February 18, 2010
RAMS BLANK BLUES FOR GAME 1 VICTORY
TORONTO - Playing in their first playoff game in seven years, the Ryerson Rams men's hockey team shocked the Toronto Varsity Blues Wednesday night by beating them 6-0 in game one of their OUA East quarter-final series at Varsity Arena.
Although Ryerson entered the game the conference's sixth seed, they would dominate the favoured Varsity Blues to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.
The Rams came out skating in the first, using their speed to generate offence in an otherwise chippy opening period. While Ryerson narrowly out shot the Blues 13-11 in the first frame, Greg Payne would open the scoring for the visitors, putting a loose rebound past Toronto goalie Andrew Martin at the five minute mark.
Ryerson carried momentum into the second, continuing to buzz around the Toronto goal for most of the period. After earning a power play midway through the frame, a pretty solo rush from Michael Paolo doubled Ryerson's lead at 10:01. The Rams would outshoot the Blues 14-9 in the second, and really begin to dominate play heading into the third.
The visitors finally put things out of reach in the final frame, scoring four goals to take command of the series' first match. Cory Konecny made it 3-0 just over a minute in, walking out from the left corner before sneaking a backhander past Martin. Alexei Dostoinov then netted his first of the post-season at the five minute mark, completing a 3-on-1 rush to seal the deal for Ryerson as the clock ticked down. Matt Schmermund and Marcus Booth would both add late markers to complete the Rams' 6-0 victory in front of a stunned crowd at Varsity Arena.
Ryerson out shot Toronto 41-29 on the night, and played strong positional defence to keep the Blues' shooters out of prime scoring position. Paul Gibson stood tall in goal for the Rams, making 29 saves to earn his first career post-season win and shutout.
The Rams' victory was not only their first playoff win since 2002, but was also Ryerson's first regulation victory against Toronto since Nov. 5, 1999.
After the game, Ryerson head coach Graham Wise credited much of his team's success to their preparation and attitude.
"We really stressed intensity before tonight's game, and I really thought we acted that way tonight," said Wise. "We were quick out there, we worked hard, and as a result we executed what we wanted to do. That was really important."
And while Wise was pleased with his team's performance in game one, he stressed that Ryerson will have to be prepared for a totally different Toronto team in game two.
"Right now we've got to enjoy the moment for a bit, but we've got to recharge our batteries, get a good night's sleep and try to duplicate what we did here tonight," he said. "We know Toronto is a good team, and we know they're going to regroup and come at us hard tomorrow. We're going to have to be prepared for it."
With the 1-0 series lead in hand, Ryerson will go for the sweep Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. at George Bell Arena. Fans wanting to witness what could be history in the making for the hockey Rams, can board the free fan bus leaving Gould Street at 6:00 p.m. The trip includes free pizza and pop.
We will also be blogging live from the game, so if you can't make it down to George Bell Arena tomorrow night, be sure to tune into the Ryerson Sports and Recreation website for the latest updates as they happen.
Source: Ryerson Rams
Although Ryerson entered the game the conference's sixth seed, they would dominate the favoured Varsity Blues to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.
The Rams came out skating in the first, using their speed to generate offence in an otherwise chippy opening period. While Ryerson narrowly out shot the Blues 13-11 in the first frame, Greg Payne would open the scoring for the visitors, putting a loose rebound past Toronto goalie Andrew Martin at the five minute mark.
Ryerson carried momentum into the second, continuing to buzz around the Toronto goal for most of the period. After earning a power play midway through the frame, a pretty solo rush from Michael Paolo doubled Ryerson's lead at 10:01. The Rams would outshoot the Blues 14-9 in the second, and really begin to dominate play heading into the third.
The visitors finally put things out of reach in the final frame, scoring four goals to take command of the series' first match. Cory Konecny made it 3-0 just over a minute in, walking out from the left corner before sneaking a backhander past Martin. Alexei Dostoinov then netted his first of the post-season at the five minute mark, completing a 3-on-1 rush to seal the deal for Ryerson as the clock ticked down. Matt Schmermund and Marcus Booth would both add late markers to complete the Rams' 6-0 victory in front of a stunned crowd at Varsity Arena.
Ryerson out shot Toronto 41-29 on the night, and played strong positional defence to keep the Blues' shooters out of prime scoring position. Paul Gibson stood tall in goal for the Rams, making 29 saves to earn his first career post-season win and shutout.
The Rams' victory was not only their first playoff win since 2002, but was also Ryerson's first regulation victory against Toronto since Nov. 5, 1999.
After the game, Ryerson head coach Graham Wise credited much of his team's success to their preparation and attitude.
"We really stressed intensity before tonight's game, and I really thought we acted that way tonight," said Wise. "We were quick out there, we worked hard, and as a result we executed what we wanted to do. That was really important."
And while Wise was pleased with his team's performance in game one, he stressed that Ryerson will have to be prepared for a totally different Toronto team in game two.
"Right now we've got to enjoy the moment for a bit, but we've got to recharge our batteries, get a good night's sleep and try to duplicate what we did here tonight," he said. "We know Toronto is a good team, and we know they're going to regroup and come at us hard tomorrow. We're going to have to be prepared for it."
With the 1-0 series lead in hand, Ryerson will go for the sweep Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. at George Bell Arena. Fans wanting to witness what could be history in the making for the hockey Rams, can board the free fan bus leaving Gould Street at 6:00 p.m. The trip includes free pizza and pop.
We will also be blogging live from the game, so if you can't make it down to George Bell Arena tomorrow night, be sure to tune into the Ryerson Sports and Recreation website for the latest updates as they happen.
Source: Ryerson Rams
