The Varsity Blues women’s hockey team won their first playoff series since 2008 on Sunday evening, defeating the Western Mustangs in the third and deciding game 3–2 in double overtime.
Coming off of a disappointing second game in London on Saturday, the Blues played to their full ability, outshooting Western 50–25 and dominating long stretches of play. Despite the strength that they showed, they found themselves trailing 1–0 going into the first intermission. Star Mustangs goaltender Kelly Campbell was incredible, repeatedly shutting down U of T’s top scorers, while veteran Western defender Tara Cation scored on a screened shot from the point just over seven minutes into the game.
The Blues continued to dominate in the second frame, outshooting Western by an incredible 17–5 margin. The Campbell show continued, however, with the goaltender making multiple great stops, including a stellar glove save on Blues forward Courtney Brind’Amour-McClure near the halfway point of the frame.
The Blues finally managed to solve Campbell with just under four minutes to play in the second period. Following some excellent cycling of the puck by Blues captain Kelly O’Hanlon and star forward Taylor Day in the offensive zone, Day passed the puck to defender Marlie McLaughlin at the point. McLaughlin, playing in her final OUA playoffs, put a low shot on goal past Campbell, while O’Hanlon screen the helpless goaltender.
Just over two minutes later, the Blues struck again. Veteran Blues defender Stacey Oue kept the puck in the offensive zone and threw a no-look pass to Courtney Brind’Amour-McClure. Brind’Amour-McClure passed the puck immediately to linemate Amanda Ricker, who deked to her backhand before deftly sliding the puck through Campbell’s five-hole.
Their backs against the wall, Western came out hard in the final period, but Blues star goaltender Nicole Kesteris was solid as ever and U of T weathered the storm. They were unable to put the game beyond reach, however, and the Mustangs eventually managed to even the score with ten minutes to play. Finding themselves on the power play thanks to a suspect interference call, the Mustangs swarmed the Varsity Blues’ crease, ultimately converting on a Kesteris rebound.
The Blues benefited from two power plays in the first overtime period, but Campbell rose to the occasion, denying Toronto’s snipers again and again. In the second frame, the Blues had a penalty of their own to kill near the midway point. With their season on the line, the Blues’ penalty-killers came up huge, as did Kesteris with several stellar stops.
The Blues seemed buoyed by their penalty-killing success, and won the game less than three minutes later. Courtney Brind’Amour-McClure won a battle deep in the Mustangs’ zone, and passed the puck to Stacey Oue at the point. Oue spotted defensive partner Rebecca Bourgeois across the ice, and Bourgeois put a low shot through a screen for the game-winner.
What made the victory so satisfying was the resilience that the Blues showed. After an average effort in London the previous day, and falling down 1–0 early in the deciding game, the Blues took it to the Mustangs and earned a spot in the OUA semi-finals for the first time since 2008. This was all the more impressive given that the team’s leadership core had lost to the Mustangs in the quarter-finals the two previous seasons, a fact that doubtless lingered in the back of their minds.
After the game, Nicole Kesteris summed up the team’s approach simply: “You’ve just got to forget about the goals that go in [against] and move forward. It’s a mentality thing.” She added that she was very satisfied with the match, calling it: “A great game and a great team win.”
The Blues open their OUA semi-finals series at home against the second-ranked Laurier Golden Hawks Wednesday at 7:30 pm.
