January 22, 2010
RAMS COMEBACK FALLS SHORT IN SHOOTOUT LOSS TO VARSITY BLUES
TORONTO - In a wild game that featured a little bit of everything, the Ryerson Rams men's hockey team came up a little short in a 6-5 shootout loss to the Toronto Varsity Blues Thursday night at George Bell Arena.
The game was a chippy affair right from the get go, as the two teams locked horns for the second time in less than a week. Brent Small (Pickering, Ont.) started things off with a bang for Ryerson, netting the game's opening marker only 1:10 into the first period. Although Ryerson's skating looked to give the Rams an early edge, their inability to stay out of the box caused Toronto to build steam as the period progressed. Nonetheless, Ryerson goaltender Louie George (Waterloo, Ont.) held down the fort, turning away all 10 of Toronto's first period shots to keep the score 1-0 after one.
The game began to open up in the second, however, as the Varsity Blues began to convert on their chances. After Joe Rand (Hamilton, Ont.) tied the game at one just over a minute in, Brent McGrail (Mississauga, Ont.) banged home a rebound to put the visitors up 2-1 at the 12-minute mark. And while a Matt Schmermund (Calahoo, Alta.) goal would briefly tie things up at three, Toronto's attack began to take over late in the period. Although George tried to maintain his first-period form, shaky defensive coverage led to goals from Byron Elliot (Burlington, Ont.) and Tyler Turcotte (St. Catharines, Ont.), sending the Rams to the locker room down 4-2 after 40 minutes.
The game was far from over, however, as the third period was a full of offence and controversy. After Dan Brewer's (Cambridge, Ont.) first goal of the season gave Toronto a 5-2 lead early in the period, the Ryerson attack would wake up in a big way. Julian Zamparo's (Woodbridge, Ont.) second of the year drew the Rams within two at the nine minute mark, and set the stage for a dramatic comeback.
The game's turning point truly came at the 11-minute mark, when referees awarded Schmermund his second goal of the game after a lengthy debate. Minutes before Schmermund's goal was put up on the board, the Rams' rookie forward had waltzed in alone on Toronto goaltender Andrew Martin (Mississauga, Ont.) and had appeared to beat him low glove side. The goal was initially waived off, however, as officials ruled Schmermund had hit the post. While the Rams debated, U of T skated down the ice and scored a goal of their own, leading to uproar on both benches. After a conference, the officials ultimately decided to award the goal to Ryerson, making the score 5-4.
The call proved to turn the tide, as Ryerson began to carry the play late into the third. Andrew Buck eventually knotted things up, streaking down the right wing before snapping a wrister high blocker side on Martin. Even the tying marker wasn't without complaint, though, as the Blues bench thought Ryerson forward Kevin Day interfered with a defenceman on the play. Regardless, the two teams remained deadlocked at the end of regulation.
After a back-and-forth overtime solved nothing, the Rams and Blues headed to a shootout. The red-hot Elliot was the only man to score in the tiebreaker, handing Toronto their sixth-straight victory 6-5.
The Blues outshot the Rams 35-31 in the contest which saw the teams combine for 10 goals for the second-straight game. Martin claimed the win for Toronto, making 26 saves to go along with three in the shootout. George took the shootout loss after turning aside 29 Toronto shots.
Although Ryerson head coach Graham Wise admitted his team will have to work on their defensive coverage before the weekend, he said he felt proud of his side's fight.
"We've got to be pretty happy with how we battled," he said. "At least we got a point. The point's important, but we would have loved the win. There's not a guy sitting in there who wouldn't have wanted to win and get two points. But the way the game evolved, and us battling back and tying it is a good job by us."
With the loss, Ryerson falls to 7-11-3, and will remain in seventh in the OUA East. The Rams' next game is a crucial one, as they will host eighth-place RMC who sits only four points behind them with a 5-12-3 record. The puck will drop in that contest Saturday at 2 p.m. at George Bell Arena.
