February 17, 2014
MEN'S HOCKEY ROUNDUP: Varsity Blues slip into fifth place in OUA West heading into the playoffs
Friday, February 14
Windsor 3 @ York 1
The York University Lions men's hockey team wrapped up its regular season Friday (Feb. 14) with a physical 3-1 loss to the visiting Windsor Lancers at Canlan Ice Sports.
The loss caps off York's record at 13-13-2 on the year, and they are currently tied for seventh place in the OUA West standings with the Guelph Gryphons. A loss by either Guelph or the ninth-place Waterloo Warriors in their final contests on Saturday will give the Lions a spot in the post-season.
Forward Derek Lanoue (Tecumseh, Ont.) was the decider for Windsor, notching two goals on the night, including the game winner. Both were courtesy of linemate Blake Blondeel (Tilbury, Ont.).
The first period set the tone physically as there was no shortage of penalties being divvied out to both squads. York's special teams would have the first opportunity, and the Lions took advantage by attacking Windsor's net with traffic and generating rebounds out front. But despite multiple whacks at the puck, the Lions could not convert.
This story repeated itself throughout the frame, as both teams went a combined 0-for-7 while playing with a man advantage. The Lancers found other ways to generate opportunities, skating wide on the rush and taking shots from the outside to force Lions goaltender Andrew Perugini (King City, Ont.) to make the initial save.
On one such effort, Windsor's Paul Bezzo (Simcoe, Ont.) took a slap shot from a sharp angle at the top of the circle that found its way past a screened Perugini and into the back of the net, giving the Lancers a 1-0 lead just over 14 minutes in.
With time winding down to the end of the first, Lanoue found pay dirt for the Lancers, scoring his first goal of the game and extending their advantage to 2-0 before heading into the second.
The sin-bin would be just as active when the teams returned as emotions were visibly running high on the ice. Both goaltenders were outstanding on the penalty kill however, and there would be no goals generated from special teams again in the period, despite over 14 minutes in penalties.
A harmless looking face-off in the Lions end was anything but however, when Lanoue drained his second goal of the game off of the draw, extending Windsor's lead to 3-0 after two periods.
In the third, the physicality and extra shots gave way to more fast-paced, transition hockey, as the Lions urgently searched for a score. They finally got the puck past Parker Van Buskirk (Windsor, Ont.) with less than three minutes on the clock when Chad Hohmann (Salmon Arm, B.C.) took advantage of a power play, scoring his fourth of the year. But by that time it would be too late, and the Lancers claimed the victory to move into third place in the standings.
If the Lions can secure one of the final playoff spots in the division, they will begin play in a best-of-three first-round series next week.
Source: York Sports Info
Laurentian 4 @ Ottawa 5 (SO)
The Gee-Gees men’s hockey team trailed the Laurentian Voyageurs 4-1 heading into the third period of the final regular season home game but stormed back with a trio of goals to put themselves in a now familiar overtime situation. Defenceman Mathieu Leduc scored the game tying goal and then broke through with the only goal in the shootout to give Ottawa (17-9-1) its fourth straight overtime victory.
Warren Shymko stopped all three Voyageurs shooters and made 10 saves in 25 minutes of action after replacing starter Robin Billingham at the start of the third period. All four Laurentian goals went against Billingham, but Gee-Gees head coach Real Paiement blamed poor defensive positioning and turnovers for the 4-1 deficit.
“We didn’t win any one on one battles because we didn’t go to win them. In the third we pushed back, we skated more and we worked a little more – but not as well as we can,” Paiement said. “But, we still came back from behind and found a way to win. That’s a positive.”
Laurentian forward Richard Therrien opened the scoring at 3:21 in the first period, taking advantage of a slow defensive reaction by the Gee-Gees. After each team killed a penalty, Gee-Gee Maxime Latraverse scored his first goal of the season by deflecting a puck in the crease to tie things up at 16:45. Laurentian’s Brian Nann then struck with a power play goal just five seconds after the Ottawa
player had been sent to the box to lead 2-1 after the opening twenty minutes.
While Ottawa continued to play slightly flat-footed the Voyageurs stretched their lead with a pair of second period goals by Daniel Pachis. The first was an unassisted marker following an Ottawa turnover while the fourth came on a strong passing play in the Gee-Gees zone.
In the third, Ottawa’s skills were on display with two quick goals by Charles Power and Matthieu Ouellette. Power opened the strong period with his fifth goal of the season at 1:36 which Ouellette followed less than two minutes later, finishing a rush with Leduc and Nicolas Therrien.
Leduc scored the equalizer, his fourth of the season, on the Gee-Gees’ third power play opportunity of the game. The third-year forward from Valleyfield, Que. found the back of the net at 17:54, converting a passing play by Mathieu Tanguay-Therriault and Alexandre Touchette.
Laurentian went 1-for-5 on the power play, and Ottawa outshot the visitors 46-30. Ottawa’s record in overtime this season is now 5-1, including 4-1 in shootouts.
Source: uOttawa Sports Info
Concordia 7 @ RMC 4
Queen’s 2 @ UQTR 3
TROIS-RIVIERES, Que. (February 14, 2014) - The Gaels (17-6-5) lost a tough match-up to No.7-ranked UQTR (21-6-0) 3-2 in Trois-Rivières, Quebec on Friday night.
After defeating UQTR 4-2 at the Memorial Center in Kingston last Saturday, the Gaels fell 3-2 on Valentines evening.
UQTR's Danick Malouin was the first to put a goal on the board in the second minute of play. Only 39 seconds later, Queen's Patrick McEachen (Stouffville, Ont.) put one to the back of the net off an assist by Stephane Chabot (Rockland, Ont.) and Andrew Wiebe (Thunder Bay, Ont.) to tie the game up at 1-1. Not letting another minute run off the game clock, UQTR's Billy Lacasse put the puck past Chris Clarke (Fall River, N.S.) of the Gaels making the score 2-1.
After getting out to such a quick start, the game tapered off for a bit with no goals and three penalties being called between the third minute in the first period and the second minute in the third period. Lacasse of UQTR scored his second goal of the game early in the third to put his team up 3-1. Wiebe of the Gaels responded four minutes later with some help from Chris Van Laren (Kingston, Ont.) and Tyler Moore (Winnipeg) to make it 3-2.
