OTTAWA, Ont. - The Laurier Golden Hawks capped off their Ottawa road trip with a 3-1 win over the Carleton Ravens on Saturday night, completing their weekend sweep. Â
The victory also marked a milestone for blueliner Gabrielle Lehoux, who celebrated her 100th career OUA game after joining Laurier this season as a transfer from the Western Mustangs.Â
"I thought Carleton did a good job of making us feel urgent in building offense," said Laurier's manager of women's hockey operations and head coach Kelly Paton. Â
"That really challenged our ability to kind of get in the game early on. Obviously, the two goals in the first period helped us settle in and just have confidence for the rest of the game, especially knowing that it's been a long weekend."Â
Olivia MacMillian opened the scoring early for the purple and gold with a slick spin-o-rama move in the crease before sliding the puck into the empty net to give Laurier the 1-0 lead. Â
Later in the period, Emerie Maltby would score her first of the season to double the Hawks' advantage. After fanning on her initial attempt in the slot, she stayed composed and buried a blocker-side shot to extend the lead. Â
However, just moments later, Carleton responded with their first and only goal of the game. A centering pass found Jenna Beaton alone in front, and she tapped the puck past a diving Sarah Howell to cut the lead to one.Â
The second period featured end-to-end action, with both goaltenders standing tall to keep the score locked at 2-1 through forty minutes, and well into the third.Â
"We've got to fall back into the kind of structure and habits that are important," Paton said. "There are moments when the game can go either way, or a little bit of rush decision-making happens, which generally leads to turnovers. So it's about keeping an even presence but still having that urgency, especially in one-goal games."Â
With two minutes remaining, the Ravens called a timeout and pulled their goalie in search of the equalizer. But Laurier quickly put the game away when Ella Jackson banked the puck off the boards to a streaking Kylie Laliberte, who raced in on a breakaway and sealed the win with an empty-netter.Â
Howell made 19 saves in her hometown start, earning her second win of the season.Â
"That's probably a fundamental thing for teams that are successful," Paton added. "We're really fortunate knowing that when our defensive structures lapse, we've got a last line of defense that's going to be in a good spot to make that save. It helps simplify things when they can calm the game down, and they've been meeting us halfway by being consistent with their job."Â
The Golden Hawks will look to build on their two-game winning streak when they visit the Queen's Gaels next weekend – the team that snapped Laurier's previous run just a few games ago. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.Â
