The York University Lions Women's hockey team set off to North Bay to face off against the Nipissing Lakers for the fourth time in 23 days on Saturday. The Lions were defeated 5-1 by the Lakers on Friday night, and now had their sights set on moving into a playoff spot thanks TMU's loss to Ontario Tech earlier on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The first period saw end-to-end action, however there were limited dangerous attacks. It was the defensive efforts that contributed to the success of both the Lions and Lakers. The Lions recorded six shots compared to the Lakers who had two. With such a level playing field, the game remained 0-0 at the end of the first 20 minutes. 
• The story of the second period is goaltenders coming out big for their team. Just under four minutes in, the Lakers found themselves on a 2-on-1 advantage, but Emma Wedgewood read the play and made the save.
• Later, Julia Cuccia found herself alone on Nipissing's doorstep with 13 minutes remaining in the second period, but was hooked leading to a penalty shot for the Lions. Alexa Giantsopoulos stepped up to take the shot, but Chantelle Sandquist showed great patience and was able to make the save with her left pad. With the second period coming to a close, the game remained scoreless
• Less than one minute into the third, Wedgewood made three great saves to keep Nipissing off the board. She displayed great agility as the final save required her to lunge across the crease with her glove keeping the puck from going over the line.
• The final three minutes of the third period saw strong offensive chances for the Lakers, but Wedgewood made multiple lights-out saves, keeping the Lions in the game. The Lions made a final offensive push as the period came to an end, but the game remained scoreless after three periods, forcing overtime. 
• It was in overtime that Alexa Giantsopoulos found redemption from her earlier miss on the penalty shot. Jillian Milligan skated her way through the middle of the ice, dropped it back for Giantsopoulos, who took it to her backhand and chipped it top-left corner over the shoulder of Sandquist. The goal sealed the game for the Lions in overtime, and completes the upset 1-0, York's second win over Nipissing this season. 
• The Lions overtime win puts them in fourth place in OUA East, giving them sole possession of the final playoff spot with four games remaining, three of which are on home ice.

LOOKING AHEAD:

The Lions hope to continue this momentum as they face-off against their Toronto rivals, as the team enters TMU territory on Thursday, Feb. 8 for their final road game of the season, with puck drop scheduled for 6:00 pm.