In Game 1 of the OUA quarter-final, the No. 3 seed University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's hockey team defeated the No. 2 seed Ottawa Gee-Gees 6-3 on Wednesday (Feb. 25) night at Varsity Arena.

The Blues and Gee-Gees traded blows in a tight opening period. U of T found themselves in penalty trouble midway through the period and Ottawa capitalized on a five-on-three power play as Alexa Pongo's shot made its way through traffic. The Blues were quick to respond as second-year defender Sadie Watkins Southward stormed into the offensive zone and a quick backhand-forehand shot trickled behind goaltender Clara Genier to even the score. As the period progressed, both teams continued to fire pucks on net but in a goaltender battled, Genier and second-year U of T netminder Lyla McKinnon held strong between the pipes going into the first intermission.

The second period belong to McKinnon, who stood firm against a strong Gee-Gees offence and stood her ground between the pipes. Making saves from all angles of the crease, some of the best of McKinnon's 44 saves came in the second period. With the period trending towards a stalemate, the Blues garnered momentum from McKinnon's excellent work between the pipes. Off of an offensive zone faceoff, third-year forward Christina Alexiou fired a shot through traffic to give Toronto their first lead of the postseason.

Leading by a goal with 20 minutes of play remaining, third-year forward Abby Whitworth picked up right where she left off following her 20-goal regular season, jumping on an offensive zone faceoff and wiring a shot past Genier to take a two-goal lead. Ottawa's Maelle Laplante cut the Blue and White's lead in half with still lots of time remaining on the clock. Alexiou was quick to respond however, generating a breakaway with her speed and finding the back of the net for her second goal of the game. With their two-goal lead restored, McKinnon continued to shine between the pipes, making highlight reel saves as a desperate Gee-Gees team fired 14 shots on her in the third period.

Late in the period, Whitworth was sprung for a breakaway and slid the puck through Genier's five-hole to give Toronto some insurance with less than five minutes remaining on the clock. The Gee-Gees looked to mount a comeback and with less than two minutes of play to go, T.J. Flores found the back of the net to make it a two-goal game. Toronto continued to play a stout defensive game as the clock winded down, getting sticks in passing and shooting lanes and having McKinnon slow the play down. Whitworth completed the hat trick with an empty net goal to swing the series in U of T's favour.

Overall, Whitworth and Alexiou both finished the game with four points while Watkins Southward had two, drawing an assist on Whitworth's first goal.

The series shifts to the nation's capital for Game 2 of the best-of-three quarter-final with the Blues looking to punch their ticket to the semifinals. Game 2 is set to be played on Saturday (Feb. 28) afternoon at the Minto Sports Complex. Puck drop is scheduled for 3 p.m., and the game will be live streamed on oua.tv.