M-Hockey Playoffs Underway
Lakehead, 0 @ Waterloo, 5
The Lakehead Thunderwolves were shut out 5-0 by the Waterloo Warriors in game one of the best-of-three OUA West Division quarter-finals in Waterloo, Ontario on Wednesday night.
The Warriors capitalized on the power play three times out of eleven opportunities in a penalty-filled affair, while Lakehead went zero for six with the man advantage. The Wolves were unable to gain any momentum in a game that was for the most part dominated by the Warriors. Whenever Lakehead did create some scoring opportunities, Waterloo netminder Keaton Hartigan was always equal to the task.
Waterloo opened the scoring when Kyle Schwende beat Lakehead starting goalie Alex Dupuis at 10:36 of the first period for the Warriors first power play goal of the night. Schwende added an even-strength marker at 16:04 to give Waterloo a 2-0 lead heading into the second period. The Warriors outshot the Wolves 19-12 in the opening stanza.
The middle frame saw Waterloo increase its lead to 4-0 with a pair of goals when the Wolves were a man short. Kyle Sonnenburg scored early - only 47 seconds into the second period, and Kurt Thorner scored late – at the 18:25 mark, to give the Warriors a comfortable lead. Waterloo again held the shots on goal advantage in the second period at 13-8, giving them a two-period margin of 32-20.
Kyle Moir replaced Dupuis in the Lakehead net to begin the final frame, but the change did little to spark the Wolves. Blake Chartier scored for Waterloo at 11:23 to make it 5-0 for the Warriors and close out the scoring. Shots on goal favored Waterloo 9-7 in the third period and 41-27 for the game.
The series now shifts to the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay for game two on Friday night, where Lakehead will need to win to avoid being eliminated from the playoffs. The opening face-off is set for 7:30, and if necessary, game three will go Saturday night at the Gardens as well.
Source: Lakehead Sports Info
Carleton, 1 @ Toronto, 2
The Varsity Blues edged out a 2-1 victory over the Carleton Ravens in Game 1 of the OUA men’s hockey playoffs on Wednesday, February 16 at Varsity Arena.
The Blues now travel to Ottawa for Game 2 on Friday night at the Ice House. The Ravens will also host Game 3, if necessary, on Saturday. Game time on both nights is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Both teams came out raring to go in a high-paced and exciting first period. With only four seconds remaining in the first frame, Blues rookie forward Anthony Bergin of Scarborough, Ont., picked off a Carleton defenceman’s pass and fired the puck towards the bottom left corner of the net to beat rookie goaltender Matthew Dopud (Pointe-Claire, Que.) and give the Blues a 1-0 advantage.
Carleton and Toronto each had their fair share of chances in the second frame but both goaltenders came up with some huge stops to keep the period scoreless. Dopud robbed second-year Blues forward Kyle Ventura on a breakaway midway through the second period and came up with another big glove save on Bryden Teich in the third period.
Blues leading scorer Byron Elliott of Burlington, Ont., netted the eventual game-winner with less than five minutes remaining when he received a pass from Paul Dupont and batted the bouncing puck past a sprawling Dopud.
The Ravens did not quit. With their net empty for the last two minutes, Carleton forced the play into Toronto’s zone and finally broke the shut out with a marker off the stick of Niagara Falls, Ont., native Ryan Berard.
Sheehan was named the Varsity Blues player of the game for his 31-save performance on the night.
Source: Toronto Sports Info
Nipissing, 7 @ Queen’s, 0
The Nipissing Lakers used a four goal second period to blow the game wide open as they cruised to a 7-0 victory over Queen's in Game 1 of the best-of-three first round series.
Ryan Maunu of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., and Brogan Bailey of Lunenburg, N.S., both scored twice for the Lakers who took advantage of a depleted Gaels lineup that saw four regulars miss the game due to injury.
Nipissing also got goals from Kevin Rebelo of Hamilton, Conor O'Donnell of Hamilton, and Jason Gray of Winnipeg.
The game, which got out of hand as both teams began a parade to the penalty box in the latter stages of the second period and third period, saw Queen's and Nipissing combine for 89 minutes in penalties.
Nipissing finished the game 2 for 4 on the powerplay while the Gaels went scoreless in five opportunities.
Matt Hache of Guelph, Ont., picked up the shutout for the Lakers, turning aside all 24 shots he faced, including a third period penalty shot from Jordan Soquila of Maple Ridge, B.C.
Steele De Fazio of Georgetown, Ont., got the start for the Gaels but was relieved of his duties after allowing four goals on 27 shots. David Aime of Clandeboye, Man., replaced De Fazio in net late in the second period and stopped eight of the 11 shots fired his way.
Queen's will look to put this game behind them and refocus for Game 2 of this series which is set to go Friday night in North Bay. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
Source: Queen’s Sports Info
Ottawa, 1 @ McGill, 2
Sophomore Christophe Longpre-Poirier celebrated his 23rd birthday in fine fashion Wednesday night. The 5-foot-10, 200-pound centre from Longueuil, Que., scored the game-winning goal at 17:43 of the third period as top-seeded and No. 2-ranked McGill rallied for a 2-1 victory over eighth-seeded Ottawa in the opening game of their men's hockey OUA Eastern Conference best-of-three quarter-final series at McConnell Arena.
It was McGill's 11th straight win over the Gee-Gees sine a 3-2 setback in Game 2 of the 2009 quarter-finals.
Rookie rearguard Dominic Jalbert of Hull, Que., had given Ottawa a 1-0 advantage on the power-play at 16:46 of the first period. That lead held up until the third period, when Redmen sniper Francis Verreault-Paul, making his first appearance after a four-game absence to injury, buried a behind-the-net feed pass from Alex Picard-Hooper at 7:20 of the final period.
"It wasn't our best effort and we'll have to adapt our game," said Longpre-Poirier, who now has 22 career goals, two of them game-winners, in 83 contests overall for the Redmen. "But we improved as the game went on and found a way to win. "
McGill, which had a 36-26 edge in shots, survived a 6-on-3 scare in the final 95 seconds after Marc-Andre Daneau and Maxime Langelier-Parent - their top two penalty-killers - were sent to the sin-bin for hooking and cross-checking at 18:25 and 19:23, respectively. Ottawa head coach Dave Leger then pulled goaltender Harrison May for a rare three-skater advantage.
Goaltender Hubert Morin, an engineering sophomore from St. Georges de Beauce, Que., was equal to the task and made several key saves to preserve the victory. He ended up with 25 saves and improved to 8-3 lifetime in post-season play.
"We were a little tentative to start, weren't moving our feet and they trapped us which contributed to our flat start," said Redmen head coach Kelly Nobes. "We also hit three crossbars in the first half of the game, which didn't help our cause but we gained some momentum in the second period, sparked by Longpre-Poirier's line."
The team's fourth line, which included sophomore Jean-Francois Boisvert of Mirabel, Que., and freshman Benoit Levesque of Vaudreuil, Que., was credited with 11 hits, three shots and the winning goal.
"They were momentum changers for us," added Nobes. "They had back-to-back shifts in the second period which turned our game around. They created havoc with their pressure on that first shift, then followed up with another great shift that drew a penalty.
"Longpre-Poirier was the catalyst tonight. He is a very serviceable player that fits in nicely on any line. He brings a ton of energy on the ice and has lots of enthusiasm on the bench. He does all the little things well, wins faceoffs, battles hard and kills penalties too. "
Game 2 of the series goes Friday night in Ottawa. If a rubber match is needed, it will be back at McConnell Arena Sunday at 7 p.m.
Concordia, 2 @ UQTR, 5
