The York University Lions women's hockey team will be heading to the McCaw Cup final after a 6-2 win in front of a packed Lions crowd over the second seed Nipissing Lakers.
The win gave York a 2-0 series victory in their second round series, which also secures a shot at the U SPORTS national championship in March.
The Lakers scored the first goal of the game in the first eight minutes, taking an early 1-0 lead against the Lions. "We prepared for this," said head coach
Dan Church when asked about Nipissing's early goal.
What ensued would be a series of strong responses from the Lions. A little over a minute after the Lakers goal, York's
Erin Locke scored the inaugural point for the Lions, tying the game 1-1.
Taylor Davison followed with the second goal for the Lions, and
Kara Washer also scored, adding to the trilogy of opening goals. The Lions led 3-1 by the end of the first period. All three Lions scored their first goals of the playoffs and all goals for both teams were scored during power plays.
York's
Courtney Gardiner opened the second period by firing a goal into the back of Nipissing's net just a little over a minute after the puck dropped and
Tayler Murphy added a second goal for the Lions in this period at 5:58.
By the end of the second, it was 5-1 York.
The third saw another goal from Davison, her third of the playoffs. While the Lakers were able to get back on the scoreboard with seven minutes remaining in the third, York then staved off late pressure with an empty net to seal the win. Lions netminder
Serena Vilde stayed undefeated in the playoffs – she made 15 saves this game.
"It's a proud day for me," said Church who has been the Lions bench boss since 2004. "We have a group of leaders who are mature and skilled, everyone steps up and does their job. It's a pleasure to coach them."
The Lions will be playing either the University of Toronto Varsity Blues or the Ryerson Rams in the OUA Championships (date and time to be decided) and the Lions will also be headed to Charlottetown, P.E.I. for the U SPORTS women's hockey national championship starting Mar. 12.
