Riding a four-game winning streak and winning eight of their last 10 games, the women’s hockey team tried to vanquish their neighbourhood rivals, the Laurier Golden Hawks, Jan. 30, 2016 at Sun Life Arena, in their first and only meeting of the season. Unfortunately, the team came up short in a very tight 2-1 game in favour of Laurier.
Heading into this game, the women’s hockey team ranked third in the OUA and were only two points behind second place Nipissing, while Laurier was eighth.
In the first period, both teams played great defense as neither of them were able to get good shots on net, but it was Laurier who struck first as Haley Baxter netted a goal past Waterloo goaltender Rebecca Bouwhuis. The assist was credited to Jessie Hurrell and Blair Connelly.
The Warriors picked up the offensive slack in the second period as they were able to keep the puck in Laurier’s zone for the majority of the first 12 minutes, outshooting them seven to one in that time. Unfortunately, none of those shots were able to get past Laurier goaltender Amanda Smith.
Laurier had a great chance to extend their lead when Waterloo created a turnover in their own end, resulting in a fast break for Laurier’s Jessica Prevette. Fortunately enough, Prevette could not score on Bouwhuis, who stopped her backhand shot. The score was still 1-0 for Laurier heading into the third period.
Six minutes into the third period, Baxter was called for a hooking penalty. On the ensuing power play the Warriors were able to create a lot of great chances to score but could get nothing past Smith.
It was not until one minute after the power play ended when Waterloo’s Alison Hanson brought the puck up the middle of Laurier’s zone from the right wing. The lefty flicked a picture perfect wrist shot past Smith and into the top right corner of the net, making it her fourth goal of the season. The game was tied up at one apiece. The assist was credited to Hannah Street.
With five minutes remaining in the game, Laurier threw a shot on net that Bouwhis could not contain. There was a big scrum in front of the net as both teams attempted to gain control of the loose puck. Eventually, the puck bounced to Laurier’s Cassandra Calabrese who shot it past Bouwhuis and into the net, giving Laurier the 2-1 lead.
Down the final stretch, the Warriors pressured the Golden Hawks offensively, including pulling Bouwhuis out of the net for an extra attacker, but they could not stop Smith and the Laurier defense one more time. Laurier was able to hold onto their one-goal lead, winning the game 2-1.
With this loss, the women’s hockey team’s record drops to 12 wins, seven losses, and one overtime loss. With Western winning on the same day, the two teams are now tied for third place in the OUA.
Bouwhuis had a great game, stopping 20 of the 22 shots she faced. Sadly, her counterpart Smith stopped 24 of the 25 stops she faced.
The women’s hockey team looks to bounce back this coming weekend, when they face U of T and York Feb. 6 and 7, respectively.
