Ric Flair of WWE fame once coined the phrase “To be the man, you have to beat the man.” It may not be wrestling, and there aren’t many men involved, but for the Varsity Blues women’s hockey team this idiom of athletic achievement could not ring more true.

‘The man’ in this case happens to be the Laurier Golden Hawks-a team who handed Toronto another 2-1 loss Friday night at Varsity Arena, successfully sweeping the season series versus the Blues. The Hawks (14-1-1) have a whopping ten-point lead in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) standings, are the top team in the nation, and are a veteran team currently firing on all cylinders.

There is little doubt in anyone’s mind that the road to the OUA championship travels through Laurier.

Although they lost all three contests against the Golden Hawks this season, the Blues can take solace in the fact that they have played the defending national champs tough all year. Besides a 4-0 loss at Laurier back in November, the Blues’ defeats have come in closely played games; one of which being decided in overtime.

However, the problems don’t end there for the Blues. They are a combined 1-5 this season in games against Laurier, Guelph, and Queen’s-the teams they are chasing in the OUA standings. Of course, some of these losses were in overtime or by one goal, but down the stretch these close contests need to go your way, especially come playoff time; and even more so against the higher-calibre teams.

The good news is that the Blues (7-6-0-2) have played very competitive hockey this season and are within striking distance of both third-place Queen’s and second-place Guelph. The other piece of good news is that after Friday’s somewhat demoralizing loss to Laurier, the team responded with a 4-0 shellacking of York Sunday afternoon.

Janine Davies scored twice and Lisa Robertson recording the shutout against the Lions.

With the Blues having finished their season series against Laurier, they only play Guelph and Queen’s each once more. The rest of the schedule is against teams with sub .500 records, which should allow U of T to put together a solid stretch run.

However, when the Blues reach the playoff rounds, it will naturally be wins against the top teams that will propel them towards a chance at the OUA gold.