Toronto improves to 11-7-3 with the victory, and will also prepare for a home game against RMC tomorrow.
Source: Ryerson Rams
The game was a chippy affair right from the get go, as the two teams locked horns for the second time in less than a week. Brent Small (Pickering, Ont.) started things off with a bang for Ryerson, netting the game's opening marker only 1:10 into the first period. Although Ryerson's skating looked to give the Rams an early edge, their inability to stay out of the box caused Toronto to build steam as the period progressed. Nonetheless, Ryerson goaltender Louie George (Waterloo, Ont.) held down the fort, turning away all 10 of Toronto's first period shots to keep the score 1-0 after one.
The game began to open up in the second, however, as the Varsity Blues began to convert on their chances. After Joe Rand (Hamilton, Ont.) tied the game at one just over a minute in, Brent McGrail (Mississauga, Ont.) banged home a rebound to put the visitors up 2-1 at the 12-minute mark. And while a Matt Schmermund (Calahoo, Alta.) goal would briefly tie things up at three, Toronto's attack began to take over late in the period. Although George tried to maintain his first-period form, shaky defensive coverage led to goals from Byron Elliot (Burlington, Ont.) and Tyler Turcotte (St. Catharines, Ont.), sending the Rams to the locker room down 4-2 after 40 minutes.
The game was far from over, however, as the third period was a full of offence and controversy. After Dan Brewer's (Cambridge, Ont.) first goal of the season gave Toronto a 5-2 lead early in the period, the Ryerson attack would wake up in a big way. Julian Zamparo's (Woodbridge, Ont.) second of the year drew the Rams within two at the nine minute mark, and set the stage for a dramatic comeback.
The game's turning point truly came at the 11-minute mark, when referees awarded Schmermund his second goal of the game after a lengthy debate. Minutes before Schmermund's goal was put up on the board, the Rams' rookie forward had waltzed in alone on Toronto goaltender Andrew Martin (Mississauga, Ont.) and had appeared to beat him low glove side. The goal was initially waived off, however, as officials ruled Schmermund had hit the post. While the Rams debated, U of T skated down the ice and scored a goal of their own, leading to uproar on both benches. After a conference, the officials ultimately decided to award the goal to Ryerson, making the score 5-4.
The call proved to turn the tide, as Ryerson began to carry the play late into the third. Andrew Buck eventually knotted things up, streaking down the right wing before snapping a wrister high blocker side on Martin. Even the tying marker wasn't without complaint, though, as the Blues bench thought Ryerson forward Kevin Day interfered with a defenceman on the play. Regardless, the two teams remained deadlocked at the end of regulation.
After a back-and-forth overtime solved nothing, the Rams and Blues headed to a shootout. The red-hot Elliot was the only man to score in the tiebreaker, handing Toronto their sixth-straight victory 6-5.
The Blues outshot the Rams 35-31 in the contest which saw the teams combine for 10 goals for the second-straight game. Martin claimed the win for Toronto, making 26 saves to go along with three in the shootout. George took the shootout loss after turning aside 29 Toronto shots.
Although Ryerson head coach Graham Wise admitted his team will have to work on their defensive coverage before the weekend, he said he felt proud of his side's fight.
"We've got to be pretty happy with how we battled," he said. "At least we got a point. The point's important, but we would have loved the win. There's not a guy sitting in there who wouldn't have wanted to win and get two points. But the way the game evolved, and us battling back and tying it is a good job by us."
With the loss, Ryerson falls to 7-11-3, and will remain in seventh in the OUA East. The Rams' next game is a crucial one, as they will host eighth-place RMC who sits only four points behind them with a 5-12-3 record. The puck will drop in that contest Saturday at 2 p.m. at George Bell Arena.
Toronto improves to 11-7-3 with the victory, and will also prepare for a home game against RMC tomorrow.
Source: Ryerson Rams
