Rookie goaltender Nicole Kesteris made 46 saves to lead the Varsity Blues women’s hockey team to a 3-1 victory over the No. 7 Windsor Lancers on Saturday, November 20 at Varsity Arena.

With the win, the Blues improve to 7-5-0 and sit in sixth place, while the Lancers are 7-4-0 and remain in fourth place in the OUA standings.

Kesteris kept the game scoreless in the first 20 minutes of action, stopping all 16 shots that came her way. The Aurora, Ont., native denied Windsor’s Jenny McKnight (Regina) and Manon Davis of Sudbury on two breakaway attempts in the first seven minutes of action.

Blues captain Karolina Urban of Kamloops, B.C., opened the scoring four minutes into the second frame. The fourth-year forward received a centering pass from Amanda Fawns and made no mistake, wiring a shot past Lancers goaltender Jamie Tessier (Copper Cliff, Ont.).

The Blues went up by two midway through the game when rookie forward Amanda Ricker (Kanata, Ont.) tipped a Brittany Kirby point shot into the net.

The Lancers would get on the board before the second period ended when first-year forward Candace Chevalier of Essex, Ont., skated down the right wing and sent a booming shot over the glove of Kesteris and into the net.

The Blues held a 2-1 lead heading into the final frame.

Toronto added some insurance 6:37 into the third period as Fawns beat a Windsor defenceman and gained a 2-on-0 opportunity. The Scarborough, Ont., native sent a beautiful pass across to Brenley Jorgensen who shot the puck into the open net.

Kesteris came up with 16 third-period saves to secure the 3-1 victory and earned Varsity Blues player of the game recognition for her stellar performance on the day.

The Varsity Blues return to action tomorrow afternoon as they host the Western Mustangs at Varsity Arena. The puck drops at 4 p.m.

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