A goal by Tammy Frielburger at 4:23 of the third overtime period gave the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks a 1-0 win over the Queen’s Golden Gaels in the opening game of their Ontario University Athletics women’s hockey playoff Thursday night in Waterloo.
The Hawks will take a one-game lead into the second game of the best-of-three quarter-final series Saturday night at the Memorial Centre.
During the regular year, Frielburger led her team with 11 goals—nine of them in the second half of the season. Though she finished the schedule with six goals in her last six games, the fifth-year senior hadn’t scored against Queen’s this year.
Laurier goaltender Amanda Smith stopped all 49 shots she faced, as the Gaels outshot the home team 49-40. Until the very end, Queen’s goalie Caitlin Lahonen matched Smith, save for save
Twice late in the first overtime period, the Gaels got the puck past Smith but each time the play was blown dead because the net had become dislodged.
This is the fourth time in the last seven years that Laurier and Queen’s have met in the playoffs. Last year, the Hawks beat the Gaels in the league championship series, winning their ninth conference title in the last 11 years.
Queen’s won the championship the other two seasons, most recently two years ago.
A year ago, the Gaels won the series opener in overtime, and then Smith posted back-to-back shutout victories, making 77 saves in the two games. The sophomore from Burlington has now blanked the Gaels in post-season play for 224 minutes and 23 seconds.
During the regular year this season, the Gaels won both contests—5-4 in overtime in Waterloo in November and 3-1 in Kingston two weeks ago—on their way to a 16-5-3 record, third in the OUA and the No. 6 rank in Canada. Laurier finished the season sixth in the conference, at 13-7-4.
If a third game is needed in the series, it will be played Sunday afternoon at the Memorial Centre.