The Gaels were unable to tie up the game and the final score finished 3-2.
Finishing with 17 wins on the season the Gaels tied their franchise record for wins in a season.
The Gaels will open their OUA playoff quarter-final best-of-three series against Ottawa this coming Wednesday, February 19th.
Source: Queen's Sports Info
Nipissing 6 @ McGill 7 (OT)
MONTREAL -- Mathieu Pompei of Laval, Que., scored the overtime winner and defenceman Ryan McKiernan contributed five points as the No.5-ranked McGill men's hockey team rallied from a four-goal deficit in the third-period to sink the Nipissing University Lakers 7-6 in a thrilling season finale at McConnell Arena, Friday.
It was the biggest come-from-behind victory in school history, surpassing a 4-1 second period margin erased in a 5-4 decision over Laurier (Jan. 20, 1990) and a 5-2 third-period disadvantage wiped clean in a 5-5 tie with UQTR (Nov. 30, 1996).
"We have such a great group of leaders on this team," said Redmen team captain Benoit Levesque, an economics senior from Vaudreuil, Que., who said that the guys actually felt that they could come back. "Most of our players have been respected captains on their previous team in junior. So we just stuck together, chipped away and found a way to get the win. This is probably the biggest comeback that I have seen in my hockey career."
The result moved the Redmen back into sole possession of first-place with a stellar 21-5-2 record in the combative OUA East Division. However, second-place Carleton (21-5-1) sits one point back and third-place UQTR (21-6-0) is two behind with both having one game in hand, which they will play on Saturday.
"Everything that could possibly go wrong over the first 50 minutes had gone wrong, so with about 10 minutes remaining, I was actually thinking about how to address the team in my post-game speech," admitted McGill head coach Kelly Nobes. "It was an unbelievable comeback and you've got to give credit to the guys for their character. Most teams would be done for the night at that point and we didn't show any quit."
Trailing 6-2 in the third period, the Redmen exploded for five unanswered goals, sparked by McKiernan who initiated the unlikely comeback with his 13th of the season, shorthanded, at 8:37. Four minutes later, McKiernan set up Cedric McNicoll for his 15th, on the power-play at 12:42 to narrow the gap to 6-4. Then Patrick Delisle-Houde struck twice in 52 seconds -- at 17:21 and 18:13 -- to force a five-minute sudden-death overtime. McKiernan assisted on the tying marker and then collected his fourth helper of the soiree on Pompei's winner with only 25 seconds remaining to avoid a shootout.
McKiernan, a finance senior from White Plains, N.Y., led all OUA rearguards in scoring with a 13-24-37 record in 25 contests. It marks the fourth time in five years that a McGill blueliner has managed this feat and he has a seven-point lead on the nearest defenceman in the CIS national scoring race.
Max Le Sieur had opened the scoring for McGill only 11 seconds after the opening faceoff, establishing a school record for the fastest goal from the start of a game. It broke the previous mark of 14 seconds set by Benoit Levesque in a 7-2 win over RMC on Dec. 1, 2012.
Undaunted, the Lakers roared back just 68 seconds later when Brandon Warmington scored. They quickly added two more, taking a 3-1 advantage on goals by Andrew Marcoux and Dorian Peca, who ended up with a hat-trick and an assist.
Also scoring for the Redmen was rookie Alexis Millette, who potted his fifth of the season, closing the gap to 3-2 in the opening period. Lucas McKinley then replied for nipissing to give his side a 4-2 edge heading into the first intermission. Peca tallied the lone marker of the middle stanza and made it 6-2 at 6:13 of the final frame, settingthe stage for McGill's avalanche of goals.
Special teams played a big role in the contest, which featured 68 penalty minutes, including 36 to McGill. The Redmen went 2-for-8 on the power play but conceded three PP goals against in 10 chances.
McGill had a 49-35 advantage in shots on what proved to be a difficult night for the goaltenders. Redmen rookie Jacob Gevais-Chouinard started but was yanked with 33 seconds remaining in the opening period after conceding four goals on 16 shots. he was replaced by freshman Karel St. Laurent, who saved 17 of 19 shots and collected the win, improving his record to 4-1.
Source: McGill Sports Info
Waterloo 4 @ Lakehead 6
Led by junior forward Mike Hammond’s five-point night, the Lakehead Thunderwolves defeated the Waterloo Warriors 6-4 in front of 2204 fans at the Fort William Gardens on Friday night.
Lakehead quickly broke out to a 3-0 lead by the time the first period ended, but the play was much closer than the score indicated, as Wolves’ goalie Jeff Bosch was strong through the opening frame, making several key stops.
Luke Maw opened the scoring off a nice pass from Mike Hammond at just 2:31 of the first. Mitch Fillman had the second assist.
Lakehead made it 2-0 just 37 seconds later when Mike Hammond found a streaking Cody Alcock, who slid it past Waterloo goaltender Justin Leclerc.
Hammond made it 3-0 for the Wolves on a beautiful goal as he danced around two Warriors and then Leclerc, dropping the puck off in a wide open cage and 14:29 of the first. Carson Dubchak and Jay Gilbert were credited with the assists.
In the second period Mike Quesnele made it 4-0 for the home team on a one-time blast from the point off a nice feed from Hammond. The other assist went to Jake Carrick.
It looked like Lakehead was going to head into the second intermission with a commanding 4-0 lead, but after Cody Alcock hit the post, Waterloo streaked back the other way and Tyler Norrie fired a hard wrister past Jeff Bosch, making it 4-1 for the Wolves heading into the third period.
In the final frame, Waterloo cut Lakehead’s lead in half on a 5-on-3 power-play when Justin Larson, last year’s OUA leading scorer, fired a one-timer past Bosch just two minutes into the third.
Waterloo then pulled to within one goal on the same power-play when Larson scored again after he found the puck to the side of the net and put it past Bosch.
Tyler Norrie tied the game at 4-4 up at 6:30 of the third period, capping a remarkable comeback for the Warriors.
