WATERLOO, Ont. - The Golden Hawks delivered another dominant performance Friday night, earning a crucial three points with a 5-0 home victory over the Carleton Ravens, completing their series sweep.Â
The opening half of the period was a tight back-and-forth battle, with both teams struggling to establish sustained offensive pressure. However, Laurier took control in the latter half, breaking the deadlock with two quick goals.
The first came on the power play when
Ella Jackson capitalized on a net-front scramble, jamming the puck past the Carleton goaltender to put the Golden Hawks up 1-0.
Just under two minutes later, the purple and gold struck again.Â
Kylie Laliberte made a strong end-to-end rush, delivering a perfect pass to captain
Hayley Szymanowski, who fired a wrist shot far post to extend the lead, helping her team enter the first intermission up by two.Â
Laurier continued to control play in the second, excelling on the penalty kill and maintaining an aggressive forecheck.Â
Their dominance paid off midway through the frame when
Kamryn Szumlinski found the back of the net for her first goal of the season. She was able to find open space to fire a shot blocker-side and push the lead to 3-0.
They showed no signs of letting up in the final frame. Their defensive pressure forced Carleton into icing the puck and resorting to dump-and-chase plays rather than generating quality rushes.
Laurier successfully killed back-to-back penalties before adding two more insurance goals.
Ella Jackson scored her second of the night, pulling off a slick deke past a Carleton defender before going bar-down on a partial breakaway.Â
Just over a minute later,
Marieve Roussel netted her first career OUA goal. After an initial scoring attempt, Roussel stayed composed, regained possession, and patiently picked her corner to make it 5-0.
Rookie goaltender
Sarah Howell recorded an impressive 30-save shutout, her third in a row and fourth on the season.Â
"It's an interesting game because, obviously, we're pleased with producing offence and being able to put five away today. That was a goal going into the game," said manager of women's hockey operations and head coach
Kelly Paton.Â
"But I think the big picture is that we were slightly more reserved in the battle and compete today. That's something that was addressed after the game."Â
Looking ahead to their quick turnaround, the coach stressed the importance of keeping things simple, especially when battling against a top team.Â
"If you want to overcomplicate decisions or place yourself into high-traffic areas, the game will get a lot harder. Prioritizing quick, simple decision-making will be key. With only three games left, we need to ramp up our competitiveness," Paton noted.
Laurier returns to the ice Saturday afternoon to face the East-leading Nipissing Lakers, aiming to keep their momentum going and secure another three points.Â
The action can be caught at 3:30 pm. Tickets are available at tickets.laurierathletics.com and can also be streamed on OUA.tv.Â
Live updates will also be available on X at @WLUAthletics.
