WATERLOO, Ont. – The Golden Hawks opened the second half of their season exactly how they left off, earning their sixth straight win with a 5-1 victory over the Ottawa Gee-Gees at the Waterloo Memorial Rec Complex on Friday night. With the win, Laurier now sits alone atop the OUA standings with 35 points.Â
Between the pipes, Sarah Howell got the start for Laurier and continued her strong stretch of play, turning aside 24 shots in her fifth consecutive appearance.Â
After more than a month away from game action during the Holiday Break, Laurier's manager of women's hockey operations and head coach, Kelly Paton, acknowledged that some adjustment was expected, but she liked what she saw early. Â
"It's been a while for everybody, us included. It takes a bit to get back into the rhythm of line matching or just bench management," she said. "I think the first period was pretty positive for us."Â
That positive start showed up almost immediately. Just 26 seconds into the opening frame, the purple and gold established early offensive-zone pressure, and Clara Chisholm was quick to capitalize, opening the scoring on a goal-mouth scramble.Â
Ottawa would push back midway through the period as Naomi Morin found the equalizer with a short side shot from the goal line that caught Howell off guard and slipped into the net, briefly evening the score.Â
Not deterred, the Golden Hawks regained momentum minutes later after winning a battle along the boards and settling into a strong cycle. Gabby Lehoux spotted Chisholm waiting at the doorstep, where she tapped in her second goal of the game to put Laurier back in front. Chisholm ended the night with four points, just two shy of matching the program's single game record of six set by Amanda Joseph and Tracey Palinski in 2002.
"I was starting to ramp up my game by the end of the first half, so I was looking forward to carrying that through," Chisholm said. "I'm really happy I got it started off today and am ready to carry it through the rest of the season."Â
From there, Laurier continued to build. Early in the second period, Lehoux would find the back of the net, walking in on the power play and ripping a top-shelf shot from just above the circles to extend the lead. Â
As the game moved into the third, Ottawa found themselves running into penalty trouble. Two minors gave Laurier a 5-on-3 advantage, and the Golden Hawks made it count. Elle Spencer snapped a shot home from the slot for her ninth goal of the season, pushing the lead to three. Â
Paton also highlighted the team's adaptability throughout the lineup. "We're flexible. I think that's one of the strengths of our group," she said. "It's nice to kind of balance minutes and not exhaust certain people when games are heavier on special teams."Â
With just over three minutes left in regulation, the Gee-Gees pulled their goaltender in search of a spark. While Ottawa applied solid pressure, Marieve Roussel put the finishing touch on the night, sending the puck down low and into the empty net to seal the win.Â
The Golden Hawks return to action tomorrow as they host the York Lions in Fergus for their second charity game of the season. With the quick turnaround and a unique schedule ahead, Paton emphasized the importance of the atmosphere. Â
"With the charity game tomorrow, we're really looking for the fan energy," she said. "These games are special for our athletes, and it's also an opportunity to showcase the quality of hockey that we can play at this level."Â
Chisholm echoed that excitement heading into the weekend. "We're excited for tomorrow," she said. "We've been on the grind since we got back from Christmas break, so we're ready for it and just excited to get back to playing."Â
Puck drop is set for 6:00 p.m.Â
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