The Varsity Blues knocked the York Lions out of playoff contention with a 3-1 victory in OUA women’s hockey action on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 5) at Varsity Arena.

The Blues are now 14-11-0 and in fifth place, while the Lions fall to 11-14-0 and will finish out the season in seventh place in the OUA standings.

U of T went 2-for-6 on the powerplay, while rookie goaltender Nicole Kesteris of Aurora, Ont., made 30 saves and was named the Varsity Blues player of the game.

Second-year forward Britney Kirby of Vancouver opened the scoring on the powerplay when she received a pass from Brenley Jorgensen (Kingston, Ont.) on the point and sent a booming shot through traffic to beat York goaltender Sydney McMurter (Orillia, Ont.).

The Blues went up by two just 29 seconds into the second period on another man advantage when Jorgensen skated in from the corner and found a hole at the side of the net.

Team captain Karolina Urban (Kamloops, B.C.) notched the third goal of the game six minutes later. The Lions would spoil the shut out with three minutes remaining in the second period with a goal off the stick of Autumn Mills.

York put the pressure on in the third period, but Kesteris stood on her head, making 16 third-period saves to maintain the 3-1 win.

The Varsity Blues return to action next Saturday, February 12 when they travel to Kingston, Ont., to take on the Queen’s Gaels in a game that could determine home-ice advantage for playoffs. The puck drops at 7 p.m.

GAME NOTES:

The Varsity Blues honoured six graduating athletes (Robyn Law, Natalie Hughes, Bianca Mirabelli, Darby Smith, Lindsay Hill and Emily Milito) in a pre-game ceremony.

U of T also celebrated the 18 players and eight staff who completed the perfect season, going 35-0-0 and earning the 2000-01 OUA and CIS championship titles.

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