Zain Rashid | Staff Writer
Featured Image: The Lions women won both weekend games against Nipissing and Laurentian by scoring winners in overtime. | Courtesy of YorkU Lions
The Lions men’s and women’s hockey teams played two games each this weekend. The men lost 5-2 to Guelph on Thursday, and then lost 3-1 at home to cross-town rival, U of T on Saturday. The women, on the other hand, required overtime in both games on the road, first to defeat Nipissing 6-5 on Friday, and Laurentian 1-0 on Saturday.
The men’s loss against the Gryphons ended their four-game winning streak. Both teams came out of the gate aggressively, as they combined for 23 shots on goal. However, it was Guelph’s Matt Kenney who found the back of the net to give the Gryphons a 1-0 lead.
Guelph extended their lead to 2-0 in the 8th minute of the second period, but York responded in the 16th minute with a goal from Sal Filice to make the score 2-1.
The Gryphons opened the scoring in the third period, and quickly followed that up with another goal to extend their lead to three goals. York responded with a goal from Josh LaFrance in an attempted comeback, but it was not enough as Guelph scored one more to finish the game with a 5-2 win.
On Friday, the women ended a three-game losing streak by defeating the Nipissing Lakers in their own barn, in what turned out to be an entertaining, and high-scoring contest.
Guelph opened the score just five minutes into the game on the power play, but York’s Avery Reeves responded within a minute to knot things up at one.
The second period saw a total of six goals as York’s Kelsey McHolm and Courtney Gardiner each found the back of the net, extending the Lions’ lead to 3-1. However, Guelph responded with two goals of their own, leveling the score at 3-3. That wasn’t all though, as York took the lead again—courtesy of Brooke Anderson and McHolm—which restored the Lions’ two-goal lead.
Nipissing fought back to even the score in the third period with two goals, forcing the game into overtime. Kara Washer scored the winner for York early in overtime to give the Lions the 6-5 victory.
The women continued their hot streak in Sudbury on Saturday, defeating the Laurentian Voyageurs 1-0.
Regulation was a tense, scoreless affair, as neither side was able to break the stalemate. In overtime, York’s Erin Locke finally solved the Voyageurs’ goalie, on her first goal of the season, which was also the game-winner.
The men also played on Saturday, and lost to their cross-town rivals, the U of T Varsity Blues.
Both teams had several chances in the first period as the Blues managed to hit the post and York came extremely close to finding the back of the net. However, it was U of T’s Matt Campagna who drew first blood towards the end of the first period.
The Varsity Blues extended the lead in the second period as they scored an early goal in the 1st minute, courtesy of Max Lindsay. York responded with a power play goal as Reid Jackman’s pass took a deflection, and ended up in U of T’s net. However, the Blues responded with another goal to make the score 3-1.
The last period did not see any goals from either side, and the game ended in a 3-1 defeat for the Lions.
The men will visit Waterloo next weekend where they will take on the Warriors on Friday at 7 p.m. and the Laurier Golden Hawks on Saturday at 3.30 p.m. The women will host the Western Mustangs at Canlan Ice Sports on Friday at 7 p.m. These will be the last games for both teams before the winter break.
