The York University Lions women's hockey team won their final game of the season 5-4 over the Windsor Lancers on Saturday evening (Feb. 20) at Canlan Ice Sports.

Although the Lions were officially eliminated from post season play last weekend, they were relentless in their pursuit to finish the season strong. The Lions broke out of the gates hungry to put the puck into the back of the net, and the scoring began early. The first goal was scored four minutes into the game as Erin Locke (Toronto) set up sister Amy Locke (Toronto) with a gorgeous backhand pass that opened the scoring. Just over two minutes after the Locke tally, the Lions continued their pressure in the Lancer zone, and as Dana Somerville (Hockley, Ont.) crashed the net she received a rebound that bounced of the pads of goalie Hanna Slater which Somerville retrieved and shot into the open cage.

As the first period progressed it was apparent that the Lions did not want to end their season with a defeat, and they helped their cause at the 13:52 mark of the period padding their lead. Raeanna Kelly (Cut Knife, Sask.) pounced on a goaltending error and poked it by the confused Slater to give the Lions a 3-0 advantage.

A minute following the Lions third goal, the Lancers erased their goose egg on the scoreboard off of a turnover in the Lions zone. The goal was scored by Shawna Lesperance as she beat Meagan Lee (Orillia, Ont.) to make the score 3-1 going into the first intermission.

The second period was determined by the power play, as four goals were scored with the man advantage between the two sides. The first goal came from the Lancers Lesperance, who corralled a loose puck in the crease and slid it past the goal line to bring the Lancers within one goal. The second power play marker was also scored by the Lancers, with the goal coming from Shailyn Waites, which equaled the score at 3-3 early in the second period. The Lancer scoring spree came to halt as the Lions defensive effort began to shut down the attack, and as the defense tightened the offense began to heat up.

The Lions took the lead off a point shot which hit a few bodies in front and became lost within a crowd of skates, until Erin Locke found the loose biscuit and potted it past Slater. Moments after the fourth Lion goal, they were back in the Lancers zone looking for the fifth. Justine Treadwell (Huntsville, Ont.) scored number five by flying down the right wing boards and firing a shot over the blocker of Slater, which gave the Lions a two goal lead. Unfortunately for the Lions the two goal lead was short lived, as Taylor Conte was taken down on a breakaway and rewarded with a penalty shot. As she broke down on Lee, Conte made a forehand backhand move which fooled Lee, closing the gap to 5-4.

That was as close as the Lancers would come on Saturday, as the Lions shut the door in the third period. It was a highly entertaining season finale which had a little bit of everything including exciting action at both ends of the ice, highlight goals and a few highlight reel saves.

The Lions finished 2015/16 with a strong offensive output and another win on their season record, which finishes at 5-4-10-4. The Lions will have an eight month break before taking the ice for the 2016/17 season in October.