WATERLOO, Ont. - The Laurier Golden Hawks carried much of the play early but couldn't solve Toronto's goaltending, falling 4-1 to the Varsity Blues on Friday's Pride Night at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex.
Laurier generated sustained pressure in the opening period, holding the puck in Toronto's end for long stretches, but it was the visitors who struck first. Zack Smith opened the scoring at 16:09 of the first, converting a feed from Ethan McFarland to give Toronto a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes.
Special teams shaped the second period, with Laurier cashing in on its lone power-play opportunity. Justin O'Donnell buried a pass from Ty Petrou past Varsity Blues goalie Nick Surzycia, with Joshua Kavanagh also assisting, at 16:07 to tie the game 1-1. Toronto finished the night 0-for-3 on the power play, while Laurier went 1-for-2.
Any momentum Laurier carried into the third was short-lived.
Dylan Wightman restored Toronto's lead just 6:11 into the period, deflecting Owen Luik's point shot past Andrew Ness. Christian Stevens doubled the advantage 89 seconds later, rushing the net and finishing another McFarland setup to make it 3-1.
The Golden Hawks pushed late, but Wightman sealed the outcome with an unassisted empty-net goal at 18:39, his second of the night, as Toronto scored three times in the final frame to secure the win.
Laurier rookie netminder Andrew Ness stopped 36 of 39 shots while Surzycia saved all but one of the 26 that came his way.
"Every night is a fresh start," head coach and manager of operations Kevin Forrest said. "We got beat today, but that doesn't mean we will tomorrow."
Game notes:
Lucas Chard is listed day-to-day, while Max-Antoine Melancon remains out indefinitely, sidelining two of Laurier's top offensive contributors.Â
Up next:
Laurier returns to home ice Saturday for Senior Night and the final Battle of Waterloo regular season match-up, with puck drop set for 7 p.m. Fans can purchase tickets at tickets.laurierathletics.com, follow the action on X, or watch live on OUA.tv.
