WATERLOO, Ont. - The Laurier Golden Hawks climbed to #3 in this week's U SPORTS rankings, and they celebrated with their best offensive showing yet on Friday night, scoring a season-high six goals in a 6-1 win over the Windsor Lancers at the Waterloo Memorial Rec Complex.Â
For the second time this season, Laurier opened the scoring on their first shot of the game, with
Marra Klassen notching her first goal of the year.
Shortly afterwards,
Kylie Laliberte streaked down the left wing with speed and slid the puck to
Estee Fodor on the rush. Fodor tapped it home to put Laurier up 2-0 early on.
The scoring didn't stop there, as
Alexa Giantsopoulos and
Abby Glandon both found the back of the net, making it 4-0 by the end of the first period.
"Feels great to contribute to the offence," said Glandon, who has scored in back-to-back games for the Golden Hawks. "Hoping to keep the energy up going into tomorrow's game."
In the second period, Laliberte ripped a shot off the post, with the rebound landing in the crease for
Caryss Kehl to knock into the goal after a scramble. Laliberte finished the game with three assists.
Past the midway mark of the frame,
Holly Brimacombe walked in up the middle and zipped a shot off the crossbar and in for Laurier's sixth goal. Windsor's Emily Eikelboom would spoil the shutout shortly after, getting behind Laurier's defence and beating
Sarah Howell on a breakaway.
Windsor fought to establish momentum and offensive possession but were unable to get any more shots past Howell or, later,
Emma Kloosterman, who came in for relief midway through a Windsor two-player advantage in the third period.
"Kudos to Emma, and what she's been able to do for us in those situations," said Laurier's manager of women's hockey operations and head coach
Kelly Paton. "It's kind of a double whammy. Not only do we have to make a goaltender switch, but then she has to go in to defend a 5-on-3."
With the win, Laurier leapfrogged Western (4-1-0-0) for first place in the OUA West. They will look to make it an undefeated homestand with a win on Halloween against those same Mustangs.
"We were fortunate to be able to see them in preseason as well. A lot can change over the course of three weeks, but we expect the same. Teams are competitive in our league," remarked Paton. "The standings right now are quite tight, so it's critical to get regulation wins as best you can and start separating yourself from the opponents in your conference."
Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m., with tickets available at
tickets.laurierathletics.com
Subscribers can stream the game live on
OUA.tv
