FREDERICTON, NB - Despite settling for a split in day 3 action, the Golden Hawks still find themselves atop the standings in Fredericton at the 2024 U SPORTS/Curling Canada University Championships.

The purple and gold faced their stiffest competition yet when they stepped onto the ice Thursday morning at the Aitken Center Arena, as they took on the Alberta Golden Bears. 

The five-time defending Canada West champions were looking for redemption against the Golden Hawks, having fallen to Laurier in their previous meeting at last year's national. 

They got just that in a 6-4 win to hand the Golden Hawks their first loss of the tournament. 

Alberta jumped out to a 3-0 lead after four ends and never looked back, recording single-point ends in the seventh, eighth and tenth. 

"That game was tough. We weren't sharp," said Laurier head coach Matt Wilkinson after the defeat. "We played lights out in the second half, but they just made some tough shots in the end."

The evening session had the Golden Hawks pitted against the host University of New Brunswick Reds at the Capital Winter Club. Despite another slow start, Laurier recovered and bounced back with a 9-6 win. 

It was the third game of the tournament the team recorded at least nine points in a game.

With the score tied 5-5 at the fifth-end break, the Golden Hawks asserted themselves with a three-point end in the seventh and another single in the eighth to build a comfortable lead. 

"We had another slow start in the first half and the fifth end got away from us," said Wilkinson describing the team giving up three to UNB in the end before the break. "But we played a really good second half and got things in line."

Reflecting on what the main cause was for the less-than-ideal beginning to their latest draws, Wilkinson noted how "flipping from different ice surfaces" between the arena and curling club was the main culprit.

"Some games are taking longer to pick up what's going on with the ice and rocks," he explained.

Wilkinson credited the veteran team for "working well together" through the adversity.

"The experience from last year (at nationals) is showing," he said. "They've been very business-minded."

Laurier, sitting at 4-1 in a three-way tie for first place, wraps round-robin action on Friday. A win over the AUS champion Dalhousie Tigers (4-1), beginning at 7:30 am EST, would all but guarantee them a spot in Saturday's semifinal draw.

The Golden Hawks will also face the Guelph Gryphons (2-3) at 3:30 pm.