Lakehead re-took the lead on an amazing individual effort by Kelin Ainsworth as he weaved through the Warrior zone and tucked it past Leclerc to put the Wolves up 5-4. The assist on the goal went to Hammond.
Ainsworth notched another when he added a late empty-netter to seal the 6-4 win. Jake Carrick and Andrew Tessier had the assists on the goal.
The win guarantess that Lakehead can finish no lower than third-place in the OUA West Division, and secures the Wolves home-ice advantage for at least the first round of the playoffs.
Source: Thunderwolves Hockey
Saturday, February 15
Nipissing 6 @ UQTR 7 (SO)
Windsor 3 @ Ryerson 4
TORONTO — The Ryerson Rams are heading into the playoffs on a winning note after a 4-3 victory over the Windsor Lancers on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, Ryerson (17-11-0) finishes the regular season with a program-high in wins and also clinches third place in the OUA West. Because Ryerson has defeated Windsor (17-11-0) twice this year, they win the tie-breaker in the standings.
“Today, I always say going into playoffs it is important you go in on a high, get some confidence, so coming back today and winning that game in the third, give full credit to our players,” Graham Wise, Ryerson’s head coach, said after the game.
Ryerson started the scoring almost half way through the first period when defenceman Kent McPherson (Stratford, Ont.) joined the rush and put one past Windsor starting goaltender Parker Van Buskirk.
The score would remain 1-0 for almost 20 minutes until Daniel Lombardi(Richmond Hill, Ont.) would take a pass off the boards from Dustin Alcock (Hamilton, Ont.), break in all alone, and score a highlight reel goal to make it 2-0.
Windsor would eventually get on the board at 13:42 of the middle frame after multiple Ryerson penalties, and Kenny Bradford would pot his 10th goal of the season.
Almost two minutes later, Spencer Pommells would get another on the powerplay and it was a tie hockey game.
Before the end of the second, Curtis Longland would get one past Ryerson’s Troy Passingham (Mississauga, Ont.) and Windsor would lead 3-2 at the intermission.
For the better part of the third period, Windsor’s defence stood tall, not allowing Ryerson to get to the net and create opportunites. Finally, it was Steve Taylor (Sudbury, Ont.) banging one home in front of the net for his first of the season and the game was once again tied.
It would be a story book ending to the game as graduating Ram Andrew Buck(Newmarket, Ont.) would score his seventh of the season with just over three minutes to go to seal a Rams win.
Both Buck and Alcock were honoured before the start of the game as they have reached the end of their eligibility.
“It’s pretty surreal at this point that it’s been five years, but to get the win and end the year on that kind of fashion is pretty amazing and it puts a pretty good feeling in the room heading into next week,” Buck said.
Ryerson will now wait to see who they face in the playoffs with it being either the Toronto Varsity Blues or Brock Badgers. The start of the OUA West quarter-final best of three series has yet to be determined.
“Whoever it is, Toronto or Brock, it’s going to be a good series and if we play good hockey like we have the last couple games then we should be good,” Buck said.
Source: Ryerson Sports Info
Laurentian 4 @ Carleton 10
Brock 4 @ Western 5 (OT)
LONDON, Ont. - The regular season concluded with a dramatic overtime win for the Western Mustangs men's hockey team as they skated away with a 5-4 victory and their fourth consecutive win after facing the Brock Badgers on Saturday evening at Thompson Arena.
With both teams already guaranteed a playoff position, the contest served as a battle of pride after the Mustangs earned a 5-2 victory in the two teams' last matchup on January 17 in St. Catharines.
"It's a tough game motivationally knowing that we had first sewed up and the Badgers battled hard," said head coach Clarke Singer. "We gave up a fair bit and didn't play as tactically as we wanted. I thought the last five minutes we played well and obviously overtime went our way. Josh played great, he made some big saves when we needed them."
Western netminder Josh Unice turned away 35 of 39 shots he faced in the game while Brock goaltender Real Cormier stopped 48 of 52 attempts, a career high, as the Western offence pummeled him with shots on goal.
Steve Reese and Daniel Erlich both recorded three points in the contest to lead the Mustangs offence while McKee and Marantz added two each on the day. Erlich's three points give him 50 on the year and make him this season's CIS regular season scoring champion, finishing two points ahead of Saskatchewan's Derek Hulak.
Despite being outshot by the Mustangs it would be Brock that opened the scoring as Jeff MacPherson put the Badgers up by one just five minutes into the game. The first period set the tone of a physical matchup as the teams recorded a total of eight penalties in the first frame, five of which came from the away team. Despite the penalties, Western was unable to capitalize on any of their power play opportunities and the Brock goal would be the only one of the period to give the Badgers a 1-0 lead at the end of the first.
Captain Steven Reese would get the purple and white on the score sheet and tie the game at one goal apiece at the five-minute of the second period mark with assists fromKyle De Coste and Julian Cimadamore. It was end-to-end rushes in the second as both teams had plenty of opportunities to break the tie but Unice and Cormier wouldn't let anything past. It was the line of Adam McKee, Matt Clarke and Daniel Erlich to finally give the Mustangs a one-goal lead at 11:22 after McKee put away a rebound to make it 2-1 for the home side. A Brock four-minute high sticking penalty late in the second gave the Mustangs a man advantage and although Cormier would turn away five shots on the penalty kill the sixth would be the charm as Matt Marantz netted the team's third goal of the contest off of assists from Stefan Salituro and McKee to give the Mustangs a two-goal lead heading into the third.
The purple and white took two consecutive penalties to start the first three minutes of the frame, killing off the first but were unable to clear the second as Sammy Banga notched his first of the game to reduce the Mustangs lead to one with 15 minutes left in the action. Brock kept the pressure on, keeping the play largely in the Western zone and it would pay off at 11:30 when MacPherson scored his second of the day with both teams at full strength to tie the game. The Badgers counted another power play goal just under a minute later from Matt Abercrombie to give the Badgers their second advantage of the contest.
Despite being down a man late in the frame thanks to a slashing penalty against Kyle De Coste the Mustangs penalty kill proved to be unrelenting, killing off the man advantage and it paid off shortly thereafter as the Mustangs turned a breakaway into a goal as Marantz scored his second of the night with just over 90 seconds left in the period to force the game into overtime.
