North Bay, ON – Nipissing Women's Hockey is set to face the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks in a play-in game on Friday, Feb. 20 as the OUA's 2026 McCaw Cup Playoffs get underway.
 
Nipissing finished the regular season in fourth in the East division with a record of 10-10-4-2, good for 33 points. Tech sported a 10-14-1-1 record and 30 points, finishing in 5^th place.
 
The game will be played at 9AM at West Ferris Arena in North Bay. Fans can tune in on OUA.tv for live-streamed coverage.
 
This match will be Nipissing's third meeting of the season with the Ridgebacks. The Lakers took down Tech on Nov. 15 at home, winning 7-0. Then, on Jan. 7, the Ridgebacks took a 3-2 overtime win in Oshawa. Nipissing battled back to grab a point on the road in that game, which proved to be important for playoff standing as the regular season portion of the OUA schedule ended.
 
The Lakers hold a 16-3-2 record all-time against Ontario Tech dating back to 2014.
 
Coming into this game, Nipissing holds a 4-4-1-1 record in their last 10 games. The Lakers have scored 23 goals in those contests. Tech is sporting a similar 5-4-0-1 record, scoring 24 goals across those ten games.
 
Regarding special teams, the Lakers post a 13.4% conversion rate on the power play, while Tech sits at 12.5% on the year. Both teams have scored similarly on the power play, with the Lakers potting 13 and Tech netting 12. Nipissing holds a 89.8% penalty kill rate, while Tech maintains an 80.6% mark.
 
The winner of this 4 vs. 5 seed play-in game earns the right to play the Queen's Gaels in the first round of the McCaw Cup Playoffs, beginning next week. The Gaels finished as the first seed in the East.
 
Make sure you're at West Ferris Arena at 9AM on Friday, Feb. 20 to support Women's Hockey as their push for the McCaw Cup gets underway.
 
OUA.tv will have the game live beginning at puck drop.
 
#GoLakers