The No. 2 seed University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's hockey team lost a tight 2-1 semifinal contest to the No. 3 seed Bishop's Gaiters on Saturday (Mar. 22) night at the 2025 Miller Waste U SPORTS Championship at the Woolwich Memorial Centre in Elmira, Ont.

The Blues will play for the U SPORTS Bronze medal on Sunday (Mar. 23) afternoon when they take on the No. 5 seed Concordia Stingers at 2 p.m.

First-year goaltender Lyla McKinnon was excellent for the Blues between the pipes, making 32 saves in the loss and earning player of the game honours. "She's such a competitor, so focused and always gives us an opportunity to be successful – she made some great saves tonight. She's in her first year and we're really proud of her and excited for her." said Varsity Blues women's hockey head coach Vicky Sunohara.

Both teams got off to a strong start with back and forth action at both ends of the ice. Bishop's applied heavy pressure in the offensive zone but McKinnon was up to the task, making 13 saves in the first period. Late in the period, the Gaiters scored the game's opening goal on the power play as Majorie Bolduc found the back of the net, allowing Bishop's to take a one-goal lead into the first intermission. 

In the second period, Bishop's made it a 2-0 game as Noemie Fontaine scored on the power play. The Blues put up a strong effort as they looked to tie the game, firing quality shots on net but unable to beat Gaiters goaltender Ericka Gagnon. At the other end of the ice, McKinnon continued to make great saves to keep the deficit at two goals as the Toronto, Ont. native continued her strong tournament between the pipes.

The Blues threw everything they had at the Gaiters as they looked to make a third period comeback. Toronto was able cut the lead in half as second-year forward Ashley Delahey pounced on a rebound in front of the net to beat Gagnon. McKinnon continued to shine, making great saves as the Blues attempted to tie the game. Her efforts earned her player of the game honours, finishing with 32 stops.

As time wound down the Blues threw everything they had at Bishop's net, but were unable to find the back of the net before the final buzzer.

"There are 35 teams in U SPORTS and to play for a bronze medal is a big moment," Sunohara said. "We have an opportunity to win a bronze medal – we're gonna need everyone to play hard."

The Blues will take on the Concordia Stingers in the bronze medal game on Sunday, Mar. 23, the final day of the 2025 Miller Waste U SPORTS Championship in a rematch of the 2024 U SPORTS gold medal game. Puck drop is scheduled for 2 p.m. and can be watched on CBC Sports digital platforms. Live stats are available here.

Schedule:

Thursday, March 20
Quarter-Final #1: Concordia 5, STFX 2
Quarter-Final #2: Waterloo 3, Alberta 0

Friday, March 21
Quarter-Final #3: Bishop's 4, UBC 3 (OT)
Quarter-Final #4: Toronto 2, UNB 0

Saturday, March 22
Consolation Semifinal #1: Alberta 3, STFX 0
Consolation Semifinal #2: UBC 5, UNB 1
Semfinal #1: Waterloo 5, Concordia 1
Semfinal #2: Bishop's 2, Toronto 1

Sunday, March 23
Consolation Final: No. 1 Alberta vs No. 6 UBC | 10:00 a.m.
Bronze-Medal Game: No. 2 Toronto vs. No. 5 Concordia | 2:00 p.m.
Gold-Medal Game: No. 3 Bishop's vs. No. 8 Waterloo | 6:00 p.m.