On November 17, the Varsity Blues women’s hockey team took on the Windsor Lancers for the first time this Ontario University Athletics season.
To kick off the game, the Blues celebrated the team’s annual Pride Night at the Varsity Arena with Pride Tape on every player’s stick, and by having a puck drop ceremony by the Toronto Gay Hockey Association. Blues fans also showed their support for Pride Night by wearing U of T Pride merchandise to the game.
In a very close game, the Blues lost 4–3 after the Lancers scored a goal in the last five seconds of the game.
What happened
The Blues had a rough start to the game: Lancers forward Makayla Mailhot scored the first goal just under three minutes left in the first period, making it 1–0 for the Lancers. Nevertheless, Blues fans supported their team as much as possible throughout the first period, helping them gain some confidence for the upcoming period.
As the second period began, Lancers forward Jessica Gribbon unfortunately scored the team’s second goal, making the score 2–0. Shortly after, however, the Blues were able to gain a goal, as rookie forward Abby Whitworth made the game 2–1. Her first goal as a Varsity Blue was assisted by forwards Juliette Blais-Savoie and Emma Elders.
The Blues gained some motivation after their first goal, and forward Kaitlyn McKnight soon scored their second goal, making the score 2–2. Unexpectedly, Gribbon scored her second goal of the game, making it 3–2 for the Windsor Lancers by the end of the second period.
The third period was a nail-biter as the Blues tried to make a quick comeback. Shortly into the third period, after the power-play ended for the Lancers, Blues forward Nikki McDonald tied the game again, making it 3–3. The Blues were given many opportunities within the third period to score a goal, including two power-plays, but sadly couldn’t get one.
When Blues defender Francesca Monte got a penalty, the Lancers got a power-play in the third period. Quickly after their power-play ended, Lancers forward Leah Gervais unexpectedly got the game-winning goal in the dying seconds of the period, causing a 4–3 loss for the Blues.
What’s next
The Blues took on the Brock University Badgers on November 18. After losing to Badgers on October 21, the Blues successfully won 4–0 against Brock in their recent game.
The Blues will play against the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold at TMU on Thursday, November 23, before returning to the Varsity Arena to play against the Waterloo Warriors on Friday, November 24.
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