The annual Bell Let's Talk campaign comes to Canlan Ice Sports on Saturday afternoon as the No. 8 nationally ranked York University Lions women's hockey team faces off against the Brock Badgers in OUA regular-season action.
The puck will drop at 2:15pm in what is also the team's annual Roar for a Cure game to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society. The contest can also be seen live online on OUA.tv.
As part of the initiative to raise awareness about mental health, a dedicated Bell Let's Talk table will be set up near the rink where fans will be encouraged to sign speech bubbles and discuss the importance of mental health. At the end of the game, student-athletes will gather to take a photo with the Bell Let's Talk banner, in support of the initiative to end the stigma around mental health issues. Special contests and giveaways are also happening throughout the game and all prizing will include special Bell Let's Talk toques.
On the ice, the action promises to be exciting as the Lions and Badgers battle for an important three points in the OUA standings. The Lions continue to hold down second place but are being chased by several teams, while the Badgers are tied for fifth and have two games in hand over the Waterloo Warriors.
The Lions had won five of six games, with the only loss coming to the first place Toronto Varsity Blues, before a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Guelph Gryphons on Wednesday night. Last weekend, the Lions rolled to a pair of big 4-1 triumphs over the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks and Queen's Gaels.
No team in the OUA is hotter than the Badgers right now as they have won a conference-high four in a row and seven of their last eight. Like the Lions, their only recent loss was to the Blues. Their most recent win was by a 2-1 score over those same Blues, handing Toronto just its fourth loss in 19 outings this season.
The other meeting between York and Brock this season resulted in a 2-0 Lions' win in St. Catharines, Ont., one of the five shutouts the squad has posted this year. Prior to that victory it was the Badgers who had dominated, winning seven of the previous eight match-ups.
The Lions hold the edge offensively in the match-up as they are the third-highest scoring team in the OUA (2.68 per game) while the Badgers sit seventh (2.24). The two squads are tied in goals against with 1.87 allowed apiece.
Between the two teams there are three players tied for fifth in OUA scoring with 16 points each. The home squad features defender
Taylor Davison, tied for the conference lead in scoring by blueliners, as well as forward
Kara Washer, while Annie Berg leads the Badgers in scoring.
After Saturday's game the Lions have just four more to round out the regular season. They'll head north next weekend for games against the Nipissing Lakers an Laurentian Voyageurs before wrapping up the season with home games against the Gryphons (Feb. 7) and the Laurier Golden Hawks (Feb. 15).
