Gemmill’s shootout heroics vs. Laurier keep Ryerson undefeated

By Melissa Verge

Brooklyn Gemmill proudly raised her stick in the air Sunday after scoring against the Laurier Golden Hawks in a shootout to give the Ryerson Rams women’s hockey team a 1-0 victory in their 2017 home opener.

“I was thinking I needed to win it for my team, my goalie just made one of the biggest saves she could have possibly made, and I had to do it for her,” Gemmill said after Rams goalie Sydney Authier stood on her head all game long.

With the win, Ryerson improves to 3-0 on the season, and the team sits comfortably in first place in Ontario University Athletics.

It was a game where both goaltenders shone. Ryerson had 32 shots on net but couldn’t get the puck past goaltender Hannah Miller in regular play, and Laurier put up 17 shots on Authier.

Ryerson head coach Lisa Haley was impressed with Authier’s performance in her first regular season game.

“She was awesome. It puts a lot of pressure on your goalie to keep a shutout, and that was probably our biggest positive. Our goalies have been outstanding for us every game so far,” she said.

Rams fans who came to watch the game were not disappointed. They sacrificed warmth to watch hockey, and they were rewarded with a hard-earned win when Gemmill slid the winner past Miller.

Gemmill had been practicing the same move she used to get the win in practice for two weeks, and when it came time to try it out under the bright lights of the Mattamy Athletic Centre, she nailed it.

“I thought I’d give it a try against this bigger goalie. She was really good up high, so we needed to move her, and that’s what I tried to do,” Gemmill said after the game.

Despite the win, Haley says there’s a lot the team can improve on moving forward.

“I feel relieved to be able to come out of the game with points again. I don’t think it was a satisfying win,” she said.

Up Next: The still-undefeated Rams take on the Western Mustangs on Oct. 28 at London’s Thompson Arena. The Mustangs are undefeated too, and have had a strong start to the season, scoring 11 goals in two victories so far.