Late errors cause for dropped points

Gaels squander late goal, follow next night with win

Goalie Caitlyn Lahonen leads the OUA with a 0.48 goals against average.
Image supplied by: Journal File Photo
Goalie Caitlyn Lahonen leads the OUA with a 0.48 goals against average.

Women’s hockey came away with a victory in their second game of the weekend, but they’ll be kicking themselves for losing the night before.

 The Gaels squandered a 1-0 lead late in the third period against the Toronto Varsity Blues on Friday, ultimately falling 2-1 in a shootout. One day later, they kept the Ryerson Rams off the scoresheet, prevailing 2-0.

Head coach Matt Holmberg credited his team’s defensive play for Queen’s (3-0-0-1) strong weekend, though he said the team could have added some offence to the games.

“Defensively and from a goaltending perspective, I thought the weekend was very good,” he said. “I would have liked to have converted a few more so they weren’t quite so close, but we came up with four points on the road.”

Forward Kyla Crouse’s goal put the Gaels up early in the third period against the Varsity Blues (3-0-1-0),  but the Gaels couldn’t hold onto the lead. Toronto forward Sonja Weidenfelder tied the game up with just over three minutes remaining in regulation.

After neither team scored in overtime, it went to a shootout. Toronto’s Taylor Day scored the lone goal.

The Gaels rebounded against Ryerson (0-3-0-1), led by fifth-year Taryn Pilon’s two-point game. The forward set up Courtenay Jacklin’s first-period tally and added the insurance marker, scoring on a third period power play.

Netminder Caitlyn Lahonen continued her hot start to the 2015-16 campaign, turning away 63 of the 64 shots she faced over the weekend. The fifth-year has started each of the Gaels’ contest this season and leads the OUA with a 0.48 goals against average. She currently sits second in the league with a .981 save percentage.

“Caitlyn was really solid during our exhibition season. We played some very skilled teams and she performed quite well,” Holmberg said. “She’s continuing that throughout the regular season so far.”

Lahonen’s play in net, coupled with a strong defensive showing, has led the Gaels to a pair of shutouts over the course of the season and an OUA-low pf two goals against. The team’s one flaw has been a high number of shots against.

Queen’s has allowed 108 shots on goal so far this season, something Holmberg said will be an area to improve on during this weekend’s home match-ups with the Laurentian Lady Vees (1-1-2-1) and the Nipissing Lakers (2-2-0-1).

“We’ve allowed a few more shots than we would like to [at] this point,” he said. “That will be something we will be working on during the week and hopefully we can bring those numbers down on the weekend.”

Tags

Cailtyn Lahonen, Matt Holmberg, women's hockey

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