The Varsity Blues women’s hockey team may have let an opportunity to upset the OUA-leading Laurier Golden Hawks slip through their fingers, but their last regular-season home game of the year was one to remember.
The game had no effect on the standings, since Laurier and U of T had already clinched the number 1 and 2 spots in the OUA, earning a first-round playoff bye, but you wouldn’t know it based on the spirited play in the up-tempo Saturday afternoon affair. A larger-than-usual crowd was on hand, treated to an impressive display of hockey by two very talented teams in what turned out to be a nail-biter.
The top two teams in the OUA were neck-and-neck for 65 minutes, the outcome unclear until the final horn sounded. Both registered equal shots in the first and third frames, as Laurier held only a one-shot edge in the five-minute overtime period. The Golden Hawks came out strong in the second period and peppering Toronto with shots during three unanswered Blues penalties, but goaltender Stephanie Lockert kept the game close.
Meschino scored the last-minute goal on a mad scramble for the puck in the Blues’ crease with Laurier goaltender Liz Knox pulled for the extra attacker. A shot fired at the open net went wide and the faceoff came back into U of T’s zone on an icing charge. The puck didn’t cross the blue line again until the referee dropped it at centre ice following the Laurier goal.
Annie Del Guidice opened the scoring for the Blues at 17:39 of the first period, ending an almost 138-minute goalless drought against Laurier. She picked up a rebound on a shot by Emily Milito, and lifted the puck over a sprawled Knox on the power play. The Golden Hawks responded on their next chance with the main advantage early in the second period, when a couple of Laurier forwards jammed at a loose puck until Andrea Ironside found the back of the net.
Karolina Urban scored the goahead goal for Toronto in the third period for another special-team tally—this one shorthanded. Urban stole the puck from a Golden Hawks defender, coming in on Knox, who left the crease to challenge the goalie. In return, she spun around and fired into the empty net.
Although the Blues were not able to hang on to the lead, the game represented a victory after being shut out 2-0 in two previous meetings with Laurier. “I think we had small successes,” said Lockert. “I think that spirits are up…The focus is there knowing that we can be successful.” Head Coach Karen Hughes also had a positive outlook. “I thought we did a lot of good things today and gave up a goal in the last few seconds,” she said. “That’s okay. Some days that’s going to go your way, other days it’s not…We know what we need to do to play well against them.”
The coach was less pleased with the visiting team’s physicality. The game featured more contact than usual, and although U of T contributed to this tone, Hughes felt Laurier played a larger part. “They ran over us at times, like that player that hit our number 21 in the third period. That would be a penalty.”
Lockert felt the Blues could’ve responded a little better to Laurier’s style. “We weren’t taking the body as much as we would’ve liked to,” she said. The fifth-year goaltender was named player of the game for her 28-save effort in the last regular-season home game of her Blues career. She and five other graduating students— including captain Jill Clark, OUA points leader Janine Davies, forwards Laura Foster and Emily Patry, and defenceman Sarah Poirier—were honoured before the game. “I was really excited,” said the coach, “I definitely remember every moment of that game.”
