LONDON, Ont. – Three final frame University of Toronto goals secured the Varsity Blues' 3-0 win against the Western Mustangs Wednesday evening at Thompson Arena.
"I think it was more or less our battle mentality going into it. We knew they were going to be a rough and physical team," said Mustangs' head coach Candice Moxley. "Ultimately, we didn't move the puck as quickly as we wanted to; we did lose those battles…At the end of the day, we need to put goals behind their goaltender, and we just didn't do that tonight."
Kiyono Cox, Mathilde De Serres, and Taylor Trussler marked Toronto's three third period goals.
The Varsity Blues maintained tight pressure on the Mustangs in the first period, but only one puck made it to Western's goaltender Carmen Lasis in the first six minutes.
Toronto's aggressive coverage continued during their only penalty kill of the first frame, not allowing a single shot on goalie Erica Fryer.
Lasis kept the Mustangs in the game during their own penalty kill. The Varsity Blues fired five shots off on her, but they were unable to pick up their rebounds or make it into the net.
"I liked [Lasis'] game tonight," said Moxley. "I don't think we helped her out very much in terms of secondary opportunities and being strong on our sticks in front of the net, so we weren't clearing pucks the way we needed to. I thought she came up big for us in some areas where we needed to be better."
One minute into the second period, Alyssa Chiarello picked up a rebound and put it top shelf, but the referee blew the play dead just a few moments before and did not count the goal.
"That definitely would have given us momentum moving forward," said forward Shailyn Waites. "But we try to put it aside and keep going. I just don't think we played Mustang hockey today."
Neither team would score for the remainder of the frame. Toronto ended the second period with eight shots to Western's seven.
A minute and a half into the final frame, Cox marked the first goal of the night unassisted. She raced down the ice, beating the Mustangs' defenders, deked Lasis, and passed the puck into the net before crashing into the boards.
The Varsity Blues had another chance to show off their aggressive penalty kill seven minutes into the third period. Cox once again beat Western's whole lineup and almost reached Lasis. The Mustangs recovered, however, and Rachel Armstrong's persistent backcheck stole the puck away at the last second.
"I think with Toronto they bring a lot of speed and intensity to all of their special teams," said Waites. "They'll run at you, and it's less time with the puck. Any fumble, they're on you, and it's hard to maintain possession."
With eight minutes of play to go, De Serres deflected the puck into the Mustangs' net while on the power play. Trussler scored an empty-netter and the Varsity Blues' final marker with 45 seconds left to end the score 3-0 for U of T.
"At the end of the day, playoff hockey, it is what it is. We can't dwell on this loss," said Moxley. "I mean, it's short-term memory. We've got to learn from it, let it go, and we have something to prove Friday night in their own barn. We've done it before there, it's just a matter of us kind of rising above and elevating our game to where it has been in the past and where it can be right now."
The Mustangs are heading to Toronto for game two against the Varsity Blues Friday night at 7:00pm. If Toronto wins the next game, they will advance to the OUA finals to compete for the McCaw Cup. Fans can catch the action live at OUA.tv
