Although the competition window this week was spread across only two days, it was jam-packed with excitement. For some teams, this marked the end of their season as they competed in OUA championships. Others have earned the opportunity to compete in the postseason with the wins they gained over the weekend. Let’s get into it!
Friday, Feb. 7
Kicking things off, the men’s hockey team travelled to the University of Toronto to take on the Varsity Blues. The first frame left us scoreless – it wasn’t until the dying seconds of the second stanza that Simon Rose found the back of the net for the Warriors on a power play. Fast forward to early in the third, it was déjà vu for the Warriors as Rose once again found the back of the net on a power play. Matt Onuska had a great day in the net, stopping 41 of the 42 shots he faced. The Warriors won 2-1.
Staying on the ice, the women’s hockey team hosted the University of Nipissing Lakers. This was a very highly contested matchup featuring two OUA heavyweights going toe-to-toe prior to the postseason. Nikki McDonald opened up the scoring for the Warriors early on in the first. The Lakers were able to respond with one of their own in the second frame, but thanks to Tatum James, Leah Herrfort, and Madison Pritchard, the Warriors responded with three unanswered. The Lakers would add another in the third, but Gracey Smith responded with an empty netter to put the cherry on top. Warriors make a statement by knocking off the top team in the OUA East 5-2.
On the court, the men’s volleyball team travelled to Toronto to take on the TMU Bold for the first installment of their back-to-back matchups over the weekend. The Warriors came out strong in this matchup winning the first set 25-19, dropped the second, won the third 25-19, but unfortunately dropped set four and five, ultimately losing to the Bold three sets to two sets. Nolan Reed was all over the stat sheet accounting for ten kills, seven digs, two blocks, and two aces. The Warriors will look to get their revenge Saturday afternoon.
The women’s volleyball team was also back in action for a doubleheader against the TMU Bold this past weekend. The Warriors posted a dominant performance, knocking off the Bold in all three sets by a combined score of 75-51. Reigning OUA athlete of the week, Rachael Meilikhan, showed once again why she is one of the best in the province accounting for 12 kills, and 9 digs. Avery Kelly was all over the stat sheet accounting for 11 kills, 10 digs, 2 assists and an ace. The Warriors will look to keep this momentum for their second matchup coming Saturday.
The women’s basketball team hosted the University of Algoma Thunderbirds for the first installment of back-to-back weekend matchups. The Warriors came out on fire, outsourcing the Thunderbirds 36-18 in the first half. The Warriors were able to keep this firepower up throughout this game and came out on top 68-40. This was an impressive team performance as all 11 Warriors who took the court in this game recorded points. Kymora Stafford led the way with 12, Nehita Oko-Oboh continued her dominance in the paint as she squeezed 19 boards while adding 7 points, 3 steals and a block.
The men’s basketball team was also back in action at PAC, playing host to the Algoma Thunderbirds for back-to-back matchups. Unlike the women’s team, they came out slow and found themselves down 30-28 going into halftime. But, the second half was a completely different story. The Warriors came out hot, scoring 27 in the third and 17 in the fourth, allowing them to win 72-55. Isaiah McRae led the way in scoring with 18 adding 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals.
Saturday, Feb. 8
Staying on the court, the women’s volleyball team played the second installment of their back-to-back matchups against the TMU Bold. The Warriors picked up right where they left off on Friday with another dominant 3-0 win over the Bold – this time it was even uglier with a combined score of 75-42. Like every other game, Meilikhan led the team with 11 kills, and Avery Kelly was right behind her with 9. Adyson Kelly was the team’s best friend accounting for 31 assists. With this win, the Warriors punched their ticket to OUA playoff volleyball.
