It was by no means pretty, but the Varsity Blues women’s hockey team salvaged a win in their home game with Windsor at Varsity Arena Saturday night. U of T (2-0-0) came out on top of a seesaw battle versus a Windsor team that has a win, two losses, and a tie in its first four games.

After a scoreless and sloppy first period that saw the Lancers carry most of the play, the Blues came out a little more determined in the early stages of the second. However, the Lancers matched the Blues’ intensity with an early goal on a wraparound by Windsor’s Jessica Casey.

Despite some more inspired play by the home team, the game remained 1-0 after forty minutes.

Janine Davies tied the game for the Blues by tapping in her own rebound-tallying her third goal of the season- with five minutes gone in the third period. Davies’ marker was quickly followed up by the first of two goals by Justine Todd, and the Blues led 2-1.

The game took a dramatic turn in the dying minutes of the third. U of T looked like they were cruising to their second win of the season until Windsor’s Lauren Swartz cashed in on a nifty pass from Jacklyn Rumble with just over six minutes left, and it was a tie game once again.

But just under two minutes later, veteran Sue McCutcheon put the Blues ahead for good with a determined individual effort. She fired a backhand shot from in close that found its way over the shoulder of Lancers goalie Katie Clubb and into the back of the net.

Todd scored her second of the night into an empty net with little time remaining. This goal put U of T up by two goals and they held on to win the game, despite a Windsor marker with just two seconds left on the clock. The final score was 4-3 in favour of the home team.

It was once again the line of Janine Davies, Emily Patry, and Justine Todd that supplied the spark for U of T, as they tallied four points between them. Goaltender Lisa Robertson, although not sparkling, was solid when she had to be-especially in the third period.

The Blues showed some definite resolve in this match, digging themselves out of an early hole they found themselves in, and staving off any thoughts of a Lancer comeback in the late going. However, with tougher tests on the way for U of T, falling into a hole certainly won’t be hard. It will be climbing out that won’t be so easy.

Read Thursday’s sports section for the results of Sunday’s game against the Guelph Gryphons.