WATERLOO, Ont. - The #6-ranked Laurier Golden Hawks secured all six possible points this weekend after defeating the visiting York Lions 3-1.Â
The teams traded chances in the first period, but neither found the back of the net until Laurier's penalty-kill unit took to the ice to kill off a tripping minor.
Ella Jackson pulled the puck to her forehand and picked a corner to beat Alix Walchuk, opening the scoring with a shorthanded goal.
"That's two shorthanded goals on the season, which is great," remarked Laurier's manager of women's hockey operations and head coach
Kelly Paton. "We didn't have any coming out of last year, so that's a nice step in the right direction."
Clara Chisholm extended the lead to 2-0 with a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle in the final minute of the first period.
In the second period,
Alexa Giantsopoulos tapped a pass through the blue paint to
Abby Glandon, who backhanded it in for the third goal of the game.
This marked Giantsopoulos' first game against York after serving as an assistant captain and recording 55 points in 105 games played across four seasons with the Lions program.
"It was a little awkward seeing so many familiar faces down the ice, but I think our team did a pretty good job and played well," noted Giantsopoulos. She was named to the starting lineup and took the opening face-off against her former team.
"In this case, we're just celebrating the switch to her being in our program," explained Paton. "In allowing her to start the game, I think there are just small details and coach decisions that can show up in a big way for the team."
At the 12:04 mark of the third period, just after a power play ended,
Sarah Howell saved a shot from Mikayla Totten, but the rebound bounced to Natasha Lange, who scored while falling to the ice to put York on the board.
Howell, the reigning OUA West Division Goaltender of the Year, picked up her third win of the season. She steps into a leadership position among Laurier netminders this year as the eldest of the three on the roster.
"It's been a bit more of an accountability piece, knowing that I don't have my two goalie partners from last year to set that standard for me to follow. It's something that I've had to take on, and I'm very fortunate that my two rookie goalies are awesome and they've really bought in," reflected Howell.
The Golden Hawks will continue their homestand against the Windsor Lancers (3-1-0-0) on Friday, October 30.
Windsor trail the first-place Golden Hawks by one point in the OUA West division standings.
Puck drop is at 7:00 pm, with tickets available at
tickets.laurierathletics.com.
Subscribers can stream the game live on
OUA.tv.