Staying with volleyball, the men’s team was also back in action seeking vengeance on the Bold from a competitive Friday matchup that put fans on the edge of their seats. The Warriors came out strong and won the first set 25-23, lost the second 33-31, won the third 25-21, dropped the fourth 25-12, but came out on top in the fifth 15-11. This marks the first win for the Warriors of the 2025 calendar year. Cohen Peters had a strong day accounting for 50 assists and an ace. Nolan Reed had a strong day at the net with 14 kills and 5 blocks. The Warriors will be back in action on home court Friday, Feb. 14-15 to wrap up their season against the McMaster Marauders.
Back to PAC, this was the final home game for the women’s basketball team of the regular season which calls for celebration and recognition of the graduating seniors, including Charissa Virr and Alliasen Miscione, who had outstanding careers with the Warriors. Similar to Friday, the Warriors won dominantly 72-58. Jaimesen Newell was a machine in the paint accounting for 21 boards, 3 blocks, 2 steals and 8 points. With this win, the Warriors improved to 10-10 on the season and clinched an OUA playoff berth.
The men’s basketball team also played their final home game, calling for recognition of graduating seniors including Issac Watsa and Rafael Llorin, who had an outstanding career with the Warriors. In this matchup, the Warriors played lights out on defence, allowing them to gain the win on senior night in impressive fashion 66-43. Rafel Llorin led the way in scoring, dropping 21 while adding 4 boards, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds. The Warriors wrap up their regular season with back-back road matchups next weekend against the Western Mustangs and the Windsor Lancers.
Following the trend of senior day celebrations, the women’s hockey team played their last home game of the regular season this past Saturday against the Carleton Ravens. Leah Herrfort, Kassidy McCarthy, Madison Pritchard, and Nikki McDonald had great careers with the Warriors. The Ravens came in hot looking to spoil the Warrior’s night, they jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. The Warriors were not going to go down without a fight, fast forward to the third period Tatum James found the back of the net on the powerplay. Five minutes later Carly Orth did the same, but shorthanded. By the end of regulation, it was tied 2-2. Herrfort was the hero as she found the back of the net in sudden death overtime to bring the Warriors to win 3-2. With this win, the Warriors clinched a playoff berth and will look to ride out this momentum into their final games of the regular season as they take a trip to Ottawa.
To wrap up a jam-packed Saturday, the men’s hockey team finished their time in Toronto with an afternoon matchup against the TMU Bold. The Bold struck first to put them ahead 1 nothing going into the second period. Tate Popple, on a sweet pass from Marco Lopez, found the back of the net to bring it to a tie 1-1. The Bold scored again in the third and this proved to be enough as the Bold won 2-1. The Warriors have two games remaining on their schedule and will look to end the season on the right note.
OUA Championships:
The Warriors swim team travelled to Markham to participate in the OUA championships. The men’s team finished fourth in the OUA, scoring .50 points behind third place McMaster. The women’s team finished fifth in the province. Individually on the men’s side, Kevin Zhang finished third in the men’s 200 SC meter butterfly, and Aidan Iapico earned second in the men’s 1500 SC meter freestyle. On the women’s side, Megan Frost came third in the women’s 800 SC meter freestyle, In the women’s 50 meter SC breaststroke, the Warriors dominated the podium as Kaylen Kelly earned second and Nicole Lau earned first.
The men’s curling team headed to Galt to participate in the OUA curling championships. The Warriors came out hot as they knocked off the McMaster Marauders in the early slates and carried that momentum to later in the day, where they beat the Lancers 9-4. Warriors kick off the OUA championships 2-0. On Saturday, the Warriors knocked off the Varsity Blues in the morning, but in the latter slate, they were knocked off by the Carleton Ravens. The Warriors finished round-robin play with a 3-1 record earning them the third seed in the elimination bracket. On Sunday, the Warriors faced off against sixth-ranked TMU, they held on in a competitive match and earned a spot in the semi-finals. Unfortunately, the Warriors lost once again to the Ravens, pushing them down to the bronze game, where again unfortunately the Warriors got knocked off by the Brock Badgers, earning them fourth in the OUA.
