TORONTO, Ont. - Coming off a 3-0 loss the previous night against TMU, the Golden Hawks were chasing a win in their game against the York Lions on Saturday afternoon.Â
The last time these teams faced off against each other, York skated away with a 3-1 November, but it was Laurier earning the season series split with a 6-2 victory on this day.
Early in the first period, after York's starting netminder Emma Wedgewood played the puck in front of her net, Laurier captain Hayley Szymanowski raced after it and buried the puck, opening the scoring just thirty-one seconds into the game. It was Szymanowski's fifth goal of the season.Â
The play went back and forth on the ice throughout the first period, but neither team had many scoring opportunities.Â
Halfway through the frame, the Lions had a 3-on-1 towards the Laurier's net, but Laurier defender Claire Robinson got the puck away from the Lions and ensured they could not get a shot off.Â
York had a few chances during the remainder of the period, testing Laurier starting goaltender Kathryn Raitano, who was making her OUA debut on Saturday afternoon.Â
With only three minutes left in the opening period, Hayley Szymanowski had the puck in the Lion's end of the ice. A York defender kept her to the outside, but she still got a shot off, which Olivia MacMillan buried in the back of the net, making it 2-0.Â
In the final seconds of the period, the Lions had an opportunity to get on the scoreboard but Raitano stood her ground and stopped every puck that came her way.Â
As Raitano did not get many chances to display her capabilities during the first, she was tested in the second.Â
Christina McCulloch took a holding penalty early in the second period, giving the Lions their first powerplay. Although the Lions had many scoring chances with the advantage, Raitano made some huge saves to maintain the Golden Hawks' lead.
Eight minutes into the second, MacMillan chased after the puck towards the Lions' net. She beat out the Lions defender and found a way to direct the puck past Wedgewood for her second goal of the game, making it 3-0. It was MacMillan's fifth goal of the season.
After that, York opted to pull Wedgewood from the game for backup Dominique Chuaqui, making just her fifth appearance this season.Â
Shortly after MacMillan's goal, Emerie Maltby took a holding penalty, forcing the Golden Hawks back on the penalty kill.Â
After lots of pressure during the penalty, it was just one second after it ended that Alexia Giantsopoulos fed a pass to Sydney Paulson, who sent the puck flying over the top of Raitano and in the back of her net, making it a 3-1 game.
Just a minute later, Nicole York sent a shot towards Laurier's net from the blue line, which was deflected in by Julianna Duma, earning her third goal of the season and making it 3-2.Â
With fifteen seconds left in the period, Giantsopoulos walked the puck past the Golden Hawks and got a nice shot off at Raitano, but Laurier's netminder shut her down and ended the second period with a 3-2 lead for the Golden Hawks.Â
Early in the third, Giantsopulos attempted to wrap the puck around Laurier's net and jam it under Raitano's pads but she held strong and kept the puck out of her net.Â
Just under five minutes into the third period, Szymanowski brought the puck up towards the Lion's net and buried her own rebound to get her second goal of the game, making it 4-2.Â
With five minutes left in the period, the Lions took a timeout and elected to pull their goalie for an extra attacker. The Golden Hawks took advantage of this opportunity and Kylie Laliberte scored a goal from her own end, making it 5-2.Â
Chloe Davidson ended up getting an empty-net goal for herself to seal the deal for the Golden Hawks.Â
Szymanowski's five-point night tied her with 17 other Golden Hawks for the second most points in a game in program history. Amanda Joseph and Tracey Palinksy recorded the most (on record) with six in a game. Both times occurred in 2002.
The four-goal win for the Golden Hawks also broke their six-game losing streak and solidified their hold of third place in the OUA West division with two regular season games remaining - both against the current #10 Waterloo Warriors.
Three Stars
1st Star: Hayley Szymanowski, Laurier Golden Hawks – 2 G, 3 A
2nd Star: Olivia MacMillan, Laurier Golden Hawks – 2 G
3rd Star: Kathryn Raitano, Laurier Golden Hawks – 1st OUA WinÂ
Up Next
The Golden Hawks head back to Waterloo for the start of back-to-back games against the Warriors and a potential preview of a first-round OUA playoff match-up.
Puck drop on Friday, February 16 is at 7 pm at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex.Â
Follow @WLUAthletics on X for live updates and find all the action live on OUA.tv.
