The York University women's hockey team pulled out another overtime victory on Friday as they beat the Western Mustangs 3-2 at Canlan Ice Sports. Erin Locke again played the role of hero for the Lions as she scored the overtime winner in the second consecutive game.
 
The Lions first good scoring chance of the game came off the stick of forward Brooke Anderson four minutes into the game, as she took a pass in the slot but lost the handle on the puck as it dribbled harmlessly toward Mustangs goalie Carmen Lasis. The team's settled into a defensive battle through the first half of the period, with Lions goaltender Eva Hall making a nice blocker save on a backhand by Western forward April Clark at the six-minute mark.
 
It looked as though the Lions opened the scoring at 4:57 of the first period as a hard wrist shot by winger Courtney Gardiner trickled past Lasis and over the goal line, but the referee lost sight of the puck and blew the whistle before it crossed the line and the goal was waived off. The Lions had sustained pressure in the last minute of the period and had a number of chances but were unable to capitalize and went into the first intermission tied 0-0.
 
The floodgates opened early in the second period, as Locke scored the game's first goal at 3:11 with an assist by forward Kara Washer. The Mustangs responded a few minutes later when Clark scored an unassisted short-handed goal at the 5:43 mark to tie the game 1-1. The Lions didn't waste any time regaining the lead, as Madison Davey scored her first goal of the season just 16 seconds later to make the score 2-1. The rest of the second period remained scoreless as the Lions took the lead into the third period.
 
The Mustangs pushed hard for the equalizer in the third period, outshooting the Lions 12-4 over the final third of the game. They finally found the back of the net at 17:03 when forward Rachel Armstrong put one in past Hall to even the game 2-2.
 
After both teams had their chances to win the game in overtime, Locke scored the winner at the 3:19 mark after a nice defensive play by team captain Jenna Gray set up on a two-on-one break. Locke brought the puck down the right wing as Gray drove to the net and elected to shoot low on Lasis. The Mustangs netminder kicked out the save but Locke picked up her own rebound and buried it into the back of the net to give the Lions the victory.
 
With the win the Lions go into the winter break with three consecutive overtime victories after beating the Nipissing Lakers 6-5 last weekend and Laurentian Voyageurs 1-0. Locke now has three goals in two games after missing the beginning of the season and the Lions head into the break with a 2-6-3-1 record. They'll be back on the ice on Jan. 5 when they travel to St. Catharines, Ont., to take on the Brock Badges in their first game of the second half.