The No. 5 nationally ranked University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's hockey team defeated the Ottawa Gee-Gees 3-2 at Varsity Arena on Saturday (Oct. 26) afternoon.
 
The Blues had a strong first period with first-year goalie Lyla McKinnon leading the way, stopping 10 Ottawa shots in the opening frame. McKinnon's strong play in net allowed for U of T to get the games opening goal as fourth-year defender Kalie Chan sent a pass down low to second-year forward Ashley Delahey who passed it to second-year forward Taylor Delahey, who one-timed the puck past Gee-Gees goalie Clara Genier for her third goal of the season.
 
The second period saw action in both ends of the ice but strong goaltender play from McKinnon and Genier kept the score at 1-0 through nearly the entirety of the 20 minutes. However, late in the second period  fourth-year forward Emma Irwin doubled U of T's lead as fellow fourth-year forward Katy McKenna retrieved the puck off a faceoff and found Irwin in front of the net. Irwin's goal marked her first of the season and the Blues were up 2-0 after two periods of play.
 
Beatrice Bilodeau got the Gee-Gees on the board late in the third period to cut the Blues lead to 2-1 but Toronto continued to play a strong defensive game and pushed for an insurance goal. With Genier on the Gee-Gees bench, fourth-year forward Aili McKeown hustled to the puck to beat out an icing and deposited the puck into the empty net to give the Blues a 3-1 advantage. Bilodeau added a second goal to her total but with just five seconds remaining in the game, the Blues were able to hold on for the 3-2 victory, extending their winning streak to five straight games.
 
McKinnon was stellar in net for the Blues making 26 saves in the win.
 
The Blues are back in action on Thursday (Oct. 31) night when they travel to St. Catharines, Ont., to take on the Brock Badgers. Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on oua.tv.