OSHAWA, Ont. – Saturday afternoon the UOIT women's hockey team took on the Nipissing Lakers at home ice. In what looked to be a sure win for the Lakers, the Ridgebacks made a late comeback in the third period to get the 3-2 overtime victory.
 
Both of Nipissing's goals came early on in the first period as they stormed the ice with great speed and quick hands. Their first goal was scored shorthanded by Bronwyn Bolduc off a nice cross ice pass from her linemate, Sam Strassburger. Their second goal was scored just minutes after when defenseman, Madison LaPlante, sniped one top shelf leaving Ridgebacks goalie, Celine Tessier (Chapleau, Que.) no chance at stopping it.
 
The second period ended in a scoreless 20 minutes of play, although Nipissing was still visibly dominating on offence.
 
Ridgebacks coach Justin Caruana, must have given the team one heck of a pep talk during the second intermission, as they came out flying. Ridgebacks captain, Mikaeli Cavell (Edmonton, Alta.), cut the deficit in half when she put in a great second effort to score off her own rebound just a few minutes in to the period. The game tying goal that would send play into overtime came from veteran centre Mariah Wilson (Cobourg, Ont.) with just over three minutes to go in the game.
 
It did not take long into overtime for the Ridgebacks to cap off their stunning comeback win as rookie, Megan Johnston (Goderich, Ont.), used her speed and took off on a breakaway finishing it with a beautiful top shelf goal to give the Ridgebacks the game winner.
 
 "It feels good to get my first goal and have it be a game winner, it's exciting," said Johnston.
 
For a team that has struggled to score many goals this season, it would have been easy for the team to let a 2-0 deficit discourage them. The Ridgebacks continued to battle hard right until the last minute and an outstanding performance from their goaltender was what really pushed them towards the win. Tessier made a total of 31 saves on the night.
 
"Once Mik got that first goal it opened the flood gates and Tess making all those key saves was big for us, and was what really helped us get the win," said Johnston.
 
The Ridgebacks now look to carry on their success as they hit the road next weekend and take on Windsor (Friday) and Western (Saturday).
 
QUICK LOOK AT THE RIDGEBACKS
Overall Record: 4-9-0
Conference Record: 4-3-0
 
Next Game: Friday, Nov. 10 at. Windsor Lancers (7:30 PM)