TORONTO, Ont. - The Golden Hawks headed to the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Friday night to battle against the Toronto Metropolitan Bold, who currently sit in 12th place in the OUA. The last time these two teams were matched up was back in December when the Golden Hawks beat the Bold 5-0. 

It was TMU who turned the tables though in Toronto, shutting out Laurier 3-0.

As Golden Hawks manager of women's hockey operations and head coach Kelly Paton had previously mentioned, these final games were points that Laurier couldn't afford to lose, as it dictates what position they put themselves in down the line. 

The first period was an equal battle between the two teams, both with many scoring opportunities. 

Laurier had a golden opportunity when Elle Spencer dropped passed to Emily Olson, who had a shot attempt towards Bold netminder Alexia Stratos. But after a lot of traffic in Stratos' crease, the puck remained out of her net. 

At 8:04 of the first period, the Bold took two penalties, one for bodychecking and another for cross-checking, giving the Golden Hawks a 5-on-3 advantage for two minutes. 

Keeping in mind, the Bold currently leads the OUA in short-handed goals with four on the season. 

Kylie Laliberte had an opportunity coming towards the Bold net, opting to shoot quite high in the zone, due to TMU's defence blocking their netminder. However, Stratos proved her capabilities by shutting Laliberte down and making the save.

Shortly after the penalties ended, Laurier captain Hayley Szymanowski sent the puck over to Olson, who attempted the backhand, but Stratos made the kick-save to keep the game scoreless after 20 minutes.

That would change during the second. 

A TMU defender took a shot from the blue line, which was saved by Renaud. However, after many rebounded shots, Emily Baxter was able to open the scoring, banging in her 14th goal of the season - which placed her in a four-way tie for second-most in the OUA.

As the Bold were up 1-0, the Golden Hawks were desperate to tie the game. 

Two minutes after the goal, Tieneke Gedge took a head contact penalty, giving the Bold a power play. 

Although no goals were scored during the penalty kill, just six seconds after Gedge's penalty ended, Elle Spencer was sent to the bench for a hooking penalty. 

Twenty seconds into the new power play, Megan Breen ripped a shot from the blue line, which was rebounded in by Cailey Davis, earning her fifth goal of the regular season, and increasing the Bold's lead to 2-0. 

The third period consisted of the Bold defensively holding on to their lead and the Golden Hawks trying to get as many shots toward Stratos as possible. 

With four minutes left in the final frame, Paton called a time-out to discuss quickly pulling Laurier's netminder Kayla Renaud from the net to add an extra attacker.

As the play continued, Renaud was pulled. However, Lauren McEachen passed the puck to Neely Van Volsen, who grabbed an empty net goal to make it 3-0 for the Bold. This would mark Van Volsen's fifth goal of the season and of her OUA career. 

The game concluded with the Golden Hawks dropping to 11-11-2-1 on the season and extending their season-long losing streak to six games.

After going 9-5 in the first half of their season, Laurier have struggled since the calendar turned to 2024, going 2-7-2-0 since.

Three Stars

1st Star: Alexia Stratos, Toronto Metropolitan Bold– 42-save shutout

2nd Star: Emily Baxter, Toronto Metropolitan Bold – 1 G, 1 A

3rd Star: Cailey Davis, Toronto Metropolitan Bold – 1 G, 1 A

Up Next

The Golden Hawks remain on the road as they face the York Lions, who are currently in 10th in the OUA, on Saturday afternoon. Puck drop is scheduled for 2:15 pm at Canlan Ice Sports in Toronto. 

Follow @WLUAthletics on X for live updates and find all the action live on OUA.tv