Laurier Athletics - Waterloo Campus

WATERLOO, Ont. - The Golden Hawks were less than 15 minutes away from a season-opening weekend sweep before the York Lions scored three unanswered goals in the third period to hand Laurier a 3-1 loss Saturday night in OUA men's hockey action at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex.

Fresh off a season-opening victory over the Brock Badgers the previous night, the Golden Hawks carried a 1-0 lead into the final frame before York's quick-strike offense turned the game on its head.

Connor Haynes provided the early offense for Laurier, opening the scoring just 4:56 into the first period for his first career OUA goal. Anthony Francella set up the play while Spencer Caines earned the second assist as the Golden Hawks grabbed an early advantage.

Laurier maintained that lead through a scoreless second period, with goaltender Andrew Ness and the Golden Hawks defence keeping the Lions off the scoreboard through 40 minutes.

Special teams played a significant role in the middle frame as Laurier received four power-play opportunities and York earned two, but neither side could capitalize. The Golden Hawks finished 0-for-4 with the man advantage, while the Lions went 0-for-3.

York finally broke through at 5:41 of the third period when Ryder Ringor converted passes from David Mabey and Bryan McAndrews to tie the game 1-1.

Just 19 seconds later, Thomas Johnston scored the eventual game-winner, finishing a feed from Olivier Lamothe to give York its first lead of the night.

Johnston added an insurance marker at 8:37, taking passes from Jadon Iyogun and Nich McKee to cap a stretch of three York goals in just 2:56 and put the visitors ahead 3-1.

Laurier pressed for a response but could not solve York goaltender Adam Manji, who stopped 29 of 30 shots to earn the victory. Ness turned aside 26 shots in defeat.

The Golden Hawks will look to return to the win column on Thursday night when they host the Waterloo Warriors (1-1) in the first Battle of Waterloo matchup of the season. 

Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex. 

Tickets are available at tickets.laurierathletics.com and the game will also be streamed live on OUA.tv Read Full Article