UOIT Ridgebacks Media Release
Saturday, January 26, 2008

Great Effort Put Forth by the Ridgebacks Against the Top Ranked Golden Hawks

Oshawa (OUA) – Regardless that UOIT women’s hockey team suffered a 4-1 loss on Saturday night, the Ridgebacks team and fans can celebrate a moral victory as they skated stride-for-stride with the four-time defending OUA Champion and No. 3 nationally ranked Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks for the entirety of the game.

Laurier currently sits atop of the OUA standings with an impressive 20-2-1-0 record while the Ridgebacks fall to 1-18-2-2 in their inaugural season.

In their previous two meetings on the year, Laurier outscored the Ridgebacks 18-0 and controlled the majority of the play. Tonight was a different tale as both teams had their fair share of opportunities and action was at both ends of the ice.

Head coach Gary Pitcher and the rest of his coaching staff had the Ridgebacks ready to play right from the get-go as the team managed to take their game to the next level against the first place Golden Hawks.

In the first period, despite matching their total number of shots in their previous game against Laurier (five), UOIT found themselves down by a goal as Alicia Martin of the Golden Hawks notched her sixth goal of the season at the 16:04 minute mark, giving Laurier a 1-0 lead.

In previous games, as soon as Laurier scored their first goal of the game, the floodgates would open as more goals were to follow. Not tonight. The teams went scoreless for the remaining four minutes of the opening period and the Ridgebacks managed to even up the game at 1-1 as they scored just 2:24 into the second frame. Right winger Melissa Bell (Cobourg, ON) founf the back of the net for her third goal this season, as teammate Carling Jeyes (Little Britain, ON) picked up an assist.

For the next twelve minutes of the second, the team’s remained in a deadlock at one goal a piece. It wasn’t until the 16:02 mark when Laurier’s Kayley Powers beat Melissa Scott (Oshawa, ON) for her second point of the night, to reclaim their one goal lead. Just under two minutes later, Andrea Ironside scored her eleventh goal for the Golden Hawks to build the Laurier lead to 3-1.

Action in the third period heated up as the Ridgebacks applied a steady offensive attack trying to cut the Golden Hawk’s lead in half. Laurier starting goal Liz Knox was up to the task making clutch stops for the Hawks in between the pipes.

It was not until the 18:38 minute mark of the third period when Laurier put the game on ice when Kate Psota scored on a screen shot, giving the Golden Hawks a 4-1 victory.

Fans at the Campus Ice Centre, including members of the Durham West Lightning and Oshawa Lady Generals recognized the Ridgebacks efforts on the night as they gave the team a warm applause as the players left the ice.

UOIT finished the game 0-for-5 on the power play while Laurier was just 1-for-4. The Golden Hawks out shot the Ridgebacks 29-15, a much better result compared to their meeting on January 5th when the Hawks posted a 32-5 shot advantage in their 11-0 win.

The great effort put forth by UOIT will hopefully spill over into tomorrow’s game as they square off against the Waterloo Warriors at the Campus Ice Centre. Puck drop is scheduled for 1:30 pm. The Ridgebacks first and only win this season came against the Warriors on November 3, 2007 by a final score of 4-2. The Ridgebacks hope to see a similar result to capture their first win on home ice.
 

GAME SUMMARY

Laurier 4 at UOIT 1 (Final)
 
Scoring Summary:

1st Period
1. Laurier, A. Martin (7) (L. Meschino, K. Powers) 16:04

2nd Period
2. UOIT, M. Bell (3) (C. Jeyes) 2:24  
3. Laurier, K. Powers (6) (A. Bevan) 16:02  
4. Laurier, A. Ironside (11) (V. Ley, V. Bennett) 17:55  

3rd Period
5. Laurier, K. Psota (4) (V. Ley, A. Bevan) 18:38 PP

LAU Shots: 7-11-11 (29)
UOIT Shots: 5-6-4 (15)

Power Play Conversion
Laurier 1-4
UOIT 0-5

Goaltenders
Laurier
Knox - Min: 60:00, SV: 14, GA: 1

UOIT
Scott – Min: 60:00, SV: 25, GA: 4  (L)

Attendance : 247

RIDGEBACKS AT A GLANCE
Ridgebacks Conference Record: 1-18-2-2
 
NEXT HOME GAME

Sunday, January 27, 2008 (1:30 PM)
vs. Waterloo Warriors
Campus Ice Centre
Oshawa, ON

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Scott Dennis
Sports Information and Marketing Coordinator
Durham College & UOIT Athletics
905.721.2000 Ext. 2784
scott.dennis@dc-uoit.ca