The No. 7 nationally ranked University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's hockey team will travel to Waterloo, Ont. on Saturday, Mar. 15 to face off against the No. 6 nationally ranked Waterloo Warriors in the 2025 OUA McCaw Cup final.

The Blues return to the provincial championship for the third consecutive season and fifth time in the last six years as they look to flip the script from last year's McCaw Cup final against the Warriors that saw U of T suffer a 2-1 loss at Varsity Arena. Toronto aims to clinch their 20^th provincial title in program history, while the Warriors will be looking to go back-to-back for their second. The Blues and Warriors have both earned a spot in the U SPORTS national championship, also to be hosted by Waterloo from Mar. 20-23.

The Blues finished the regular season with a 14-8-3-1 (W-L-OTW-OTL) record, earning second place in the OUA East. Toronto has won all four games of their playoff run so far, sweeping the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the quarter-final round and the Guelph Gryphons in the semifinal. Ashley Delahey led the Blues in regular season scoring with 25 points in 26 games, one of six Toronto players to record 15 or more points. Aili McKeown's 11 goals ranked in the Top 10 of the OUA. First-year goaltender Lyla McKinnon had a remarkable debut season, winning 12 games and putting up two shutouts.

Sophie Grawbarger and McKeown are tied for the team playoff scoring lead with four points each. Grawbarger's three goals are tied for the most along with Scout Watkins-Southward, while McKeown and Christina Alexiou pace the Blue and White with three assists. McKinnon has continued her impressive rookie season, shining with a 1.00 goals against average and .960 save percentage and one shutout while playing every minute of the four Toronto playoff games.

Waterloo finished second in the OUA West with a 13-2-5-6 record while scoring 87 goals, the most in the province. They also have a 17.9% power play and 91.7% penalty kill, both ranked third. The goaltending duo of Kara Mark, who won 17 games, and Lauryn Busseri combined for a .943 save percentage and 1.68 goals against average, both good for second in the OUA. Carly Orth's 31 points tied for the top spot in the league, with Leah Herrfort's 25 coming in fourth.

Former Varsity Blues Nikki McDonald leads the way for the Warriors in the playoffs with six goals and seven points in four games. McDonald played three seasons at U of T, contributing in both the Blues McCaw Cup victory in 2023 and U SPORTS national silver run in 2024. At the other end of the ice Mark is shutting the door, with just seven goals allowed across all four games and a .954 save percentage.

Toronto and Waterloo have met twice this season, with each team coming away with a 2-1 win. McKeown scored the overtime winner for the Blues at Varsity Arena on Nov. 30, while Mark's 27 saves were the difference for the Warriors to spoil the Blues season opener in Waterloo on Oct. 10.

The rematch of last year's McCaw Cup final will take place in Waterloo this Saturday, Mar. 15 at 4 p.m. The game can be streamed live at oua.tv.
 
SCHEDULE
Saturday, Mar. 15 | 4 p.m.
Columbia Icefields (Waterloo, Ont.)
Live Stats
Watch

2024-25 REGULAR SEASON STAT LEADERS
Toronto
Goals: Aili McKeown | 11 goals
Assists: Ashley Delahey | 16 assists
Points: Ashley Delahey | 25 points
Wins: Lyla McKinnon | 12 wins
 
Waterloo
Goals: Carly Orth, Nikki McDonald | 11 goals
Assists: Carly Orth | 20 assists
Points: Carly Orth | 31 points
Wins: Kara Mark | 17 wins
 
HISTORY
Last Five Games:
Nov. 30, 2024 | Toronto 2, Waterloo 1 (OT)
Oct. 10, 2024 | Waterloo 2, Toronto 1
Mar. 9, 2024 | Waterloo 2, Toronto 1 (2024 McCaw Cup)
Jan. 12, 2024 | Toronto 5, Waterloo 1
Nov. 24, 2023 | Toronto 3, Waterloo 0