Five minutes would be all the Mustangs needed to seal the deal when a flawless one-timer from Clarke found the back of the net at 4:19 with a beautiful assist from Erlich - his third of the night - and Stephen Gaskin to give the Mustangs a 5-4 overtime victory.
With the regular season in the books the Mustangs now look ahead to their playoff schedule that begins with the OUA West Division Quarterfinal.
"Nothing else matters now, it's playoffs," said Singer after the game. "The regular season is over and now it's time to focus on playoffs and play the best we can. We're looking forward to it. Regardless of who we play in the post-season you have to play great or you're not going to make it on. We've played all the teams really tight this year and either way it's going to be a fabulous series."
The Mustangs are back on the ice on February 20 when they host the first game of their best-of-three OUA Quarterfinal series at Thompson Arena.
Source: Western Sports Info
Guelph 2 @ Toronto 3
Corey Jackson's third period goal lifted the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's hockey team to a 3-2 win over the visiting Guelph Gryphons in their final game of the regular season, Saturday February 15 at Varsity Arena.
With the win, the Blues move past the Brock Badgers to finish fifth in the OUA West division. The Blues will face the fourth-seeded Windsor Lancers in the OUA playoffs beginning next week.
First year defender Jackson (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) led the way for the Blues with the game winning goal and an assist for two points on the night. Lane Werbowski (Winnipeg) and Toronto native Jeff Brown had the other two goals for U of T.
Veteran goalie Garrett Sheehan (Cremona, Alta.) got the start in net, and was spectacular, turning aside 36 shots to pick up the win.
The Blues shut down a potent Gryphons powerplay, killing off all five man advantages in the game, and opened the scoring in the first half of a four minute powerplay of their own midway through the first period. With two players providing a screen in front, Werbowski wristed the puck from the point over the glove hand of Guelph goaltender Andrew Loverock to put the Blues up 1-0.
Carlos Amestoy tied the game up for the Gryphons later in the first, when he beat Sheehan with a quick wrist shot from the slot.
The Blues were outshot heavily in the middle frame, but Sheehan was excellent, making 17 saves in the second period alone. And then, at 12:18 of the second, Paul Van De Velde (Mariapolis, Man.) corralled the rebound from a Dylan Heide (Winnipeg) point shot and sent it over to Brown, who buried it behind Loverock to make it 2-1 for U of T.
Guelph would tie the game up again early in the third, but Jackson responded just four minutes later after some pretty passing in the offensive end. Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. native Tyler Liukkonen started the play off, waltzing around a Guelph defender before dishing the puck down low to Christian Finch (Markham, Ont.). Finch then dealt the puck to Jackson at the point, who wristed it through a crowd and past Loverock to give the Blues a 3-2 lead.
Guelph pressed hard for the equalizer in the dying moments of the game, but a goal line stand by Sheehan preserved the victory for Toronto.
Source: Toronto Sports Info
Waterloo 2 @ Lakehead 3 (OT)
In the final game of the regular season, the Lakehead Thunderwolves edged the Waterloo Warriors 3-2 in overtime in front of 2430 fans at the Fort William Gardens on Saturday night.
Thunderwolves’ goalie Jeff Bosch was outstanding, and forward Mike Hammond was clutch for the second night in a row to pace the Lakehead victory.
The Warriors came out in the first period the hungrier of the two teams, as they were in desperate need of a win in order to make the playoffs.
Kain Allicock got Waterloo on the board early on when he broke in down the left side and fired a hard wrist-shot past Bosch.
The Warriors led 2-0 after Brett Mackie tipped a Justin Larson point shot on a delayed penalty call at 7:29 of the first.
While Lakehead may have lacked intensity in the first period, the Wolves woke up in the second period and started to assert themselves physically and put more shots on the Waterloo net.
It paid off in the form of a short-handed marker - a strong suit for the Wolves all year- when Ryan Magill broke in and put the puck past Warrior goaltender Mike Morrisson. Andrew Wilkins and Chris de la Lande recorded the assists.
Just 32 seconds into the third period, Cody Alcock knotted the score at 2-2 on a one-timer off a nice feed from Mike Hammond. Jake Carrick had the second assist on the power play goal.
Waterloo had a distinct 35-21 edge in shots at the end of regulation play, but Bosch kept Lakehead in the game with several timely stops, and he kept his stellar play up in the overtime period as well, including a big pad save on a Colin Behenna penalty shot.
It looked like the game was headed for a shootout, but then with only 13 seconds remaining in the extra frame, Hammond danced through the Waterloo defense and snapped a terrific shot over
Morrisson’s shoulder, sealing the come from behind 3-2 win for the Wolves.
The final shots on goal tally was 40-24 in favor of Waterloo.
Source: Thunderwolves Hockey
UOIT 2 @ Laurier 1
WATERLOO, Ont. (February 15, 2014) - The Wilfrid Laurier men's hockey team looked to cap off the 2014 regular season on a high-note against the UOIT Ridgebacks on Saturday night.
The Golden Hawk roster has been reduced to just 12 skaters as they have been plagued with injuries the entire season, but have shown an inspiring amount of fight each and every game.
The Hawks were the first to get on the scoreboard but fell just shy of fending off the Ridgebacks as they lost in a tight 2-1 decision.
Veteran goaltender Duncan Long of Brantford, Ont., got the call to close out the season for the Hawks, turning aside an impressive 32 shots in a losing effort.
Spencer MacCormack of Waterloo, Ont., wrapped up his first season as a Golden Hawk on a high note, scoring his first CIS career goal and the only marker of the game for the Hawks.
Scoring mid-way through second period, the Ridgebacks were quick to answer, scoring just minutes later to knot the game at one.
Mitch Bennett of Fenelon Falls, Ont., scored the game winner for UOIT in the third period to edge the Hawks in a 2-1 final.
Despite failing to make a playoff appearance, the Hawks have much to be proud of. The purple and gold displayed tremendous resiliency and pride as they competed all season long and challenged some of the best teams in the country.
