The top-seeded University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's hockey team are two wins away from a berth to the 2020 U SPORTS national championship as they take on the Ryerson Rams in a best-of-three OUA semifinal series, beginning this Wednesday night at Varsity Arena.
 
Series Schedule:
Game 1: Wednesday, February 26 | Ryerson at Toronto | 7:00 p.m. | Varsity Arena
Game 2: Saturday, February 29 | Toronto at Ryerson| 7:15 p.m. | Mattamy Athletic Centre
*Game 3: Sunday, March 1 | Ryerson at Toronto | 7:00 p.m. | Varsity Arena
(*if necessary)
 
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Toronto punched their ticket to the semifinals with a quarter-final sweep of the Guelph Gryphons last week, while the Rams, who finished the regular season as the No. 5 seed, swept the No. 4 Brock Badgers to keep their post-season hopes alive.
 
The winner of the semifinals series will earn 1-of-2 OUA berths to the 2020 U SPORTS national championship, March 12-15, hosted by the UPEI Panthers for the second straight year. Should Toronto be victorious, they would host the McCaw Cup final versus the winner of York/Nipissing next Friday, March 6 at Varsity Arena at 7 p.m.
 
"We are very excited to play Ryerson, our city rivals," said Varsity Blues head coach Vicky Sunohara. "I think we are better prepared after our series against Guelph. We realize that every shift, every period, every game will be a battle. Going into overtime twice made us really dig deep. Ryerson is a strong, well-coached team and it should be an exciting series."
 
The Blues went 2-0 versus the Rams during the regular season, notching a 2-0 victory at Ryerson on Oct. 23 before winning a thrilling 6-4 School Day Game on Jan. 23 at Varsity Arena. This will mark the first time the two teams have squared off in the post season.
 
The Blues boasted the fewest goals against, allowing just 31 in 24 regular season games. That is thanks in large part to the 1-2 punch of Blues netminders Madeline Albert and Erica Fryer.
 
The duo ranked first and second in the league with 0.84 and 1.29 goals against averages, respectively, while Albert led the OUA with a .964 save percentage and Fryer topped the province with a .786 win percentage. Fryer started both games versus Guelph, holding a .948 save percentage and 1.20 GAA.
 
Much of Toronto's success has also come from special teams. The Blues boast the top-ranked powerplay in the league with a 20.2% efficiency, while also ranking third on the penalty kill (91.1%).
 
The De Serres sisters have led the team offensively. Gabrielle notched a team-high eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points during the regular season and added two in the quarter-final series. Mathilde scored five goals and added 12 assists for 17 points. Five other players hit double-digit points, with second-year forward Taylor Trussler leading the team with four powerplay goals.
 
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