WATERLOO, Ont. - The #10-ranked Golden Hawks capitalized on strong special teams play to edge out the OUA East division-leading Nipissing Lakers 2-1 on home ice, securing a crucial three points in the provincial conference standings.Â
The purple and gold set the tone early with a shorthanded goal from
Clara Chisholm, who used her aggressive forecheck to get the puck to
Olivia MacMillan along the boards. Chisholm then found open ice in the slot and made no mistake, wiring the pass into the net to open the scoring.Â
Laurier continued to dominate special teams, killing off two penalties before extending their lead late in the period. On the powerplay,
Arielle MacDonald sniped a shot from the blue line off a feed from
Claire Robinson, doubling their lead.Â
Meanwhile,
Sarah Howell, starting in back-to-back games, was locked in early, making crucial saves to preserve the lead.Â
The decision to give her another start was based on her consistency and familiarity with Nipissing's style of play.Â
"She's been on her game and has consistently put us in a position to win," explained manager of women's hockey operations and head coach
Kelly Paton. "She had a top-10 performance tonight. She was very good."
The Golden Hawks forecheck remained effective, creating several odd-man rushes, but they struggled to convert as many of their shots sailed wide. Howell remained a difference-maker, standing tall in net against a barrage of high-quality chances.Â
Despite the offensive push from both teams, no goals were added in the middle frame.
Nipissing eventually broke through Howell's shutout streak at the midway point of the third when Abby Lunney buried a rebound shot off Howell's pad, cutting the lead to one.
The momentum swung in Nipissing's favour, and the Golden Hawks found themselves on the penalty kill immediately after the goal. Despite the pressure, they held strong, neutralizing the Lakers' power play.Â
"It's a work in progress to get players to understand the value and significance of competing," Paton noted. "We want to continue to get better and build that onto the next few games, and then hopefully, that leads into a bit of a longer run in the postseason."
Despite a sluggish start to the third, where Nipissing began to carry the momentum, the Golden Hawks defensive core tightened up in the final minutes, holding on strong to pick up the much-needed three points.Â
After another impressive start for Howell, which improved her record in the crease to 8-2 on the season, she credited her strong play to maintaining the right mental approach.Â
"Honestly, I play my best when I'm just happy and having fun, and this group makes it easy to be in that zone," she said. "We talked about being in your green zone, and mine is just being upbeat, happy, and calm. Since Christmas, I've prioritized that, and it's been working in the second half."
The proof is in the pudding as she now ranks in the top five among OUA goaltenders in goals against average (1.44), save percentage (.942), and shutouts (4).Â
Getting the opportunity to start back-to-back was something she embraced. "I was excited," Howell admitted. "I wanted that second chance to play against Nipissing and show everyone who we are, you know, and play that role for the team."
With the massive six-point weekend, the Golden Hawks want to continue to build momentum for their last two games before the postseason, having climbed into third place in the OUA West with a two-point lead over fourth-place Windsor.
If Laurier maintains its current positioning, it will avoid the sing-elimination play-in game on February 20 and advance directly to a best-of-three quarterfinal.
The team is slated to take the ice on Thursday when they face the #4-ranked Toronto Varsity Blues in the provincial capital.Â
The action can be caught at 7:30 p.m. and can be streamed on OUA.tv.
 Live updates will also be available on X at @WLUAthletics.
