An energized York University Lions women's hockey team hosted the Windsor Lancers on Saturday afternoon, coming off a strong 2-1 comeback win against the Western Mustangs to open the season Friday night. The Lions looked to keep their momentum going and improve to 2-0 in the young 2025-26 campaign.
York went on a power play early in the first, but were slow to get going offensively. Play remained chippy for the first 15 minutes, but it was the Lancers who struck first with 5.22 left. A long-range wrist shot from Maggie Mitani on the right-wing side snuck past Emma Wedgewood, putting Windsor up 1-0. York went on another power play shortly after, but still struggled to get pucks on net. Kaitlin Teixeira did have a breakaway late in the period for the Lions after a nifty pass off the boards, but whiffed on the shot, and the Lancers led 1-0 after 20.
The Lions began find their footing offensively in the second. The teams played 4-on-4 near the midway point of the period. However, it was back at full strength for both teams when the Lions finally struck. A rocket off the stick from Alexa Giantsopoulos beat Lancers' goalie Ella Willoughby. Ginger Fast and Natalie Mamone added the assists on the goal that tied the game at 1-1 at the 10:31 mark of the period.
After this goal was when both teams began to hit their strides, as pace quickened and physicality grew. York killed off another penalty to end the period, and took the momentum into the final frame. The Lancers, though, struck quickly in the third. A tap-in from Bryn Rutledge off a rebound put them back up a goal, 2-1, two minutes into the period. York, having plenty of time to work with, killed off another penalty, and then went on a power play of their own, and put their focus towards finding the equalizer. Giantsopoulos nearly did just that, after weaving through two defenders and snapping an open shot on goal, but it was knocked away, just over the crossbar.
With just under five minutes left to play, the Lions pieced together a flurry of shots on net, but Willoughby remained sharp in net for the Lancers. The Lions spent the final 1:56 on a power play after drawing a huge penalty from Windsor's Tegan Pare, and added an extra attacker to make it a 6-on-4 advantage. However, Windsor held them off and Ella Speechley eventually fired a long shot into the open Lions goal. This sealed a 3-1 game, as York did not have enough time to work with before the buzzer sounded.
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Lions will play the third of a four-game season-opening homestand next Saturday when they welcome the Waterloo Warriors to Canlan Ice Sports. Puc drop is at 7:15pm, with coverage on OUA TV.
