OSHAWA, Ont. – The UOIT women's hockey team has plenty of optimism heading into the fall of 2016 after finishing their regular season on a high-note winning three straight games.
The Ridgebacks capped off their regular season on Saturday night with a 4-3 victory over the No. 4 ranked Toronto Varsity Blues who are heading into the postseason as the second ranked team. This marks the first time in program history that UOIT has finished their regular season on a three-game win streak.
Rachel Budden (Richmond, B.C.) picked a great time to score her first goal of the season, as she fired a shot from the point that went through the screen and in the back of the net, tying the game with 50 seconds remaining in the third period.
With both teams failing to score in overtime,
Nicole Gorda (Edmonton, Alta.) scored on her first shootout attempt while goaltender
Tori Campbell (Saskatoon, Sask.) stopped all three shooters giving UOIT the 4-3 victory.
Gorda also scored in regulation for UOIT while
Kassidy Nauboris (Brampton, Ont.) had the other.
Sam Forchielli (Hamilton, Ont.) recorded an assist on the game-tying goal, as she finishes as the Ridgebacks top scorer with three goals and 11 assists.
Jacqueline Scheffel, Taylor Day and Lauren Straatman were the goal scorers for the Varsity Blues.
Campbell earned her 20
th career victory, making her the program's career win leader. Campbell stopped 32 of 35 Varsity Blues shots on goal in tonight's win.
The referees were quiet for the majority of the game as either team took one penalty.
UOIT finishes the year with an 8-14-2 record and failed to qualify for the postseason for the second straight year.
Prior to the game,
Jennifer Sisson (Ajax, Ont.),
Victoria MacKenzie (Toronto, Ont.) and
Zoe Battie (Nanaimo, B.C.) were honoured as the graduating class of 2016.
UOIT will now focus on building for next year during the offseason with hopes of returning to the playoffs in 2017.
QUICK LOOK AT THE RIDGEBACKS Overall Record: 10-15-2
Conference Record: 8-14-2
