In their second home series of the season, the Lancer women's hockey team completed a sweep of the visiting Laurier Golden Hawks Saturday night at the Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex.
 
Windsor shut out the Hawks 4-0 on Friday night before squeaking by the visitors 3-2 in overtime on Saturday.
 
The Lancers are now 3-3 on the season and in third place in the OUA west division, while the Golden Hawks are still looking for their first victory of the season.
 
FRIDAY
The first period had the blue and gold come out strong and powerful as they looked to defend their territory on home ice. Jaden Cherry and Maggie Peterson would score within a minute of each other to put the pressure on the Golden Hawks and lead 2-0 early in the game. As the blue and gold put in the work to tighten their defense and maintain control of the puck inside their zone, Laurier struggled to build a play. A third goal by Jessica Legault extended the Lancers lead as they went into the first break up 3-0 against the Golden Hawks.
 
In the second period, Windsor looked to extend their lead as they continued to hold possession of the puck throughout the game. Lancer goalie Kristen Swiatochik put on a stellar performance as she helped to keep the Golden Hawks out of the net. With a burst of speed, Emily Eikelboom raced towards Laurier goaltender Kayla Renard who was no match for the momentum Eikelboom had and put the Lancers up 4-0. The Laurier Golden Hawks were unable to respond as Windsor held a 4-0 lead heading into the final period.
 
The final period was packed with offensive opportunities for the Lancers as the Golden Hawks remained on the defense. Elissa Benjamin and Devan Andrusak would put the pressure on the Golden Hawks with multiple shots on net, but Renard kept her ground. Although both teams could not find anymore openings, with a good back and forth contest, the Lancers stayed on top to take the game 4-0.
 
Swiatochik finished the game with 23 saves to earn the shutout in net.
 
SATURDAY
The Lancers started the game playing strong defensively as neither team dominated early in the period. A Windsor head contact penalty put the Hawks on the power play first, but they were unable to capitalize on the opportunity. Windsor saw the Golden Hawks taking more offensive risks and looked to open themselves up more on the ice. The defensive stalemate broke when Laurier's Chloe Davidson scored the first goal of the game past Windsor's Holly Borrett. The Lancers took some time to execute a response but with five minutes remaining, Jack Latham was able to beat Golden Hawks goaltender Acadia Carlson and the blue and gold were tied 1-1 heading into the first break.
 
In the second period, the Lancers did everything they could to break the tie. The blue and gold saw themselves with multiple opportunities yet they were unable to get past Laurier goalie Carlson. Emily Eikelboom and Elissa Benjamin stayed on the offensive attack but were unsuccessful. Laurier and Windsor were tied 1-1 heading into the third period.
 
The third period saw the Lancers jump on the Golden Hawks to break the tie and take a one goal lead with a goal from Maggie Mitani. However, it would not be long for Laurier to add another marker, this time by Arielle MacDonald, to equalize the game again. The blue and gold continued to make the most of the remaining time left in the game sprinting for the puck and putting in a strong effort to gain possession. Tied 2-2 at the end of regulation, the game headed to overtime where the Lancers took control of the game and forward Maggi DeWolf-Russ got away with the puck after a giveaway and wrapped up the game with a 3-2 victory over Laurier less than two minutes into extra time.
 
UP NEXT
Windsor heads up to Guelph on Friday, November 11th where they will face-off against the Gryphons at 7:30pm. The game can be seen live at oua.tv.