YORK, Ont. – The #3-ranked Laurier Golden Hawks recorded their third consecutive shutout with a 4-0 victory over the York Lions at Canlan Sports Arena on Saturday afternoon. With the win, Laurier now sits alone atop the OUA standings with 44 points. 

Having won their last nine games in a row, it's the team's longest winning streak since 2013.

"It was another good win," said Laurier's manager of women's hockey operations and head coach, Kelly Paton. "It was a good team effort, and I thought the third period was one of the better ones we've played this season. So it was nice to still have the competing effort the way that we did in the tail end of a back-to-back." 

Sarah Howell earned her second consecutive start in goal for Laurier and turned aside all eight shots she faced to record the tenth shutout of her OUA career. Paton highlighted the strength of Laurier's goaltending depth and the opportunity to continue building Howell's workload. 

"It's a luxury that we have with our goaltending group and our confidence in the three of them," Paton said. "Sarah, obviously, has had a pretty good run over the last few games, putting up some excellent numbers. And I just wanted to give her a space to get a few more shots tonight and finish the week with a bit more volume." 

Facing the Lions for the second time in seven days following a tight 3-0 win last weekend, the opening period remained scoreless. Laurier controlled play early, outshooting York 11-1 through 20 minutes. 

The deadlock was broken midway through the second period when Kara Den Hoed sent a stretch pass to her defensive partner, Gabby Lehoux. Jumping into open ice, Lehoux skated in alone and slid the puck five-hole to put the Golden Hawks ahead. 

Laurier extended its lead early in the third period with two goals just over a minute apart. After a strong cycle in the offensive zone, Den Hoed fired a shot on net that was stopped, but the rebound popped loose in the crease.

Olivia MacMillian swiped the puck home while falling to the ice to make it 2-0.

On the next shift, Den Hoed sent Elle Spencer in alone on a breakaway, and Spencer quickly beat the York netminder glove-side, giving Den Hoed her third point of the game. 

Paton noted the team's continued emphasis on building multi-goal leads as the season progresses. 

"I think we recognize the importance of being able to play with a one-goal lead," she said. "But our ultimate goal is to try to be able to build kind of two- or three-goal gaps so that we don't necessarily have to be in that kind of high-stress situation." 

The Golden Hawks capped the scoring with just under five minutes remaining as Sydney Brooks fired a point shot into the back of the net, marking her second goal in as many games against the Lions. 

Laurier remained disciplined and structured defensively throughout the contest, limiting York to just eight shots while generating 22 of their own. 

The Golden Hawks will continue their road trip next Friday when they visit the Western Mustangs. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST.