WATERLOO, Ont. - The homestand continued for the newly #6-ranked Laurier Golden Hawks, who welcomed the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks and shut them out 3-0.
The Golden Hawks wasted no time getting on the board as
Sadie D'Angela found
Caryss Kehl on a 2-on-1. Kehl pulled the puck to her backhand and finished the play for her first OUA goal on the first shot of the game. Kehl joins the Golden Hawks this year after spending two seasons at Post University in the NCAA.
It was another night of milestones for Laurier. Just over eleven minutes into the second period,
Lily Spencer fired a saucer pass down the ice to first-year
Holly Brimacombe, who sniped the puck past Ridgebacks netminder Ivy Nellis on the blocker side. The shot hit the inside of the post before finding the back of the net.
"Really exciting," explained Brimacombe, whose goal was also her first in the OUA. "It was great having everybody pile in and jump around with me. It was really hype."
"It's helpful that we can balance our scoring through our lineup," noted Laurier's manager of women's hockey operations and head coach
Kelly Paton. "It was a good shot, and a big goal for us too."
Sarah Howell stopped all 13 shots she faced through the first two periods, but was unable to return for the third. Laurier turned to rookie backup goaltender
Emma Kloosterman to close out the final 20 minutes.
"She's a huge reason why we were in the position to have success today," said Paton. "We knew that switch was coming in the second intermission, and the team gave her some good energy and confidence that 'we're all in here, let's do this.'"
"I owe credit to the rest of my team for making my job easy," said Kloosterman, who had to make just three saves in the period. "Coming into the middle of the game is a little bit different, but I honestly don't really have many thoughts; I'm just kind of ready to go."
With thirteen seconds remaining in regulation,
Sydnie Miller sealed the win from her own blue line with an empty-net goal to make it 3-0. It was Miller's second goal in as many games.
Howell was credited with the win, as she and Kloosterman combined for Laurier's first shutout of the season.
The Golden Hawks recorded a season-high 50 shots on goal, surpassing their previous game's total of 44 in their home opener against TMU.
Paton now looks ahead to Laurier's Saturday matchup against the York Lions.
"It's a big one for many different reasons. It's our first opportunity in the regular season to look at a true six-point weekend, which is something that, carrying momentum out of last year, was big for us."
Among those many reasons, the game will mark
Alexa Giantsopoulos' first time facing York after spending four years with the program.
Puck drop is Saturday, October 24 at 7:00 pm, with tickets available at tickets.laurierathletics.com. Stream the game live on OUA.tv.
