The York University Lions women's hockey team opened the season in front of a boisterous crowd at Canlan Ice Sports against the Nipissing Lakers. However, they were unable to scratch out a victory, as the Lakers defeated the Lions 5-2 Friday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Juliana Thomson made several big stops to hold off seven shots fired at her in the first period, while the Lions sent seven of their own the direction of Lakers netminder Chloe Marshall
- With three minutes in the first, Maria Dominico put the Lakers on the board first, as she won a one-on-one contest with a York defender to snipe one past Thomson.
- Not long after, the visitors found themselves back in York territory, and were able to double their lead. Lana Duriez deflected the puck by Thomson off a Malory Dominico pass right in front of the net at to grab a 2-0 lead at the first intermission.
- Brooke Anderson kicked off the second period on a high note for the Lions just over five minutes in. She took advantage of a loose puck right in front of the net and slid it past Marshall to cut the margin to 2-1.
- However, Malory Dominico was quick to respond with her first goal of the season, extending the lead back to a two-goal advantage for Nipissing
- Once again the Lions came out hot in the final frame, as Sydney Paulson was able to catch the Lakers off guard with a goal 56 seconds in, cutting the lead to 3-2.
- Nipissing followed suit once again a little over five minutes later, The Lakers Maddison Stitt lifted one into the top left corner past Thomson for a 4-2 lead.
- That was followed by an empty-net goal late in the period by Katie Chomiak to cap off the scoring at or a 5-2 Nipissing victory.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING:
"Today was a great game in front of the young hockey players from North York Storm and other Southern Ontario associations. It gave a lot of energy in the building, and it's always great to play in front of fans. We played a solid game against the defending silver medalist, but did make a couple of mistakes along the way, however, the effort was there." Head Coach - Dan Church
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Lions will hit the road for their first road game of the season, as they head to Waterloo, Ont., to take on the Laurier Golden Hawks at the Sun Life Financial Arena. Puck-drop is slated for 3:30pm.
