The York University Lions women's hockey team is looking ahead to their 2023-24 season home opener this weekend against the Toronto Varsity Blues and Brock Badgers. After opening their regular season with two road losses against the Windsor Lancers and Western Mustangs, the Lions are determined to bounce back.
Friday evening in Windsor, the Lions faced off against the Lancers to kick-off the 2023-24 OUA women's hockey season. In a tightly battled game, the Lions were first to get on the board with a goal by newcomer, Kaitlyn Teixeira. An evenly matched battle, the Lancers evened the scoreline heading into the first intermission. The Lancer were the first ones to score in the second period with the Lions now chasing the lead.
Julia Cuccia jumped on an opportunity late in the second tie tie the game 2-2. After a back-and-forth offensive third period, Windsor finished a chance in the 13th minute, and ended the game 3-2.
Heading to London for Saturday evening, the Lions were focused on bouncing back from the night before. Western came out strong from the start and scored 5 minutes into the first period. A late first period by Western closed out the first with the Lions trailing by 2. The second period went scoreless with the Lions playing strong defense after a string of penalties and a 5-on-3 penalty kill. The Lions tried to bounce back in the third period, however their late efforts with a goal by
Taylor Coward with less than a minute left was not enough time to complete the comeback, and the left in a 2-1 defeat.
The Matchups:
Oct. 27 York (0-2) vs. Toronto (2-2)
Oct. 28 York (0-2) vs. Brock (2-1)
Game Details:
Fri., Oct. 27 vs. Toronto (7:15 pm
OUA.tv)
Sat., Oct. 28 vs. Brock (7:15 pm
OUA.tv)
Current Streaks:
York - Loss 2
Toronto - Loss 1
Brock - Loss 1
Quick Facts:
York:
- Taylor Coward leads the Lions with 2 points
- The Lions have been short-handed the least in the OUA (8)
Toronto:
- Natasha Athanasakos is tied for 3rd in the OUA with 4 points
- The Varsity Blues have the best penalty kill in the OUA (87.0%)
Brock:
- Brock has the second best power-play in the OUA (27.8%)
- Teeghan Dalby leads the OUA with 14 penalty minutes
Lions to Watch:
#3 KAITLIN TEIXEIRA: First-year forward... Started opening weekend with the Lions first goal of the 2023-24 season and her first in the red & white... Played in both games of opening weekend and was a standout player throughout pre-season... Is an experienced player from the Central York Panthers looking to make her mark early as a Lion.
#17 TAYLOR COWARD: Fourth-year forward... Currently leads the Lions with 2 points after tallying an assist on Oct. 20 against Windsor and her first goal of the year on Oct. 21 against Western... Has lots of experience for the Lions and will continue to lead her side throughout their 2023-24 season campaign.
