The No. 1 seeded University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's hockey team downed the No. 7 St. Francis Xavier X-Women (St. FX) 4-0 in the consolation final at the 2023 U SPORTS championship on Sunday morning in Montreal.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Emma Potter
WHAT HAPPENED:
The Blues opened the scoring early in the first period. Following a scrum in front of the X-Women's net, a shot from first-year Kaitlyn McKnight was blocked by St. FX netminder, Jamie Johnson. The deflection landed on the stick of Blues centre Lauren MacDonnell, who seized her opportunity to pull the Blues into a 1-0 lead.
The Blues doubled their lead in the final minute of the first period by way of Sophie Grawburger. Scoring her second of the tournament, the Garden River, Ont. native buried second-year defenceman Emma Potter's rebound to extend the Blues lead to two.
The Blues continued their momentum into the second period with third-year forward Natasha Athanasakos and Potter combining for the Blues third goal of the game. Just 50-seconds into the period, Athanasakos found Potter on the wrap-around. The Agnus, Ont. native went top shelf to extend the Blues to a 3-0 lead.
Adding to the Blues lead was Blues third-year centre Juliette Blais-Savoie and rookie standout Kaitlyn McKnight. Following a pass from Blais-Savoie, McKnight chipped the St. FX goaltender to double the Blues first-period lead.
The Blues held this lead through the period to secure the 4-0 win.
Fourth-year goaltender Erica Fryer had 16 saves in the win.
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