The OUA champs are now off to Queen’s in search of the national title
The Nipissing Lakers were in town on Saturday, March 11 in search of their first ever Ontario University Athletics (OUA) title. However, the Guelph women’s hockey team had other plans: bring home the McCaw Cup for a second consecutive year.
The last time Guelph women’s hockey won back-to-back titles was 47 years ago, but that didn’t seem to faze them.
“The veterans coming off of an OUA Championship last year have raised the bar so high, so settling for anything less than that is just a devastating thought,” Gryphons forward Kaitlin Lowy said. “In order to keep this legacy going we had to come out with another win.”
It was clear the top seeded Gryphons wanted the title, but Nipissing—ranked second in the OUA—was not going down without a fight.With the first period underway, the Lakers came on strong, pressuring the Gryphons into some uncharacteristic turnovers. These turnovers led to a Lakers goal, giving them the edge they came out hungry for. Guelph went into the first intermission down 1-0.
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“By no means was anyone worried in the room. We just knew we had to keep doing our thing and build our momentum, then things would come,” said Valerie Lamenta, Guelph’s goaltender, about their time between the first and second periods.
That momentum built quickly after taking the ice in the second period.
Just one minute into play, Guelph rookie Sydney Davison came slashing through the middle and, with a quick shot, the game was tied. Guelph has a tremendously young team, but that didn’t seem to slow them down. As Lamenta stated: “Yes, we have a lot of rookies, but they aren’t playing like rookies. […] We have 25 veteran players on this team, in my opinion.”
As the second period heated up, so did the Gryphons.
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Lowy was next, scoring in a fashion resembling Bobby Orr’s famous Stanley Cup clincher, only one minute after teammate Davison tied the game. The third and final goal of the period came from a quick slap shot off Kelly Gribbons’s stick as a result of a stunning pass from teammate Claire Merrick. The score after two periods was 3-1 Gryphons.
At the opening of the third period, it was clear tensions on the Lakers’ team were running high, however this did not seem to affect the Gryphons’ composure.
“We’re okay. Trust the process,” OUA Coach of the Year Rachel Flanagan told her team.These words sparked a three-goal run by the Gryphons in the second period. It was clear the process was working. Sophie Contant, a third-year Gryphon, added her name to the score sheet with a vicious slap shot from just inside the blue line.
The Lakers’ distress continued to grow as time pressed on. They recorded three quick penalties after Contant’s goal and pulled their goalie with six-and-a-half minutes left in the game in an attempt to close the three-goal gap.
Davison capitalized on this decision and tallied her second goal of the game by sliding a puck into the untended net. Before the final buzzer sounded, Guelph added one more goal courtesy of Kristen Jay.
With 30 seconds left, Gryphon fans rose to their feet and applauded; they were in the presence of greatness. The buzzer sounded and Lowy rocketed the puck down the ice. The scoreboard showed a final score of 6-1.
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For the first time in 47 years, Guelph women’s hockey would lift the McCaw Cup for a second year in a row.
“We were going to rebuild and then eventually repeat—that was our slogan,” Flanagan stated. “Then, as we got further into the season, the more important it was that we do it here.”
And so they did.
Gryphon goaltender Lamenta was named Player of the Game with 16 saves on 17 shots.“I can’t even put into words how proud I am of all these girls,” Lamenta said when asked about the success of this group. “We have really established ourselves and just need to keep building.”
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Guelph now heads to the U Sports Women’s Hockey Championships at Queen’s University from March 16 to 19. The Gryphons will have to win three straight games against the best in the country to bring home the gold, and are currently sitting second in the U Sports rankings behind the University of British Columbia.
When asked about her approach in preparing for next week, Lowy said: “Get the head shifted. We’ll enjoy this win, but come tomorrow, we’ll really switch gears.”
“We’ll just be prepping as we would for any other season game—a game that we have to win,” Flanagan added.
With all of the current players returning next season, the team looks like they are just getting started. Guelph women’s hockey is definitely the team to watch on campus.
Feature image by Tasha Falconer.