The Hawks will use this season a building block for next year as they look to find their way back to the OUA playoffs
Source: Laurier Sports Info
Windsor 3 @ York 1
The York University Lions men's hockey team wrapped up its regular season Friday (Feb. 14) with a physical 3-1 loss to the visiting Windsor Lancers at Canlan Ice Sports.
The loss caps off York's record at 13-13-2 on the year, and they are currently tied for seventh place in the OUA West standings with the Guelph Gryphons. A loss by either Guelph or the ninth-place Waterloo Warriors in their final contests on Saturday will give the Lions a spot in the post-season.
Forward Derek Lanoue (Tecumseh, Ont.) was the decider for Windsor, notching two goals on the night, including the game winner. Both were courtesy of linemate Blake Blondeel (Tilbury, Ont.).
The first period set the tone physically as there was no shortage of penalties being divvied out to both squads. York's special teams would have the first opportunity, and the Lions took advantage by attacking Windsor's net with traffic and generating rebounds out front. But despite multiple whacks at the puck, the Lions could not convert.
This story repeated itself throughout the frame, as both teams went a combined 0-for-7 while playing with a man advantage. The Lancers found other ways to generate opportunities, skating wide on the rush and taking shots from the outside to force Lions goaltender Andrew Perugini (King City, Ont.) to make the initial save.
On one such effort, Windsor's Paul Bezzo (Simcoe, Ont.) took a slap shot from a sharp angle at the top of the circle that found its way past a screened Perugini and into the back of the net, giving the Lancers a 1-0 lead just over 14 minutes in.
With time winding down to the end of the first, Lanoue found pay dirt for the Lancers, scoring his first goal of the game and extending their advantage to 2-0 before heading into the second.
The sin-bin would be just as active when the teams returned as emotions were visibly running high on the ice. Both goaltenders were outstanding on the penalty kill however, and there would be no goals generated from special teams again in the period, despite over 14 minutes in penalties.
A harmless looking face-off in the Lions end was anything but however, when Lanoue drained his second goal of the game off of the draw, extending Windsor's lead to 3-0 after two periods.
In the third, the physicality and extra shots gave way to more fast-paced, transition hockey, as the Lions urgently searched for a score. They finally got the puck past Parker Van Buskirk (Windsor, Ont.) with less than three minutes on the clock when Chad Hohmann (Salmon Arm, B.C.) took advantage of a power play, scoring his fourth of the year. But by that time it would be too late, and the Lancers claimed the victory to move into third place in the standings.
If the Lions can secure one of the final playoff spots in the division, they will begin play in a best-of-three first-round series next week.
Source: York Sports Info
Laurentian 4 @ Ottawa 5 (SO)
The Gee-Gees men’s hockey team trailed the Laurentian Voyageurs 4-1 heading into the third period of the final regular season home game but stormed back with a trio of goals to put themselves in a now familiar overtime situation. Defenceman Mathieu Leduc scored the game tying goal and then broke through with the only goal in the shootout to give Ottawa (17-9-1) its fourth straight overtime victory.
Warren Shymko stopped all three Voyageurs shooters and made 10 saves in 25 minutes of action after replacing starter Robin Billingham at the start of the third period. All four Laurentian goals went against Billingham, but Gee-Gees head coach Real Paiement blamed poor defensive positioning and turnovers for the 4-1 deficit.
“We didn’t win any one on one battles because we didn’t go to win them. In the third we pushed back, we skated more and we worked a little more – but not as well as we can,” Paiement said. “But, we still came back from behind and found a way to win. That’s a positive.”
Laurentian forward Richard Therrien opened the scoring at 3:21 in the first period, taking advantage of a slow defensive reaction by the Gee-Gees. After each team killed a penalty, Gee-Gee Maxime Latraverse scored his first goal of the season by deflecting a puck in the crease to tie things up at 16:45. Laurentian’s Brian Nann then struck with a power play goal just five seconds after the Ottawa
player had been sent to the box to lead 2-1 after the opening twenty minutes.
While Ottawa continued to play slightly flat-footed the Voyageurs stretched their lead with a pair of second period goals by Daniel Pachis. The first was an unassisted marker following an Ottawa turnover while the fourth came on a strong passing play in the Gee-Gees zone.
In the third, Ottawa’s skills were on display with two quick goals by Charles Power and Matthieu Ouellette. Power opened the strong period with his fifth goal of the season at 1:36 which Ouellette followed less than two minutes later, finishing a rush with Leduc and Nicolas Therrien.
Leduc scored the equalizer, his fourth of the season, on the Gee-Gees’ third power play opportunity of the game. The third-year forward from Valleyfield, Que. found the back of the net at 17:54, converting a passing play by Mathieu Tanguay-Therriault and Alexandre Touchette.
Laurentian went 1-for-5 on the power play, and Ottawa outshot the visitors 46-30. Ottawa’s record in overtime this season is now 5-1, including 4-1 in shootouts.
Source: uOttawa Sports Info
Concordia 7 @ RMC 4
Queen’s 2 @ UQTR 3
TROIS-RIVIERES, Que. (February 14, 2014) - The Gaels (17-6-5) lost a tough match-up to No.7-ranked UQTR (21-6-0) 3-2 in Trois-Rivières, Quebec on Friday night.
After defeating UQTR 4-2 at the Memorial Center in Kingston last Saturday, the Gaels fell 3-2 on Valentines evening.
UQTR's Danick Malouin was the first to put a goal on the board in the second minute of play. Only 39 seconds later, Queen's Patrick McEachen (Stouffville, Ont.) put one to the back of the net off an assist by Stephane Chabot (Rockland, Ont.) and Andrew Wiebe (Thunder Bay, Ont.) to tie the game up at 1-1. Not letting another minute run off the game clock, UQTR's Billy Lacasse put the puck past Chris Clarke (Fall River, N.S.) of the Gaels making the score 2-1.
After getting out to such a quick start, the game tapered off for a bit with no goals and three penalties being called between the third minute in the first period and the second minute in the third period. Lacasse of UQTR scored his second goal of the game early in the third to put his team up 3-1. Wiebe of the Gaels responded four minutes later with some help from Chris Van Laren (Kingston, Ont.) and Tyler Moore (Winnipeg) to make it 3-2.
