WATERLOO, Ont. – Facing elimination, the Laurier Golden Hawks delivered when it mattered most, edging the Ottawa GeeGees 3-2 in Game 2 of the McCaw Cup semifinals on Saturday evening at RIM Park in front of a sold-out crowd of 570.
With the victory, Laurier forces a winner-take-all Game 3 on Sunday afternoon, with a trip to the McCaw Cup final and a berth at nationals on the line.
Sarah Howell made her first start of the postseason between the pipes and turned aside 24 shots to earn the win.
Knowing their backs were against the wall, the Golden Hawks wasted little time setting the tone. Just under five minutes into the game, Kylie Laliberte opened the scoring with her second goal of the playoffs, capitalizing on a loose puck and spinning to fire home a shot from her knees.
However, much like in Game 1, Ottawa responded quickly. Beatrice Bilodeau found space in the slot and beat Howell to even the game at one.
In the second period, Laurier ran into penalty trouble, including a lengthy 5-on-3 kill. Ottawa capitalized when Alex Ferguson finished off a cross-crease pass to give the GeeGees their first lead of the night.
However, later that period, Ottawa found themselves down two players, presenting Laurier with a prime opportunity to respond. Although the Golden Hawks were unable to convert immediately, the sustained offensive pressure appeared to spark their attack.
Just minutes later, a goalmouth scramble resulted in Emily Olson finding the back of the net to tie the game at two and score her first goal of the season.
"I've never scored in the playoffs before, or even this season," Olson said. "There was no better game to do it. I'm just really proud of the team and how we pulled through today."
Laurier continued to push and was rewarded with another power-play opportunity late in the period. With just 15 seconds remaining in the frame, Elle Spencer tapped home her own rebound from the top of the crease to restore the Golden Hawks' lead and send the crowd into a frenzy heading into the final period. Laurier generated 16 shots in the second period alone.
"We got a lot of power-play chances today and great momentum from them," Spencer said. "Kara [Den Hoed] found my stick at the net, I tipped it and found my own rebound. The rest was history."
Laurier's manager of women's hockey operations and Head Coach, Kelly Paton, felt the momentum shift in Laurier's favour as the game progressed.
"I thought the back half of that second period really changed in our favour," Paton said. "The girls did a good job applying pressure; we got some momentum from the goal and then found another one, which was great."
Holding a one-goal lead entering the third, the Golden Hawks focused on playing a disciplined and structured final 20 minutes.
Ottawa pulled its goaltender with just under two minutes remaining, but Laurier held strong defensively, limiting the GeeGees to the perimeter and preventing any high-danger chances to secure the 3-2 victory.
Paton also praised the team's defensive group, which was forced to shoulder heavy minutes late in the game.
"We had to move the bench around a little bit with some injuries today," she said. "Our D ended up being down to five for most of the third period, and they logged some big minutes for us. It was great for the team dynamic."
Spencer's go-ahead goal continued a season-long trend of timely scoring.
"That's been the story of her year," Paton added. "She's been able to score in big moments for us."
Despite the Game 1 loss, the Golden Hawks believed their process was strong heading into Saturday's matchup.
"We felt like we had a good process in Game 1," Spencer said. "The pucks just weren't going in. Tonight, they did, and now we're excited for another opportunity tomorrow."
Laurier will now look to complete the reverse sweep in Sunday's decisive Game 3 on home ice.
Puck drop is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at RIM Park, with tickets available at tickets.laurierathletics.com.
