NORTH BAY, Ont. – The Laurier Golden Hawks returned to the win column on Friday night, edging the Nipissing Lakers 2-1 in a shootout at Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens. With the two points, Laurier remains atop the OUA standings with 54 points, now tied with the Guelph Gryphons. 

Between the pipes, Kayla Renaud made 16 saves to secure her fourth consecutive win, backstopping Laurier through regulation, overtime, and the shootout. 

From the opening faceoff, the game showcased the pace and physicality expected from two teams jockeying for crucial late-season points. Coming off a tough loss to Waterloo that snapped a 12-game winning streak, the Golden Hawks were eager to respond. 

Laurier broke through late in the first period, capitalizing on a shortened power play. Under pressure, Hayley Szymanowski gained the zone before dropping the puck to Olivia MacMillan along the boards. MacMillan quickly moved it to Gabby Lehoux at the point, whose one-timer beat goaltender Alexandra Lehmann to open the scoring. 

The second period was dominated by special teams, with penalties coming in bunches. Laurier was forced to kill off a critical 5-on-3 and four consecutive penalties overall, yet managed to preserve their one-goal lead and maintain the edge in shots.  

Despite failing to convert on two power-play opportunities in the third, Laurier continued to defend effectively, including another strong penalty kill. With just over 90 seconds remaining, Nipissing pulled Lehmann for the extra attacker. Laurier won the ensuing draw and twice sent the puck deep, forcing faceoffs and limiting the Lakers' ability to generate sustained pressure. 

However, with under a minute remaining, Nipissing found the equalizer. Abby Lunney fired a sharp-angle shot from the end wall, and while Renaud made the initial save, the rebound kicked out into the slot where Lana Duriez buried it to tie the game late in regulation. It marked the second straight contest in which Laurier surrendered a goal in the final two minutes. 

"We've got to be able to finish games," said Laurier's manager of women's hockey operations and head coach, Kelly Paton, drawing parallels to the loss against Waterloo earlier in the week. "That said, though, the two points we got tonight were obviously still viable." 

Overtime featured end-to-end action, with both teams generating grade-A chances, but neither could solve the goaltenders, sending the contest to a shootout. 

Paton turned to Elle Spencer, Marra Klassen, and Kara Den Hoed in the opening three rounds, with Klassen and Den Hoed finding the back of the net.

Nipissing countered with goals from Lunney and Duriez to keep the shootout deadlocked.

With the league's shootout rules allowing players to be recycled, Paton went back to Klassen in the fourth round. Klassen delivered again, scoring a near-identical blocker-side goal to put the pressure back on the Lakers. 

Lunney had a chance to extend the shootout, but despite getting Renaud to bite on a fake shot, she lost control of the puck on the attempted tap-in, sealing the dramatic victory for Laurier. 

"Seeing players in practice helps you understand their shootout tendencies," Paton said. "It makes those decisions easier, and with the ability to recycle players, we felt Marra gave us the best chance to close it out. She did a good job." 

The Golden Hawks will close out their regular-season road schedule on Saturday night against the Toronto Varsity Blues. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. live on OUA.tv