Well, Warriors, another week of highly contested and competitive matchups have come and gone. Some teams continue to roll, and some are struggling to get back into the win column.
Thursday, Jan. 16
Kicking the week off, the women’s hockey team travelled across the street to play rivals the Laurier Golden Hawks. The Warriors stumbled out of the gate as the Golden Hawks were able to strike first going up one to nothing. Still in the first frame, Nikki McDonald, on the pass from Madison Pritchard, found the back of the net on the powerplay to tie the game up at one apiece. It wasn’t until late in regulation that Brodi Levitt on the assist from Faith Mitchell and Kassidy McCarthy found the back of the net putting the Warriors up 2-1, proving to be enough for the Warriors to come out on top. It’s always a good day when the Warriors beat the Golden Hawks.
Friday, Jan. 17
Staying on the ice, the men’s hockey team played their first installment of a double-header weekend matchup against the Lakehead Thunderwolves. The first frame left us scoreless. The second period, on the other hand, was a completely different story. Less than five minutes into the second, the Thunderwolves struck fast and before the Warriors could blink, they were down two to nothing. Tate Popple, on the dish from Adamo Santia, put one away to narrow the gap to one going into the third period. It wasn’t until the dying seconds of regulation that Tate Popple returned to favour, on a sweet set-up from Santia. This tied the game 2-2, forcing overtime. Unfortunately, the Timberwolves struck first in sudden death overtime and knocked off the Warriors 3-2.
Transitioning to the court, the women’s volleyball team was back in action for the first time in 2025, and to say the least, they picked up right where they left off in 2024. The Warriors hosted the Lakehead Thunderwolves and posted a truly dominating performance outsourcing their opponents 55-22, with three dominating set wins: 25-3, 25-14, 25-14. Rachel Meilikhan had a strong performance posting a team lead of 13 kills while adding four aces. Madison Seo was once again the team’s best friend, accounting for a team lead of 29 assists while adding four aces for herself.
Moving onto the men’s volleyball, the Warriors played host to the Nipissing Lakers. Unfortunately, the men’s team was not able to find the same success as the women. Dropping all three sets: 25-22, 25-20, 25-20 the Warriors got knocked off, but did not go down without a fight. Lucas Redmann posted a team lead of 12 kills, and Cohen Peters was all over the stat sheet with 19 assists, and six digs, while adding an ace. The Warriors will look to right their wrongs as they are back in action against the Nipissing Lakers for a rematch on Saturday night.
Saturday, Jan. 18
Men’s hockey was back in action as they were playing the second installment of their back-to-back matchup against the Lakehead Thunderwolves. This game looked a lot different from the Friday night matchup as the Warriors posted a dominant performance. Jesse Fishman struck first early on in the first frame putting the Warriors up one to nothing going into the intermission. This was the beginning of the end for the T-Wolves as the Warriors continued to score three more unanswered courtesy of Adamo Santia, Cole Fraser, and Liam Fedak. Warriors win 4-0 and move to 7-12 on the season.
Onto the hardwood, the women’s basketball team travelled to Hamilton to take on the McMaster Marauders. This was an exciting matchup, as it went right down to the wire. The first half solved nothing, as the Marauders and Warriors were in a dead-lock at half 32-32. The Warriors stumbled out of the half as they were outscored 13-7 in the third quarter, unfortunately, this came back to haunt them as they fell to the Marauders 59-53. Nehita Oko-Oboh continued to display that she is the top big in the league, tallying a double-double snagging 19 boards, with 16 points, and five blocks. Jaimesen Newell led the team with 16 points adding eight boards and one block. The Warriors move to 6-8 on the season and will look to get back into the win column as they take on rivals Laurier Golden Hawks on Jan. 24.
Staying in the Hammer, the men’s basketball team was also in action for a Saturday matchup on the Marauders home court. Similar to the women’s matchup, this was an absolute nail-biter of a game keeping fans on the edge of their seats for all four quarters. Ultimately, thanks to a strong defensive stand in the dying seconds of the fourth, the Warriors held on and were able to come out on top 68-66. Rafael Llorin led the way with 22 points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal. The Warriors moved to 6-8 on the regular season, keeping their playoff hopes alive. The Warriors will have their eyes set on a Friday night matchup against the Laurier Golden Hawks.
Back to PAC, the women’s volleyball team played the second installment of their back-to-back matchups against the Lakehead Thunderwolves. Much like their Friday matchup, the Warriors posted another dominating performance knocking off the Thunderwolves 3-1: winning sets 1, 2, 4 25-17, 25-16, and 25-17 respectively. Avery Kelly had a strong performance accounting for 18 kills while adding two aces and six digs. Madison Seo was once again the team’s best friend registering 31 assists. The Warriors move to 11-2 on the season and are holding strong as the third ranked team in the OUA, one game behind top-seed Western Mustangs. The Warriors will host the Toronto Varsity Blues for a doubleheader matchup on Jan. 24-25.
To wrap up Saturday, the men’s volleyball team was back in action on their home court to finish up their back-to-back matchups against the Nipissing Lakers. Similar to their Friday night matchup, the Warriors struggled and dropped all three sets to a tough Lakers squad. Cohen Peters was all over the stat sheet as he recorded five digs and 19 assists, and Lucas Redmann registered 12 kills while adding an ace. The Warriors fall to 5-7 on the regular season and will look to right their wrongs as they have their eyes set on back-to-back matchups next weekend against the Toronto Varsity Blues.
Sunday, Jan. 19
To wrap up the week, the women’s hockey team travelled to London to take on the Western Mustangs. The game started slow – there was no scoring in the first frame. Fast forward to the second, Erika Porter was able to find the back of the net on a sweet setup from Kassidy McCarthy and Brodi Levitt to put the Warriors up 1-0 going into the third frame. The Mustangs responded and scored two unanswered, knocking off the Warriors 2-1. The Warriors fall to 13-5, holding on to the top seed in the OUA west. The Warriors will look to get back into the win column as they have their eyes set on hosting the Brock Badgers on Jan. 23.
