Women’s hockey remains perfect

The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks’ women’s hockey team continued their dominance this weekend by winning two home games back to back.

The team improved to 8-0 on the season with a 2-0 victory over the Queen’s Gaels on Saturday and a 5-1 beating of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) Ridgebacks on Sunday.

While the game against Queen’s was close throughout, the game against UOIT was anything but. The Hawks dominated the Ridgebacks, beating them in every area of the game.

Not only did they outscore UOIT but they also outshot them 41-28 and constantly won races to the puck, leading to numerous scoring chances.

Fourth-year Liz Knox continued her strong play between the pipes by making 27 saves in the win. The offence, meanwhile, was led by veteran Kaley Powers who scored twice, once in the first period to open the scoring and again in the third to cap it off. Kate Psota, Andrea Ironside and Caitlin Muirhead also chipped in with a goal each.

With the two wins, the Hawks further strengthen their position atop the standings and look well on their way to capturing their seventh consecutive Ontario University Athletics (OUA) title.

Usually complacency starts to set in when teams are perpetually excellent, but the Hawks have managed to play strong no matter who their opponent is.

“We challenge our team to be physically and mentally ready for every game,” said head coach Rick Osborne. “We take it one game at a time and one shift at a time but we also look at the playoff format and the advantages of being a higher seed and what that can do to help you get further in the playoffs.”

Despite their success in the OUA, it is the national championship that is the real prize for the Hawks. They have won the silver medal two years in a row but hope to come away with the gold this year.

“I believe this is the fastest and best-conditioned team we have ever had. I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves but our goal is to be defending champs next year,” said Osborne.