Web posted on Tuesday, February 10, 1998
Women’s hockey guns for title
By Jeff Brennan, Varsity Staff
Who better an opponent for the U of T Varsity Blues women's
hockey team to face in their first playoff game than the team that
denied them the Ontario championship the year before?
That's right, the York Yeowomen.
These two teams will lock up this Saturday in one of two semi-final games in the OUA women's hockey championship tournament. If there's any more incentive necessary for U of T to prevail and for you to watch it, the two-day tournament will be held at Varsity Arena this weekend.
The Blues' game will start at 3 p.m., while the other semi-final game, the Guelph Gryphons against the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks, starts at noon. Then on Sunday at 3 p.m., the two winners will meet in the OUA championship game, after the semi-final losers play for third place at noon.
In their final weekend of the regular season, the Blues clinched first place in the league with a 2-2 tie with Guelph at Varsity Arena last Thursday, while on Sunday, they closed things off with a 2-1 road win at Laurier. That puts their final 1997-98 record at a superior 12-1-2.
Varsity has had revenge on its mind since last year's provincial championship game in Waterloo. In overtime against York, Blues forward Jayna Hefford (currently on the Canadian Olympic team) scored and a jubilant Varsity squad prematurely celebrated victory. However, they weren't aware the overtime period had to be played out fully. The Yeowomen eventually tied the game up at two, and in the second overtime period (which was sudden-death), scored to claim the championship.
U of T and York have met three times in the regular season and the Blues hold a 2-1 advantage. But despite the fact they've outscored all their opposition 61-14 this year, the games with the Yeowomen have been tight, all decided by one goal.
Although the Yeowomen sneaked into the fourth and final spot with the ultimate average record of 5-5-5, they are defending champions. And usually, the champ won't go down without a fight. U of T's head coach, Karen Hughes, will expect that on Saturday afternoon.
"[The Yeowomen] work hard and they try and knock you down," says Hughes. "They also have very good goaltending." And in playoff hockey, there's nothing more that can sink an exceptional team than a hot goaltender.
The Blues unfortunately looked a little lethargic against the Gryphons on Thursday. They couldn't score with a five-on-three advantage in the first period and were 0-for-7 overall on the power-play. A few players also had breakaways on the Guelph goaltender and basically had her beat, but couldn't lift the puck high enough to score.
But Hughes feels her team is capable of a greater level of play, which will be displayed against York. Successful teams, like Varsity, have been known to play their best when it counts, in the playoffs.
However, one cloud of uncertainty still hangs over the team. Hughes hasn't formally named her starting netminder for Saturday. She said any of the three goaltenders on the team, Wahnese Antonioni, Keely Brown, and Nadia Brabant, could play. However the choice should come down to one of the first two. Antonioni has played the bulk of the games this season, while Brown has only played in a handful of games due to a concussion she suffered. Conventional wisdom probably says, 'Go with the one that got you here,' which would mean Antonioni.
Jeff's picks: Semifinals - Blues 3, York 1; Guelph 2, Laurier 1. OUA championship game: Blues 3, Guelph 1.