The Gaels were unable to tie up the game and the final score finished 3-2.
Finishing with 17 wins on the season the Gaels tied their franchise record for wins in a season.
The Gaels will open their OUA playoff quarter-final best-of-three series against Ottawa this coming Wednesday, February 19th.
Source: Queen's Sports Info
Nipissing 6 @ McGill 7 (OT)
MONTREAL -- Mathieu Pompei of Laval, Que., scored the overtime winner and defenceman Ryan McKiernan contributed five points as the No.5-ranked McGill men's hockey team rallied from a four-goal deficit in the third-period to sink the Nipissing University Lakers 7-6 in a thrilling season finale at McConnell Arena, Friday.
It was the biggest come-from-behind victory in school history, surpassing a 4-1 second period margin erased in a 5-4 decision over Laurier (Jan. 20, 1990) and a 5-2 third-period disadvantage wiped clean in a 5-5 tie with UQTR (Nov. 30, 1996).
"We have such a great group of leaders on this team," said Redmen team captain Benoit Levesque, an economics senior from Vaudreuil, Que., who said that the guys actually felt that they could come back. "Most of our players have been respected captains on their previous team in junior. So we just stuck together, chipped away and found a way to get the win. This is probably the biggest comeback that I have seen in my hockey career."
The result moved the Redmen back into sole possession of first-place with a stellar 21-5-2 record in the combative OUA East Division. However, second-place Carleton (21-5-1) sits one point back and third-place UQTR (21-6-0) is two behind with both having one game in hand, which they will play on Saturday.
"Everything that could possibly go wrong over the first 50 minutes had gone wrong, so with about 10 minutes remaining, I was actually thinking about how to address the team in my post-game speech," admitted McGill head coach Kelly Nobes. "It was an unbelievable comeback and you've got to give credit to the guys for their character. Most teams would be done for the night at that point and we didn't show any quit."
Trailing 6-2 in the third period, the Redmen exploded for five unanswered goals, sparked by McKiernan who initiated the unlikely comeback with his 13th of the season, shorthanded, at 8:37. Four minutes later, McKiernan set up Cedric McNicoll for his 15th, on the power-play at 12:42 to narrow the gap to 6-4. Then Patrick Delisle-Houde struck twice in 52 seconds -- at 17:21 and 18:13 -- to force a five-minute sudden-death overtime. McKiernan assisted on the tying marker and then collected his fourth helper of the soiree on Pompei's winner with only 25 seconds remaining to avoid a shootout.
McKiernan, a finance senior from White Plains, N.Y., led all OUA rearguards in scoring with a 13-24-37 record in 25 contests. It marks the fourth time in five years that a McGill blueliner has managed this feat and he has a seven-point lead on the nearest defenceman in the CIS national scoring race.
Max Le Sieur had opened the scoring for McGill only 11 seconds after the opening faceoff, establishing a school record for the fastest goal from the start of a game. It broke the previous mark of 14 seconds set by Benoit Levesque in a 7-2 win over RMC on Dec. 1, 2012.
Undaunted, the Lakers roared back just 68 seconds later when Brandon Warmington scored. They quickly added two more, taking a 3-1 advantage on goals by Andrew Marcoux and Dorian Peca, who ended up with a hat-trick and an assist.
Also scoring for the Redmen was rookie Alexis Millette, who potted his fifth of the season, closing the gap to 3-2 in the opening period. Lucas McKinley then replied for nipissing to give his side a 4-2 edge heading into the first intermission. Peca tallied the lone marker of the middle stanza and made it 6-2 at 6:13 of the final frame, settingthe stage for McGill's avalanche of goals.
Special teams played a big role in the contest, which featured 68 penalty minutes, including 36 to McGill. The Redmen went 2-for-8 on the power play but conceded three PP goals against in 10 chances.
McGill had a 49-35 advantage in shots on what proved to be a difficult night for the goaltenders. Redmen rookie Jacob Gevais-Chouinard started but was yanked with 33 seconds remaining in the opening period after conceding four goals on 16 shots. he was replaced by freshman Karel St. Laurent, who saved 17 of 19 shots and collected the win, improving his record to 4-1.
Source: McGill Sports Info
Waterloo 4 @ Lakehead 6
Led by junior forward Mike Hammond’s five-point night, the Lakehead Thunderwolves defeated the Waterloo Warriors 6-4 in front of 2204 fans at the Fort William Gardens on Friday night.
Lakehead quickly broke out to a 3-0 lead by the time the first period ended, but the play was much closer than the score indicated, as Wolves’ goalie Jeff Bosch was strong through the opening frame, making several key stops.
Luke Maw opened the scoring off a nice pass from Mike Hammond at just 2:31 of the first. Mitch Fillman had the second assist.
Lakehead made it 2-0 just 37 seconds later when Mike Hammond found a streaking Cody Alcock, who slid it past Waterloo goaltender Justin Leclerc.
Hammond made it 3-0 for the Wolves on a beautiful goal as he danced around two Warriors and then Leclerc, dropping the puck off in a wide open cage and 14:29 of the first. Carson Dubchak and Jay Gilbert were credited with the assists.
In the second period Mike Quesnele made it 4-0 for the home team on a one-time blast from the point off a nice feed from Hammond. The other assist went to Jake Carrick.
It looked like Lakehead was going to head into the second intermission with a commanding 4-0 lead, but after Cody Alcock hit the post, Waterloo streaked back the other way and Tyler Norrie fired a hard wrister past Jeff Bosch, making it 4-1 for the Wolves heading into the third period.
In the final frame, Waterloo cut Lakehead’s lead in half on a 5-on-3 power-play when Justin Larson, last year’s OUA leading scorer, fired a one-timer past Bosch just two minutes into the third.
Waterloo then pulled to within one goal on the same power-play when Larson scored again after he found the puck to the side of the net and put it past Bosch.
Tyler Norrie tied the game at 4-4 up at 6:30 of the third period, capping a remarkable comeback for the Warriors.
