The reigning OUA champions picked up right where they left off last season and continued to display why they are one of the top teams in the country. Finishing an impressive 18-8 the Warriors secured second place in the west and earned themselves an opportunity to be crowned OUA champions and raise the McCaw Cup.
How is the OUA playoff set up?
- The OUA splits up its Women’s hockey into 2 divisions OUA West & OUA East
- Ten teams in total make the playoffs: five from the east and five from the west. The top three teams from each respective division get an automatic advance to the quarter-finals. The remaining four teams must compete in round 1 to advance. The fourth and fifth seeds from each division play each other in round 1 to advance to the quarter-finals.
- Round 1 is a single elimination game that is hosted by the higher-seeded team.
- In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, the winner is determined on a best ⅔ basis. The higher-seeded team will host game one, game two will be played on the lower-seeded team’s home ice, and if necessary, game three will be hosted by the higher-seeded team.
- The McCaw Cup championship is also a single-game elimination and will be hosted by the highest seed remaining set to take place on March 15.
Warriors playoff positioning
- With the Warriors finishing the regular season 18-8 and securing second place in the west, they earned an automatic bid to the quarterfinals and home-ice advantage in this round.
- The Warriors are matched up against the Laurier Golden Hawks, with game 1 set to take place Feb. 26 at CIF.
- The Warriors matched up against the Golden Hawks twice during the regular season. Back in early November, the Warriors knocked off the Golden Hawks 6-0 on a neutral site in Owen Sound. Just over a month ago, the Warriors knocked off the Golden Hawks again on the road 2-1.
- The winner of this matchup will advance to the semi-final round where they will take on the winner of the University of Nipissing and whomever they end up matched up against (winner of TMU vs Queens) for a chance to advance to the OUA championship.
Players to watch
- Carly Orth: #16 fourth year forward
- Second in the province for assists and team lead (20)
- Second in the province and team lead for total points (31)
- Tied for first on the team in total goals, tied for seventh in the province (11)
- Leah Herrfort: # 20 sixth year forward
- Fourth in the province for total points (25)
- Third in the province for total assists (17)
- Team captain/veteran presence
It seems as if there is no better way to start the climb to back-to-back championships than taking on crosstown rivals, Laurier Golden Hawks. We know them and they know us – if there was any debate as to who runs women’s hockey in the city of Waterloo, it’s time to put that debate to bed… Go Warriors!
