The OUA East No. 2 seed University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's hockey team scored four unanswered goals to defeat the No. 3 seed Ottawa Gee-Gees at Minto Place Sportsplex in Ottawa, Ont., in Game 1 of the OUA East quarterfinals on Thursday (Feb. 27) night.
 
The first period saw both teams flying from the moment the puck was dropped. Despite quality scoring chances at both ends of the ice, Ottawa goaltender Mireille Kingsley turned away the seven shots the Blues fired on her. Meanwhile at the other end of the ice, first-year Blues goaltender Lyla McKinnon was up to the task, stopping the six shots fired her way as the game was scoreless after 20 minutes of play.
 
The second period saw the score remain deadlocked at 0-0 until 63 seconds left in the middle frame as Ottawa's Arianne Gagnon opened the scoring to put the Blues behind 1-0. The goal didn't phase U of T, as off the ensuing faceoff second-year forward Taylor Delahey sent the puck to the front of the net for her twin sister Ashley Delahey who redirected the shot past Kingsley to tie the game at 1-1.
 
After the strong close to the second period, the Blues picked up right where they left off in the third. 14 seconds into the period, fourth-year forward Katy McKenna caught a burst of speed up the wing and fired a shot into the back of the net to give the Blues a 2-1 lead. Fourth-year forward Aili McKeown added an insurance goal for the Blues as she beat Kingsley on a low shot off the rush.
 
As the third period progressed the Blues defence was able to neutralize the Gee-Gees offence as a composed McKinnon made some of the best of her 17 saves in the game. With Kingsley pulled for the extra attacker, fifth-year forward Scout Watkins-Southward capitalized with an empty net goal to secure a 4-1 win and a 1-0 series lead for the Blues.
 
The series shifts to Toronto on Saturday (Mar. 1) night as the Blues will hit the ice at Varsity Arena looking to punch their ticket to the semifinals in Game 2 of the series. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. with tickets available at varsityblues.ca/tickets. The game will also be streamed live on oua.tv.