University of Toronto Athletics

The No. 10 University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's hockey team battled back from a two-goal deficit to force overtime against the TMU Bold on Friday (Oct. 23), but ultimately fell in a nine-round shootout versus the cross-town rival.
 
The Blues wasted little time getting on the board as fifth-year forward Emma Elders opened the scoring just two minutes into the first period. Elders finished a setup from third-year forward Ryleigh Horlock and fifth-year captain Kaitlyn McKnight to give Toronto an early 1-0 lead. TMU responded less than two minutes later with Maddy Collins converting on the power play to even the score at 1-1. Neither side could find another breakthrough before the first intermission.
 
TMU took control in the second courtesy Reese Logan midway through the frame handing the Bold their first lead of the afternoon. Logan would strike again just two minutes later, converting a penalty shot to extend TMU's advantage to 3-1 heading into the break.
 
Battling from behind, the Blues came out firing in the third. The comeback would begin just before the 10 minute mark as fourth-year forward Abby Whitworth buried a pass from Elders and fellow fourth-year forward Christina Alexiou to bring Toronto within striking distance. Just 40 seconds later, Elders found the back of the net for her second goal of the afternoon, finishing a play set up by first-year defence Ashley Minor and McKnight to tie the game. The quick succession of goals erased TMU's two-goal lead and gave the Blues new life as they pushed to complete the come from behind effort.
 
Neither team could find a winner through the remainder of regulation, sending the contest to overtime. Both sides battled for the deciding goal in the extra frame, but neither could break the deadlock, setting the stage for a shootout.
 
With each team notching one goal through the first five shooters, the shootout would eventually take nine rounds before TMU finally found the difference. Whitworth was the lone Toronto skater to score in the shootout, while second-year goaltender Jillian Matthews stood tall between the pipes, stopping seven Bold attempts to keep the Blues in contention through the extended battle. Despite Matthews' efforts and Toronto's third-period rally, the Bold came away with the 4-3 shootout victory.
 
Next up, the Blues will head to Ottawa next week to continue a five-game road swing. They will face the Ottawa Gee-Gees on Friday (Oct 30) night before challenging the Carleton Ravens on Saturday (Oct 31). All OUA hockey games are streamed live and on demand via oua.tv.