The York University Lions women's ice hockey team opened their 2026-27 season with a hard-fought battle against the Western Mustangs on Friday night at Canlan Ice Sports. York erased a two-goal deficit before ultimately falling 3–2.
Western set an aggressive pace from the opening faceoff, applying pressure in the attacking zone. The Mustangs broke the ice on the power play at the 4:58 mark when Madeleine Rai York netminder Alix Walchuk to make it 1–0. The Mustangs doubled their advantage early in the middle frame, as Haylie Kirkpatrick found the back of the net at 4:40 of the middle frame, again on the power play to make it 2–0. Refusing to back down on home ice, York increased their speed and physical presence for the rest of the period.
The Lions began the turnaround at 9:34 when Lola Massey buried a power-play marker of her own to cut the deficit to 2–1. The Lions kept pressing, driving into the Western zone and forcing another Mustang minor, this one with three minutes left in the second. York capitalized once again, as Ginger Fast netted the equalizer at 17:44, drawing the Lions level at 2–2 entering the second intermission.
Both squads traded chances in a fast-paced final period, with York firing 24 total shots on goal over the course of the evening. At 15:28 of the third period, Western's Saea Forwell fired the go-ahead goal past Walchuk to give the Mustangs a 3–2 lead.
York pulled out all the stops in the final four minutes, applying heavy pressure in search of another late equalizer, but Western held strong defensively through the final whistle to secure the 3-2 win.
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Lions will look to rebound Saturday night when they close out the season's opening weekend against the Windsor Lancers. Puck drop from Canlan Ice Sports is set for 7:00 p.m. You can get your tickets at yorkulions.ca/tickets or watch the game live on OUA TV.
