The York University Lions women's hockey team fell to the Western Mustangs 6-3 on Saturday (Nov. 8) in London, Ont., despite a furious attempt in the third period to come back from a four-goal deficit.
 
In the beginning of the first period, at 1:29, Western's Emma Pearson struck the puck to the back of the net, putting the Mustangs in the lead. It was the only goal of the opening period.
 
The second period began with a goal by Western's Brianna Iazzolino at 7:39. Only a few minutes later, Brittany Clapham buried the third goal for the Mustangs in the back of the net. In the second period the Mustangs had a total of 11 shots compared to three shots from the Lions, and they carried their 3-0 lead into the final frame.
 
The third period was full of action with goals flying from both sides.
 
Western's Casey Rosen opened up the final period with a spinning goal at 5:53 to give the Mustangs a 4-0 lead. But the Lions began mounting their attempt at a comeback soon after. At 10:16 the Lions held their heads high while Megan Finlay (Hamilton, Ont.) scored the first goal for the team, putting them onto the scoreboard.
 
Stephanie Dovaston (Unionville, Ont.) followed Finlay's lead and scored a second goal for the Lions at 11:56, closing the score to 4-2. That was as close as they would get, however, as Kendra Broad didn't let the Lions spirits raise too high as she netted a goal at 12:59 to restore Western's three-goal lead.
 
The Lions continued to push forward as leader Lisa Stathopulos (Toronto) shot the puck to the back of the Mustangs' net at 13:36. But an empty-net goal by Sydney Kidd at 14:45 was the final goal of the game, preventing the Lions from getting any closer.
 
York goaltender Megan Lee (Orillia, Ont.) saved a total of 12 shots, while Western's Kelly Campbell saved a total of 26. However, the Lions ended the game with more shots on goal than the Mustangs at 29-18.
 
The Lions fell to 5-5-0 with the loss after their toughest road trip of the season that saw them face the top two teams in the OUA. Western remained undefeated in regulation with a 7-0-1 record.
 
The Lions will be on the road again next weekend when they head to North Bay, Ont., to take on the Nipissing Lakers at 3pm.