February 18, 2010
HARRISON LIFTS LIONS OVER THUNDERWOLVES IN FIRST GAME OF PLAYOFF SERIES
TORONTO - Team captain Tyler Harrison (Whitby, Ont.) came up huge in the second overtime period to lead the York University Lions men's hockey team to a thrilling 3-2 victory and a 1-0 series lead in the best-of-three series over the No. 8 nationally-ranked Lakehead Thunderwolves on Wednesday at the CanLan Ice Sports York Arena.
Harrison's goal came with just 4:29 remaining in the fifth period of play. Defenceman Kyle Searle (Newtonville, Ont.) batted a loose puck out of midair in front of the timekeeper's box and lobbed it up the middle for Harrison. Harrison swatted it down, split the Thunderwolves defence and beat Lakehead goaltender Kyle Moir (Calgary) low to put the game away.
It was a fitting end to a hard-hitting, fast-paced, evenly matched contest that will stand up as one of the Lions' best games of the season.
The Lions were actually within 18 seconds of winning 2-1 in regulation, but Lakehead's Kris Hogg (Sicamous, B.C.) beat goaltender David Davenport (Bradford, Ont.) off the rush in the dying moments of the third as the Thunderwolves pressed with an extra attacker.
Hogg also had Lakehead's first goal, a weak dribbler out of the corner that somehow found its way through Davenport's legs at 5:18 of the second on the power play.
Despite the soft first goal, Davenport was phenomenal in the latter stages of the game. He was the Lions' best penalty killer, and stopped 52 shots – including a 17-shot salvo in the third – to keep the Thunderwolves at bay. Moir made 44 saves for the Thunderwolves.
York scored both of its regulation goals in the second. Chris Jones (Grafton, Ont.) got things started by busting in off the wing and stuffing the puck between Moir's pads at 3:28.
Then, after Lakehead tied it, Jesse Grespan (Toronto) teed up Matt Thomson (Kitchener, Ont.) in the slot. Thomson wired a slapper five-hole to make it 2-1 for the Lions.
York head coach Jim Wells was "unbelievably happy" with his team's tight defensive game.
"We matched lines all night and we did a great job," he said. "That was our best team effort of the season."
"We bent, but we didn't break, and we found a way to win," said assistant coach Peter McBride.
The Lions were fantastic in playing a defence-first, trapping style through the whole game as they managed to limit the second-highest scoring offence in the OUA to just two goals. Lakehead averaged nearly five goals a game in the regular season and had eight players with 20 or more points.
The Lions were blocking shots and clearing the puck out of the zone every chance they got, while Davenport was huge when he needed to be in silencing Lakehead's many offensive guns.
The sixth-seeded Lions now turn their attention to winning one of two road games on Lakehead's turf. The third-seeded Thunderwolves are the biggest ticket in Thunder Bay, where they regularly boast four-digit attendance figures for home games.
"We're not going to try to take the crowd out of it early," said coach Wells in preparation for a hostile arena. "I can't imagine it'd be any louder than their home opener."
The Lions look to be at the top of their game now, and will seek to finish off the Thunderwolves with a victory on Friday beginning at 7:30pm. If a third game is necessary, it will go on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Source: York Lions
Harrison's goal came with just 4:29 remaining in the fifth period of play. Defenceman Kyle Searle (Newtonville, Ont.) batted a loose puck out of midair in front of the timekeeper's box and lobbed it up the middle for Harrison. Harrison swatted it down, split the Thunderwolves defence and beat Lakehead goaltender Kyle Moir (Calgary) low to put the game away.
It was a fitting end to a hard-hitting, fast-paced, evenly matched contest that will stand up as one of the Lions' best games of the season.
The Lions were actually within 18 seconds of winning 2-1 in regulation, but Lakehead's Kris Hogg (Sicamous, B.C.) beat goaltender David Davenport (Bradford, Ont.) off the rush in the dying moments of the third as the Thunderwolves pressed with an extra attacker.
Hogg also had Lakehead's first goal, a weak dribbler out of the corner that somehow found its way through Davenport's legs at 5:18 of the second on the power play.
Despite the soft first goal, Davenport was phenomenal in the latter stages of the game. He was the Lions' best penalty killer, and stopped 52 shots – including a 17-shot salvo in the third – to keep the Thunderwolves at bay. Moir made 44 saves for the Thunderwolves.
York scored both of its regulation goals in the second. Chris Jones (Grafton, Ont.) got things started by busting in off the wing and stuffing the puck between Moir's pads at 3:28.
Then, after Lakehead tied it, Jesse Grespan (Toronto) teed up Matt Thomson (Kitchener, Ont.) in the slot. Thomson wired a slapper five-hole to make it 2-1 for the Lions.
York head coach Jim Wells was "unbelievably happy" with his team's tight defensive game.
"We matched lines all night and we did a great job," he said. "That was our best team effort of the season."
"We bent, but we didn't break, and we found a way to win," said assistant coach Peter McBride.
The Lions were fantastic in playing a defence-first, trapping style through the whole game as they managed to limit the second-highest scoring offence in the OUA to just two goals. Lakehead averaged nearly five goals a game in the regular season and had eight players with 20 or more points.
The Lions were blocking shots and clearing the puck out of the zone every chance they got, while Davenport was huge when he needed to be in silencing Lakehead's many offensive guns.
The sixth-seeded Lions now turn their attention to winning one of two road games on Lakehead's turf. The third-seeded Thunderwolves are the biggest ticket in Thunder Bay, where they regularly boast four-digit attendance figures for home games.
"We're not going to try to take the crowd out of it early," said coach Wells in preparation for a hostile arena. "I can't imagine it'd be any louder than their home opener."
The Lions look to be at the top of their game now, and will seek to finish off the Thunderwolves with a victory on Friday beginning at 7:30pm. If a third game is necessary, it will go on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Source: York Lions
