TORONTO, Ont. - The Golden Hawks won consecutive games while extending their point streak to five games with a 2-0 shutout win over the TMU Bold on Sunday.
Riding high from Thursday night's exciting upset win over the #6-ranked Guelph Gryphons, Laurier travelled to the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto to face a TMU squad looking to bounce back after suffering four straight losses.Â
Laurier came out flying, quickly taking control and outshooting TMU by a wide margin.Â
In the final minute of the period, and already on their third power play of the game,
Brianna Bowman ripped a shot from the blue line, which
Elle Spencer expertly deflected for her third goal of the season, giving Laurier a 1-0 lead heading into the intermission.Â
The Golden Hawks missed a few golden opportunities with a 3-on-0 early in the second period, narrowly missing their chance to extend their lead.Â
They also excelled at controlling TMU's attempts to break out, consistently intercepting passes and disrupting zone entries.
The physicality remained intense, with TMU laying on heavy hits to shake Laurier's focus.Â
However, the purple and gold stayed composed, focusing on disciplined play and capitalizing on smart defensive positioning to maintain control of the game. They held on to the 1-0 lead heading into the final frame.Â
In the opening minutes of the third period, TMU's Payton Kerr broke free up the middle, charging toward the net on a breakaway. Rookie goaltender
Sarah Howell, making her OUA debut, responded with a sprawling pad save to deny the chance and keep Laurier in front.
Shortly after, the Golden Hawks earned their fifth power play of the game, which resulted in defender
Arielle MacDonald firing a shot from just inside the blue line for her second goal of the season, doubling Laurier's lead.
In a last-ditch effort, TMU pulled their goalie to create a 6-on-4 advantage after Laurier took a tripping penalty with under two minutes left in regulation.
The ensuing pressure was intense, but Howell came up big with a crucial glove save, sealing the Golden Hawks' second consecutive victory and her first OUA win and shutout after a 26-save performance.
"I think overall it was a strong performance, starting with Sarah in net who made the saves that we needed her to make," said manager of women's hockey operations and head coach
Kelly Paton. "Especially [at the end] when we were in a 6-on-4 situation that we needed to kill."
Howell's calm and poised performance was evident throughout, with the coach sharing that she was given the nod on Friday to allow time to mentally prepare.Â
"She was very calm today, making the saves we needed, especially in tight with those rebound chances and knowing when to cover the puck. That was a really big piece for our success today," Paton said.
TMU brought a notable physical edge to this afternoon's game, but Laurier's disciplined approach proved key.Â
"We spoke about that many times today," Paton explained. "The game is physical and contact will happen, especially around the walls. But we consistently practice discipline within our group and understand how important that is to position ourselves for success."
Â
Up Next
Golden Hawks (5-1-0-1) are back home for a Friday night showdown against the Ottawa Gee-Gees (4-3-0-1) looking to extend their winning streak to a season-high three games.
Puck drop at the Waterloo Memorial Rec Complex is set for 7 pm.Â
The action will also be streamed live on OUA.tv and updates will be available at @WLUAthletics on X.
