Heading into another back-to-back game last weekend, the women’s hockey team was prepared to face two of the OUA’s top-ranked teams visiting from the north. The Laurentian Voyageurs came to the Icefields Nov. 5 for their afternoon game against the Warriors. Waterloo continued their strong play on the ice, scoring early and holding their lead until the final horn to take the 4-1 win. Rachel Marriott continued to put her impressive offence on display by having a point in every scoring play of the game, while Stephanie Sluys stopped 13 of 14 shots to secure another win this season.
The black and gold took advantage of their first power play of the game on a pretty give-and-go goal by Angela MacDonald at the 5:43 mark of the first period. Marriott and Marissa Redmond each tallied a helper in their respective stat lines on MacDonald’s fourth goal of the season. The rest of the period consisted of multiple Waterloo power plays that they wouldn’t be able to convert on, and a single Laurentian power play where they wouldn’t be able to do any damage either. The frame came to a close with a 1-0 lead.
The second period started with another three power plays for the Warriors, and once again they would not be able to find the back of the net. However, shortly after their third power play ended, Tegan Odland easily scored in front of the net off of Marriott’s rebounded shot. Marriott and MacDonald picked up assists on the play as the Warriors padded their lead midway through the game. After the Voyageurs failed to make a comeback on both power play chances in the second half of the frame, Marriott netted a goal for the home team at the 19:02 mark to increase their lead heading into the second intermission. Carolyn Burke and Amy Barnard collected helpers on the goal.
The final frame of the game was no different since both clubs continued to exchange unsuccessful power play opportunities. Finally, at the 12:14 mark, Redmond scored on the power play to put the game in the books. Marriott picked up her third assist on Redmond’s third goal of the season, while Michelle Tanel was credited with one also. Laurentian’s Morgan McCann scored on their final power play, but the team’s efforts came far too late in the game to stage a comeback. The final horn sounded for a 4-1 Warriors win.
“We knew going in that it was a big game and a must-win, so it’s good to see that everyone showed up to play,” said Marriott after a great game for the team.
“It was a physical game fought hard on both sides. We played Warrior hockey and we were persistent and we stayed focused,” added Redmond.
The second game of the weekend didn’t go over as well as the first as the Warriors went down in a 3-1 loss to the Nipissing Lakers. Marriott continued her goal streak by scoring the equalizer early in the third period, but the Lakers went on to score two goals to close out their win.
Odland complemented her goalie in the tough loss, “It was a fast-paced game with lots of penalties for both teams. Sluys made some amazing saves.”
With a win and a loss last weekend, the Warriors stayed in fourth place in the OUA standings with 14 points.
Adding five points to her stat line for the season, Marriott found her way up to second place in OUA scoring (four goals, seven assists). Her superior performance in back-to-back weekends awarded her Waterloo’s Athlete of the Week honours for a second straight week. On a broader scale, the Warriors added three power play goals to their total this season and sit at the top of the OUA with eight power play goals.
The black and gold will play a couple of games next weekend, moving closer to the halfway point of the OUA season. First, the Warriors will make a short trip over to Toronto to square off against the Varsity Blues on Friday night. After a day of rest, the Windsor Lancers will visit the Icefields on Sunday afternoon for their second matchup this season.
