CIS women's hockey Thursday roundup: Gryphons overcome Varsity Blues 3-1

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - The Brock University women's hockey team (10-10-1 OUA) blanked the Ryerson Rams (1-19-1 OUA) by the score of 8-0 Thursday night at the Seymour-Hannah Centre.

Brock led 1-0 after the first period. In the second period, the Badgers offense came alive registering five goals over a seven minute span leading 6-0 after 40 minutes. They added two more in the third.

Brock had seven players with multiple point performances. Sophomores Leigh Vanderveen (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.) and Katie Howlett (Burlington, Ont.) led the way with two goals each. Vanderveen moved into a tie for 8th all-time in career goals (20).

Sophomore Jessica Fickel (Fort Erie, Ont.) added one goal and two assists, for her fourth three-point performance of the season. Fickel is now just two points shy of becoming the sixth player in school history to record 50 career points.

Senior Hailey Webb (Orillia, Ont.) contributed with one goal and one assist. junior Brianne Veale (Sault Ste Marie, Ont.) recorded a career high three assists, while senior Courtney Stevens (Ottawa, Ont.) and sophomore Megan Keane (Pefferlaw, Ont.) chipped in with two helpers each.

Adding single goals were senior Kristen Dewsbury (Oshawa, Ont.) and freshman Jaclyn Conacher (Burlington, Ont.).

In goal, freshman Chantal Bicket (Oshawa, Ont.) recorded 30 saves for the shutout victory.

The Badgers next action is Saturday, January 28th at 3:15 pm on "Senior Day" when they host the University of Toronto Varsity Blues at the Seymour-Hannah Centre.

Source: Brock Sports Info

GUELPH, Ont. - The Guelph Gryphons women’s hockey team took on the Toronto Varsity Blues tonight (Jan. 26th) in Guelph at the Gryphon Centre. The Gryphons struggled in the first two periods against the Varsity Blues but turned the game around in the third for a 3-1 win. Guelph goals came from Victoria Head (Kanata, ON), Kimberley Wong (Mississauga, ON) and Erin Small (Pickering, ON).

The Gryphons now move to a 16-4-1 record to put them at 31 total points, and are second only in the OUA to the Laurier Golden Hawks. The Varsity Blues drop to an 11-9-1 record.

In the first period both teams saw a lot of action around the net but couldn’t finalize a goal. Leila Chan Currie (Toronto, ON) nearly gave Toronto their first goal 9 minutes into the game when she shot towards an opening in the Gryphon net, but it stopped just short of the goal line. A minute later forward Callie Bazak (Peterborough, ON) stole a failed pass from the Gryphons and had a one-on-one with Gryphon goalie Stephanie Nehring (Oshawa, ON) but she shot high. The Gryphons gained control in the last few minutes of the first but couldn’t break through Toronto defence, and the period ended goalless.

The Gryphons picked up their game in the second with Tamara Bell (Guelph, ON) taking two consecutive shots on Nicole Kesteris (Aurora, ON) midway through.  Unfortunately for the Gryphons a scrimmage outside of Guelph net led to Toronto’s first and only goal of the game, after an initial shot was fired just outside of Nehring’s grasp and Currie snuck it in.

The Toronto goal didn’t discourage the Gryphons and they came into the third period ready to play. With only 3:23 on the clock Head tied the game for Guelph after a great set up from Talia Paone (Ancaster, ON) and Jody Hodgins (Stayner, ON).  The Gryphons finally took the lead when Wong took an amazing shot from just inside the blue line that caught the Blue’s goalie off guard.  This unassisted goal at 14:29 in the second helped pick up Gryphon spirits and they maintained most of the possession for the rest of the game.

In the last minutes the Varsity Blue’s pulled their goalie, which gave Small the perfect advantage once she gained possession of the puck with only 30 seconds left on the board. She fired into an empty net before the Blues could catch her, confirming the Gryphon win.

The Gryphons next play January 28th at home in Guelph at the Gryphon Centre against the Ryerson Rams. The game begins at 2pm.

Source: Guelph Sports Info