WATERLOO — Right winger Brittany McHaffie was mobbed by her teammates after potting the overtime winner against the Wilfred Laurier Golden Hawks.
The goal capped off a 4-3 victory for the Gaels (7-0-1) on Saturday, followed by a 3-0 win over the Waterloo Warriors (1-5-1) on Sunday. The two road wins allowed them to maintain their position atop the OUA leaderboard.
“We’ve got a group of players who stay focused and stay driven,” said head coach Matt Holmberg. “I’m hoping [complacency] won’t be too much of an issue.”
The victory over the Golden Hawks (6-1-1) saw Queen’s give up a two-goal lead in the second period before the eventual overtime winner.
Forwards Allie Biglieri, Morgan McHaffie and Kristen Smith netted early goals to put Queen’s up 3-1 in the second period, before penalty trouble caught up to the Gaels.
Laurier scored two goals in 81 seconds to even the score at 3-3 at the end of the second.
Overtime began with a Laurier powerplay, but the Gaels’ penalty kill unit kept the game tied.
“We knew we’d have to have a big kill in order to get back to even strength,” Holmberg said.
With 1:50 left on the clock, the Gaels capitalized on their own power play with Brittany McHaffie’s second goal of the year.
“The players played great to kill it off, and then we had good pressure … leading up to the goal,” Holmberg said.
Sunday’s game in Waterloo didn’t have the same intense ending, but the Gaels earned the same result. The OUA-leading power play continued its dominance with first period goals by Morgan McHaffie and defender Katie Duncan.
The Gaels continued to shut down the Warriors for the rest of the game, as winger Courtenay Jacklin added an insurance marker early in the third to secure the 3-0 win. Goaltender Karissa Savage made 19 saves to record her third shutout of the season.
“Coming off a big win like yesterday, I think some teams might be inclined to have a bit of a let-down, but the girls were focused and I thought they played a pretty efficient game,” Holmberg said.
The Gaels return home to host the Windsor Lancers on Nov. 3 and the Western Mustangs on Nov. 4.
Tags
Holmberg, Laurier, Waterloo, women's hockey
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