TORONTO — A three-goal first period led the Ryerson Rams to their fifth consecutive victory as the team took a 3-0 win over the visiting Laurier Golden Hawks on Thursday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto. 

Rams goaltender Rachel Seeley (Ottawa, Ont.) picked up the shutout with 17 saves, earning her fifth win of the season on Thursday evening to maintain her 1.000 win percentage. Erika Crouse (Kirkland Lake, Ont.) led the Rams with two goals on the evening. 

Ryerson kicked off the game with a hard-earned goal in the first period, as Brooklyn Gemmill (Cambridge, Ont.) forced a turnover right in front of the Laurier net and sent the puck straight to the stick of Crouse for the easy tap-in with 16 minutes left in the first. 

Olivia Giardetti (Whitby, Ont.) would score the second goal of the evening, going five-hole off a perfect feed from Avery Horlock (Pickering, Ont.). The Rams carried their 2-0 lead for another nine minutes before Crouse would strike again, this time firing a shot over the glove of the Golden Hawks goaltender with just two minutes remaining in the first.

The next 40 minutes came and went but the Rams managed to shut out the Golden Hawks in the following two periods, going on to claim their seventh win of the season with the 3-0 victory over Laurier. Ryerson outshot Laurier 27-17 through three periods. 

"I think the mindset tonight was to not even worry about who our opponent was and stick to the things that have helped us over the last few games," said Rams bench boss Lisa Haley. "We're obviously happy with how the last four games have gone so we're trying to focus on the positives." 

Crouse's two-goal game brings her totals up to eight on the year, while Seeley registered her fifth consecutive win of the season. 

"The team has been gelling as of late," says Seeley. "We've been working on some things in practice in terms of team cohesiveness and obviously that plays a huge factor for us." 

The Rams will be back in action at home on Saturday afternoon as they host the nationally-ranked York Lions. Puck drops at 2:15 p.m. on Mattamy Home Ice in Toronto.