The No. 10 nationally ranked York University Lions women's hockey team is set to begin their quest for a spot in the U SPORTS tournament as they host the Waterloo Warriors to kick off the OUA postseason Wednesday evening at Canlan Ice Sports.
 
The puck drops on this opening game of the playoffs at 7pm. Fans unable to attend the game can also watch on OUA.tv. For the Lions, this marks their return to the playoffs after an eight-year hiatus.
 
If the season series between the two opponents were any indication, the series between the Lions and Warriors should be tightly contested. They split their two contests, each winning a game. The more recent game was won by York – a 2-0 shutout victory on the road.
 
This playoff series will begin on home ice for the Lions, where they dropped a 4-1 decision to Waterloo earlier this season. The end of the year did not end on a desirable note for the Lions, who dropped three of their last four games. However, they've been on the right side of other streaks during the regular season. This included a seven-game winning streak right at the beginning of the 2019-20 campaign, and led to a 14-win year. Their lone win down the stretch came in convincing fashion over the defending champion Guelph Gryphons, who had won nine straight over the Lions before the result.
 
On the other side of the tape, the Warriors are also aiming to get back in the win column after dropping their last two games. Ending the regular season with an overall record of 14-9-1, Waterloo finished sixth in the OUA standings to set up this match up with No. 3 York. While the Warriors did finish behind York in the standings, they boast the OUA's top two scorers in Taytum Clairmont (28 points) and Krystin Lawrence (25).
 
For the Lions, blueliner Taylor Davison leads the points category with 20 – 16 of those coming as assists. She finished eighth overall in conference scoring and tied for first among all defenders.
 
After this contest, York heads to the Columbia Ice Field in Waterloo, Ont., for Game 2 on Friday night. If necessary, the two teams will return to Canlan Ice Sports Sunday afternoon to play the third and deciding game of the OUA first round series. All games can be streamed live on OUA.tv.