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Voyageurs earn key victory over northern rivals

If a post-season berth is not to be for the Laurentian Voyageurs women's hockey team, then a key victory over their northern rivals is quite likely the next best thing.
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Despite a 10-year hiatus from OUA competition, Laurentian Voyageurs' men's hockey coach Craig Duncanson is wasting little time setting his sights on putting together a squad that can compete with the Ontario elite. Supplied
If a post-season berth is not to be for the Laurentian Voyageurs women's hockey team, then a key victory over their northern rivals is quite likely the next best thing.

The Voyageurs denied the Nipissing Lakers a point that could prove crucial, upsetting coach Darren Turcotte and company 2-1 in a shootout Saturday evening at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex.

While the win pushes the Laurentian record to just 3-11-5, ahead of only the Brock Badgers in the standings, the overtime setback leaves Nipissing sitting in 10th place at 8-8-3, one point back of the Ryerson Rams, York Lions and Waterloo Warriors.

Only two of that four-team grouping are likely to qualify for the playoffs, though Nipissing still pretty much controls their own fate with games left against York, Brock, Ryerson, Toronto and Guelph.

On this particular night, it was LU goaltender Laura Dellar who would seal their fate, turning aside 43 shots in a performance that was reminiscent of a handful that she enjoyed in the team's inaugural 2013-2014 campaign, when Dellar stole two or three games single-handedly.

Lively native Elissa Bertuzzi opened the scoring with a first-period power-play marker, her third goal of the season, with Dellar holding the Lakers at bay until late in period two.

Nipissing rookie and Thunder Bay import Samantha Strassburger netted her team-high ninth goal of the year, breaking in alone following a great back-hand pass from Taylor Murphy.

That goal would be the only chink in Dellar's armour, as the sophomore puckstopper came through with 16 saves in the third period alone, as well as stymying the visitors on all three of their shootout attempts, while Laurentian defensemanNicole Vigilanti came through on the homeside's third crack at Nipissing goaltender Jacqueline Rochefort.

The Voyageurs will travel to Toronto to face York on Friday night in their final road game, closing out year two with back to back weekends at Countryside, welcoming Ryerson, Toronto, Brock and Guelph to the south-end facility.

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