The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women’s hockey team fell 4-2 to the No. 5 Guelph Gryphons on Sunday, January 18 at Varsity Arena.
Special teams proved to be the difference in the game, as Guelph scored all of their goals on powerplay opportunities.
The Gryphons opened up the scoring when Tamara Bell (Guelph, Ont.) deflected a Jody Hodgins (Stayner, Ont.) point shot through Blues goaltender Kendyl Valenta’s (Brampton, Ont.) legs.
Less than four minutes later, Leslie Taylor (Mindenmoya, Ont.) pounced on a rebound in front of the net to score Guelph’s second goal of the game.
The Blues answer back immediately as first-year forward Stacey Oue (Scarborough, Ont.) picked up a loose puck in the slot and sent a beautiful shot past Gryphons goaltender Cassandra McNichol (Unionville, Ont.) for her first career goal.
Guelph led 2-1 at the end of the first period.
The Gryphons notched their third goal two minutes into the second period when Tori Woods (Orangeville, Ont.) tipped Lucia Mazza’s (Sudbury, Ont.) point shot into the net. With four minutes remaining in the period, Guelph forward Jessica Zerafa (Mississauga, Ont.) walked out from by the Blues net and slid the puck into the Blues net to build a three-goal lead.
In the dying minutes of the second period, Blues assistant captain Annie DelGuidice (Hamilton, Ont.) led her squad down the ice, chipping the puck past a Gryphons defenceman to Oue who garnered her second goal of the night.
Toronto came out hungry in the third period but Guelph put forth a solid defensive effort to keep scoring chances to a minimum.
With 6:51 left in the game, Blues second-year forward Karolina Urban (Kamloops, B.C.) was tripped on a breakaway and awarded a penalty shot. Urban pulled a nifty move down the stretch but hit the post and the Blues were unable to put another one past McNichol. The Gryphons skated away with the 4-2 victory.
Oue was named the Blues player of the game for her two-goal performance.
The Varsity Blues return to action next Saturday, January 24 when they host the Western Mustangs at Varsity Arena. The puck drops at 4 p.m.
