WATERLOO, Ont. – A goal from Tia Kipfer at 6:31 of the second overtime period gave the Western Mustangs women's hockey team a 5-4 win over the Laurier Golden Hawks in game two of their OUA Semi-Final series on Friday night at Sun Life Financial Arena.
 
With the win Western sweeps the best of three series 2-0, paving the way for the Mustangs to host the OUA Championship next Saturday at Thompson Arena. Along with a chance to win their first ever OUA title, the Mustangs have also secured a spot at the CIS Women's Hockey Championship taking place in Calgary from March 12-15.
 
Kipfer's goal, her first of the post-season, came after 76 minutes of action in Western's first overtime game of the playoffs.
 
While Kipfer's goal was the game-winner, a second period surge provided one of the game's major turning points as Western scored three consecutive goals to swing momentum in their favour and go from a 3-1 deficit to a 4-3 lead.
 
Kelly Campbell earned the win for the purple and white, stopping 33 shots to earn her fourth consecutive playoff victory. Nicholle Kovach got the start for Laurier, stopping 12 shots and allowing four goals in 36 minutes of ice time before being replaced by Amanda Smith, who stopped 15 shots with one goal allowed.
 
The visiting Mustangs opened up the first period looking to set a precedent for the rest of the game as Sydney Kidd found the back of rookie goaltender Kovach's net just 23 seconds into the action.
 
Despite falling behind early, the Golden Hawks responded instantly as Danelle Im notched the first Golden Hawks goal of the game just 17 seconds later to even out the scoreboard.
 
The Golden Hawks dominated the scoresheet in the rest of the first period as Dollee Meigs scored on a breakaway to give the Golden Hawks the one-goal advantage midway through the period. Im increased the lead for the home team about four minutes later as she scored her second goal of the game to put the Golden Hawks up 3-1 heading into the first intermission.
 
The Mustangs returned to the ice in the second frame looking to recover from the two goal deficit, and it was purple and white point's leader Kendra Broad who got things rolling as she found the back of Kovach's net just 23 seconds in.
 
Working off of that early upward momentum the Mustangs unleashed a second period surge that saw the purple and white not only cut the Golden Hawks lead and even out the scoreboard, but also take the upperhand.
 
Kidd tallied her second goal of the night at 14:30 to tie the game 3-3, while Casey Rosen poked the puck between Kovach's pads just a minute and 46 seconds later to put the Mustangs up by one with a 4-3 score.
 
The one goal lead did not last long however, as the Golden Hawk's Tammy Freiburger brought the puck deep into Mustangs territory and across the purple and white goal line to even out the score 51 seconds later.
 
In the third frame the Mustangs outshot the Golden Hawks 10-6 but were unable to capitalize on any of their scoring opportunities. Similarly, the Golden Hawks could not find an opening in Campbell's net. With neither team taking the lead the game headed into a ten-minute overtime period.
 
With their season on the line the Golden Hawks cycled the puck through the Mustang's end looking to find a way to slip the puck past Campbell. Despite getting six shots off on the experienced goaltender the Golden Hawks were unable to get the puck over the goal line and the contest went into the second overtime period.
 
Both teams worked relentlessly to win the race to the scoreboard but it was Kipfer who sealed the deal for the purple and white and put an abrupt end to the Golden Hawks season as the second-year forward notched the game-winning goal six and a half minutes into the second overtime period, sending the Mustangs over the boards and into both the OUA and CIS Championships.
 
The Mustangs now look ahead to the OUA Championship game next weekend, when they'll face the winner of the OUA's other semi-final series between Guelph and Toronto. The Gryphons and Varsity Blues are currently tied 1-1, with game three set for Sunday afternoon to determine which side will move on to face the Mustangs next Saturday, March 7, at 4 p.m. at Thompson Arena.