The girls' varsity hockey team dropped a 5-2 decision against an undefeated St. Paul's squad on Thursday afternoon in Pratt Arena. Despite the loss however, the Zebras showed tremendous resolve as they held their own against one of the top division I teams in the ISL.

The game proved to be as fast and skilled as the Zebras had anticipated. And as the puck traveled back and forth between the different zones at what seemed like warp speed, Middlesex stuck to their game plan of playing smart two-way hockey. However, after a break down in the Zebras' defensive end, the Pelicans got on the board 10:13 into the period to take the one-goal lead entering the locker room.

The Zebras cleaned up their defensive zone coverage in the second stanza and continued to battle for the 50-50 pucks in the neutral zone. And although the Pelicans scored just 1:15 into the period, the Zebras responded with one of their own 10 minutes later. With just under two minutes left to play, St. Paul's was able to puck the puck in the net once more before the period came to a close.

The third period saw an equal amount of scoring opportunities for both teams with nine shots on net each.  St Paul's scored just 19 seconds into the final frame with Middlesex responding six minutes later to bridge the gap 4-2. Although the Zebras had opportunities to put the puck away, their efforts were thwarted by the Pelicans' steadfast goaltender. St. Paul's scored their final goal of the evening on a power-play with just under a minute left to end the Zebras winning streak at seven.

The Pelicans outshot the Zebras 25-19 and improve their record to 18-0-1. The Zebras are now 8-6-1 and will look to return to winning form when they travel to Milton on Saturday for a 2:30pm game.