Lakehead re-took the lead on an amazing individual effort by Kelin Ainsworth as he weaved through the Warrior zone and tucked it past Leclerc to put the Wolves up 5-4. The assist on the goal went to Hammond.
Ainsworth notched another when he added a late empty-netter to seal the 6-4 win. Jake Carrick and Andrew Tessier had the assists on the goal.
The win guarantess that Lakehead can finish no lower than third-place in the OUA West Division, and secures the Wolves home-ice advantage for at least the first round of the playoffs.
Source: Thunderwolves Hockey
Saturday, February 15
Nipissing 6 @ UQTR 7 (SO)
Windsor 3 @ Ryerson 4
TORONTO — The Ryerson Rams are heading into the playoffs on a winning note after a 4-3 victory over the Windsor Lancers on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, Ryerson (17-11-0) finishes the regular season with a program-high in wins and also clinches third place in the OUA West. Because Ryerson has defeated Windsor (17-11-0) twice this year, they win the tie-breaker in the standings.
“Today, I always say going into playoffs it is important you go in on a high, get some confidence, so coming back today and winning that game in the third, give full credit to our players,” Graham Wise, Ryerson’s head coach, said after the game.
Ryerson started the scoring almost half way through the first period when defenceman Kent McPherson (Stratford, Ont.) joined the rush and put one past Windsor starting goaltender Parker Van Buskirk.
The score would remain 1-0 for almost 20 minutes until Daniel Lombardi(Richmond Hill, Ont.) would take a pass off the boards from Dustin Alcock (Hamilton, Ont.), break in all alone, and score a highlight reel goal to make it 2-0.
Windsor would eventually get on the board at 13:42 of the middle frame after multiple Ryerson penalties, and Kenny Bradford would pot his 10th goal of the season.
Almost two minutes later, Spencer Pommells would get another on the powerplay and it was a tie hockey game.
Before the end of the second, Curtis Longland would get one past Ryerson’s Troy Passingham (Mississauga, Ont.) and Windsor would lead 3-2 at the intermission.
For the better part of the third period, Windsor’s defence stood tall, not allowing Ryerson to get to the net and create opportunites. Finally, it was Steve Taylor (Sudbury, Ont.) banging one home in front of the net for his first of the season and the game was once again tied.
It would be a story book ending to the game as graduating Ram Andrew Buck(Newmarket, Ont.) would score his seventh of the season with just over three minutes to go to seal a Rams win.
Both Buck and Alcock were honoured before the start of the game as they have reached the end of their eligibility.
“It’s pretty surreal at this point that it’s been five years, but to get the win and end the year on that kind of fashion is pretty amazing and it puts a pretty good feeling in the room heading into next week,” Buck said.
Ryerson will now wait to see who they face in the playoffs with it being either the Toronto Varsity Blues or Brock Badgers. The start of the OUA West quarter-final best of three series has yet to be determined.
“Whoever it is, Toronto or Brock, it’s going to be a good series and if we play good hockey like we have the last couple games then we should be good,” Buck said.
Source: Ryerson Sports Info
Laurentian 4 @ Carleton 10
Brock 4 @ Western 5 (OT)
LONDON, Ont. - The regular season concluded with a dramatic overtime win for the Western Mustangs men's hockey team as they skated away with a 5-4 victory and their fourth consecutive win after facing the Brock Badgers on Saturday evening at Thompson Arena.
With both teams already guaranteed a playoff position, the contest served as a battle of pride after the Mustangs earned a 5-2 victory in the two teams' last matchup on January 17 in St. Catharines.
"It's a tough game motivationally knowing that we had first sewed up and the Badgers battled hard," said head coach Clarke Singer. "We gave up a fair bit and didn't play as tactically as we wanted. I thought the last five minutes we played well and obviously overtime went our way. Josh played great, he made some big saves when we needed them."
Western netminder Josh Unice turned away 35 of 39 shots he faced in the game while Brock goaltender Real Cormier stopped 48 of 52 attempts, a career high, as the Western offence pummeled him with shots on goal.
Steve Reese and Daniel Erlich both recorded three points in the contest to lead the Mustangs offence while McKee and Marantz added two each on the day. Erlich's three points give him 50 on the year and make him this season's CIS regular season scoring champion, finishing two points ahead of Saskatchewan's Derek Hulak.
Despite being outshot by the Mustangs it would be Brock that opened the scoring as Jeff MacPherson put the Badgers up by one just five minutes into the game. The first period set the tone of a physical matchup as the teams recorded a total of eight penalties in the first frame, five of which came from the away team. Despite the penalties, Western was unable to capitalize on any of their power play opportunities and the Brock goal would be the only one of the period to give the Badgers a 1-0 lead at the end of the first.
Captain Steven Reese would get the purple and white on the score sheet and tie the game at one goal apiece at the five-minute of the second period mark with assists fromKyle De Coste and Julian Cimadamore. It was end-to-end rushes in the second as both teams had plenty of opportunities to break the tie but Unice and Cormier wouldn't let anything past. It was the line of Adam McKee, Matt Clarke and Daniel Erlich to finally give the Mustangs a one-goal lead at 11:22 after McKee put away a rebound to make it 2-1 for the home side. A Brock four-minute high sticking penalty late in the second gave the Mustangs a man advantage and although Cormier would turn away five shots on the penalty kill the sixth would be the charm as Matt Marantz netted the team's third goal of the contest off of assists from Stefan Salituro and McKee to give the Mustangs a two-goal lead heading into the third.
The purple and white took two consecutive penalties to start the first three minutes of the frame, killing off the first but were unable to clear the second as Sammy Banga notched his first of the game to reduce the Mustangs lead to one with 15 minutes left in the action. Brock kept the pressure on, keeping the play largely in the Western zone and it would pay off at 11:30 when MacPherson scored his second of the day with both teams at full strength to tie the game. The Badgers counted another power play goal just under a minute later from Matt Abercrombie to give the Badgers their second advantage of the contest.
Despite being down a man late in the frame thanks to a slashing penalty against Kyle De Coste the Mustangs penalty kill proved to be unrelenting, killing off the man advantage and it paid off shortly thereafter as the Mustangs turned a breakaway into a goal as Marantz scored his second of the night with just over 90 seconds left in the period to force the game into overtime.
