The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women’s hockey team defeated the Western Mustangs 4-1 on Saturday, October 24 at Thompson Arena in London, Ont.

First-year forward Ragan Danford (Madoc, Ont.) opened up the scoring as she buried a Kelly O’Hanlon (Markham, Ont.) rebound 5:43 into the game.

Just over eight minutes later on a Blues powerplay opportunity, Alie Brind’Amour McClure (Waterdown, Ont.) finished off a passing play down low as she backhanded the puck past Western goaltender Jessica Ulrich (Keswick, Ont.) into the top corner of the net.

The Blues held a 2-0 lead after the first period.

Toronto continued to dominate throughout the second period, outshooting the Mustangs 13-5. Third-year forward Lindsay Hill (Ajax, Ont.) scored just 1:37 into the period to give the Blues a comfortable three-goal cushion.

First-year goaltender Melissa Muir (Winnipeg, Man.) got her first start as a Varsity Blue and was solid in net as U of T maintained a 3-0 lead heading into the final frame.

The Mustangs finally got on the board when third-year forward Ellen Seedhouse (Whitby, Ont.) received a stretch pass from teammate Aoife Cox (Hamilton, Ont.) and made no mistake, deking Muir out to find the back of the Toronto net. 

In an attempt to claim another goal, the Mustangs pulled Ulrich with less than three minutes remaining in the game. U of T added an insurance marker as Darby Smith (Madoc, Ont.) capitalized on the empty net opportunity to secure the 4-1 victory. 

Muir was solid in net for the Blues, making 17 saves in the win. 

The Varsity Blues return to action tomorrow afternoon as they travel to Windsor, Ont. to take Lancers. The puck drops at 4:10 p.m. 

For more information, scores and highlights on your favourite Toronto teams, please visit the home of the Varsity Blues at http://www.varsityblues.ca.