KINGSTON, Ont. - The Laurier Golden Hawks continued their road trip with a visit to Kingston to face the Queen's Gaels for the second time in four games, ultimately falling in a three-round shootout.
Riding the momentum of a weekend sweep and a rise to sixth in the country, Laurier aimed to turn the tables on Queen's and add to their growing points streak.
Queen's opened the scoring just minutes into the first period when Taya Leonard took a breakout pass off the boards and went top corner on goaltender Kayla Renaud on a partial breakaway. Despite a Laurier power play opportunity, the Gaels held on to their 1–0 lead heading into the first intermission.
The Golden Hawks tied it up in the second period thanks to Jersie Lindley, who dove through traffic in front to get her stick on a loose puck in the crease and tap it into the open net.
However, two costly penalties put Laurier back behind, as OUA goal leaders Sophie Hudson and Scarlett Nowakowski each struck on the power play to give Queen's a 3–1 lead.
"Special teams probably is the reason why the outcome stayed the way it was," said Laurier's manager of women's hockey operations and head coach Kelly Paton.
"We missed some opportunities on the power play, and then obviously they got a couple on theirs. We were just in a position today where they found the net, and that really shifted momentum."
However, not long after, Kylie Laliberte brought the purple and gold back within one, finishing off a beautiful backdoor tap-in set up by Ella Jackson to make it 3–2 heading into the break.
Laurier came out strong in the third, generating quality scoring chances and controlling possession early. Their persistence paid off when Elle Spencer went bardown off a pass from Clara Chisholm following a face-off win to even the game at three.
"Just process – again, I think we're continuing to try to challenge the idea of not playing urgently when we're only down a goal," Paton added. "We've got to find a way to have that in us all the time, though. If we do that, we'll find ourselves playing with a few more leads than we've been lately."
Despite a late power play in regulation and another chance in overtime, the Golden Hawks couldn't convert, sending the contest to a shootout.
Laurier's shooters – Spencer, Marra Klassen, and Kara den Hoed – were all turned aside by Queen's goaltender Emma Tennant, while the Gaels went 1-for-3 to seal the win on home ice.
"Getting a point out of this, with the position we were in – down two goals – I'm kind of happy to get something that moves us a bit more competitive in the standings," said Paton. "But missing those opportunities, like the overtime power play, was costly, and then they finished it off in the shootout."
Despite the loss, Laurier outshot Queen's 41–25.
Paton also noted that familiarity between the two teams added an interesting layer to the matchup. "It's always nice when you have some perspective on an opponent you've played recently, you understand their structure a bit more," she said.
The Golden Hawks will now head back home and will look to get back into the win column as they host the Carleton Ravens next Friday at the Athletic Complex. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., and tickets are available here.