Five minutes would be all the Mustangs needed to seal the deal when a flawless one-timer from Clarke found the back of the net at 4:19 with a beautiful assist from Erlich - his third of the night - and Stephen Gaskin to give the Mustangs a 5-4 overtime victory.
With the regular season in the books the Mustangs now look ahead to their playoff schedule that begins with the OUA West Division Quarterfinal.
"Nothing else matters now, it's playoffs," said Singer after the game. "The regular season is over and now it's time to focus on playoffs and play the best we can. We're looking forward to it. Regardless of who we play in the post-season you have to play great or you're not going to make it on. We've played all the teams really tight this year and either way it's going to be a fabulous series."
The Mustangs are back on the ice on February 20 when they host the first game of their best-of-three OUA Quarterfinal series at Thompson Arena.
Source: Western Sports Info
Guelph 2 @ Toronto 3
Corey Jackson's third period goal lifted the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's hockey team to a 3-2 win over the visiting Guelph Gryphons in their final game of the regular season, Saturday February 15 at Varsity Arena.
With the win, the Blues move past the Brock Badgers to finish fifth in the OUA West division. The Blues will face the fourth-seeded Windsor Lancers in the OUA playoffs beginning next week.
First year defender Jackson (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) led the way for the Blues with the game winning goal and an assist for two points on the night. Lane Werbowski (Winnipeg) and Toronto native Jeff Brown had the other two goals for U of T.
Veteran goalie Garrett Sheehan (Cremona, Alta.) got the start in net, and was spectacular, turning aside 36 shots to pick up the win.
The Blues shut down a potent Gryphons powerplay, killing off all five man advantages in the game, and opened the scoring in the first half of a four minute powerplay of their own midway through the first period. With two players providing a screen in front, Werbowski wristed the puck from the point over the glove hand of Guelph goaltender Andrew Loverock to put the Blues up 1-0.
Carlos Amestoy tied the game up for the Gryphons later in the first, when he beat Sheehan with a quick wrist shot from the slot.
The Blues were outshot heavily in the middle frame, but Sheehan was excellent, making 17 saves in the second period alone. And then, at 12:18 of the second, Paul Van De Velde (Mariapolis, Man.) corralled the rebound from a Dylan Heide (Winnipeg) point shot and sent it over to Brown, who buried it behind Loverock to make it 2-1 for U of T.
Guelph would tie the game up again early in the third, but Jackson responded just four minutes later after some pretty passing in the offensive end. Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. native Tyler Liukkonen started the play off, waltzing around a Guelph defender before dishing the puck down low to Christian Finch (Markham, Ont.). Finch then dealt the puck to Jackson at the point, who wristed it through a crowd and past Loverock to give the Blues a 3-2 lead.
Guelph pressed hard for the equalizer in the dying moments of the game, but a goal line stand by Sheehan preserved the victory for Toronto.
Source: Toronto Sports Info
Waterloo 2 @ Lakehead 3 (OT)
In the final game of the regular season, the Lakehead Thunderwolves edged the Waterloo Warriors 3-2 in overtime in front of 2430 fans at the Fort William Gardens on Saturday night.
Thunderwolves’ goalie Jeff Bosch was outstanding, and forward Mike Hammond was clutch for the second night in a row to pace the Lakehead victory.
The Warriors came out in the first period the hungrier of the two teams, as they were in desperate need of a win in order to make the playoffs.
Kain Allicock got Waterloo on the board early on when he broke in down the left side and fired a hard wrist-shot past Bosch.
The Warriors led 2-0 after Brett Mackie tipped a Justin Larson point shot on a delayed penalty call at 7:29 of the first.
While Lakehead may have lacked intensity in the first period, the Wolves woke up in the second period and started to assert themselves physically and put more shots on the Waterloo net.
It paid off in the form of a short-handed marker - a strong suit for the Wolves all year- when Ryan Magill broke in and put the puck past Warrior goaltender Mike Morrisson. Andrew Wilkins and Chris de la Lande recorded the assists.
Just 32 seconds into the third period, Cody Alcock knotted the score at 2-2 on a one-timer off a nice feed from Mike Hammond. Jake Carrick had the second assist on the power play goal.
Waterloo had a distinct 35-21 edge in shots at the end of regulation play, but Bosch kept Lakehead in the game with several timely stops, and he kept his stellar play up in the overtime period as well, including a big pad save on a Colin Behenna penalty shot.
It looked like the game was headed for a shootout, but then with only 13 seconds remaining in the extra frame, Hammond danced through the Waterloo defense and snapped a terrific shot over
Morrisson’s shoulder, sealing the come from behind 3-2 win for the Wolves.
The final shots on goal tally was 40-24 in favor of Waterloo.
Source: Thunderwolves Hockey
UOIT 2 @ Laurier 1
WATERLOO, Ont. (February 15, 2014) - The Wilfrid Laurier men's hockey team looked to cap off the 2014 regular season on a high-note against the UOIT Ridgebacks on Saturday night.
The Golden Hawk roster has been reduced to just 12 skaters as they have been plagued with injuries the entire season, but have shown an inspiring amount of fight each and every game.
The Hawks were the first to get on the scoreboard but fell just shy of fending off the Ridgebacks as they lost in a tight 2-1 decision.
Veteran goaltender Duncan Long of Brantford, Ont., got the call to close out the season for the Hawks, turning aside an impressive 32 shots in a losing effort.
Spencer MacCormack of Waterloo, Ont., wrapped up his first season as a Golden Hawk on a high note, scoring his first CIS career goal and the only marker of the game for the Hawks.
Scoring mid-way through second period, the Ridgebacks were quick to answer, scoring just minutes later to knot the game at one.
Mitch Bennett of Fenelon Falls, Ont., scored the game winner for UOIT in the third period to edge the Hawks in a 2-1 final.
Despite failing to make a playoff appearance, the Hawks have much to be proud of. The purple and gold displayed tremendous resiliency and pride as they competed all season long and challenged some of the best teams in the country.
The Hawks will use this season a building block for next year as they look to find their way back to the OUA playoffs
Source: Laurier Sports Info
