in the OUA West. Their divisional rival sat two places behind in fifth.

The first time the teams met in Laurier's season and home opener, Brock skated away with a 1-0 win. The second time around, the Golden Hawks came away with a 3-2 win. 

Brock came into the game having just lost 5-0 to the Guelph Gryphons. 

The first period was a Badger-dominated opening frame, as Kayla Renauld, Laurier's starting netminder, made nine big saves, whereas Kenzie Harmison had to save four. 

Just over halfway through the period, Kylie Laliberte took a tripping penalty, giving the Badgers the player advantage. The Badgers continued to apply a lot of pressure and shooting possession during their powerplay but they could not beat Renauld. 

The first period ended scoreless.

The second period saw more back-and-forth action. Laurier's Chloe Davidson took an interference penalty just past the midway point, but the Badgers were held at bay again.

With two minutes left in the period, Brock's Jenna Duarte took a body-checking penalty but the Golden Hawks couldn't get the puck past Harmison, and the game remained scoreless after the second period. 

Five minutes into the third period, Malika McDonald drew a penalty shot while on a breakaway. Madelyn Walsh took the re-do but Renault shut the door.

Later in the period, Renauld fumbled a giveaway from her net directly towards the Badgers but, fortunately, they were unable to get a proper shot off and get it past Laurier's netminder.

Finally, the deadlock was broken with three minutes left in the period, as Elle Spencer let a shot rip from the blue line, getting it through traffic and past Harmison, making it a 1-0 game for the Golden Hawks. 

Minutes later, the Badgers had a two-on-one towards Renauld, but after going through a lot of traffic in front of the Golden Hawks' net, the puck ended up in the corner of the Laurier zone and out of Renauld's net. 

The game resulted in a 1-0 win for the Golden Hawks, getting them back in the winning column. Spencer's goal, which stood as the game-winner, was her third such tally of the season.

Renaud's shutout was her third of the season in just her fifth game. Laurier's backup netminder now has a 3-1 record and a 2.25 goals-against average. 

The Golden Hawks are now 10-8 on season and sit three points behind second-place Waterloo in their division. 

Three Stars

1st Star: Kayla Renauld, Laurier Golden Hawks – 23-save shutout

2nd Star: Elle Spencer, Laurier Golden Hawks – game-winning goal

3rd Star: Kenzie Harmison, Brock Badgers - 17 saves 

Up Next

The Golden Hawks are finally back home for the first time in 2024 as they host the Windsor Lancers (7-12) in their first meeting this season. 

Windsor is coming off a 6-2 win over Ontario Tech and sits fourth in the OUA West, five points behind Laurier.

Laurier have won back-to-back games against the Lancers but are just 3-7 against them in their past 10 games.

Puck drop at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex is 7 pm. Follow @WLUAthletics on X for live updates and find all the action on OUA.tv.