The hockey gods can be unbelievably cruel sometimes.

Think about landing a 1-0 lead on the defending champs, only to have them tie the game a few minutes later. Or how about battling back from a third period deficit to tie the game, only to lose in overtime.

These scenarios are all too familiar for the Varsity Blues women’s hockey team, who lost a 3-2 overtime thriller to the defending Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) champion Laurier Golden Hawks. This was the second straight loss for the Blues, whose season record fell to 2-1-0-1. Laurier, in contrast, improved their undefeated record to 5-0-0-0, good for first in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) standings.

Justine Todd opened the scoring for U of T, only to be answered by Laurier’s Denise Harrop a few minutes later. Laurissa Kenworthy gave the Golden Hawks the lead again on the powerplay in the second period, but Sue McCutcheon tied the game 2-2 with 7:57 left in the third.

It was in overtime where Samantha Cully iced the win for Laurier about two and a half minutes in, dashing the hopes of any U of T fans hoping for a dramatic comeback Blues victory.

However, it must be noted that any semblance of a U of T comeback would not have been possible without Blues goaltender Lisa Robertson, whose stellar play in the second and third periods held the game at 2-1 and kept the Blues’ hopes alive.

Up front, meanwhile, Katie Dowdall was clearly the best Blues forward on this night. It is only a matter of time before the goals start coming in bunches for this speedy winger.

As the Blues embark on a lengthy seven-game road trip, they will need to try to do the little things a little better. It is a return to the fundamentals of the game that can sometimes bring success, and make it just a little easier for the hockey gods to smile down on you.