February 19, 2014
MEN'S HOCKEY ROUNDUP: York falls to Lakehead in Game 1 of the series
Wednesday, February 19
Lakehead 4 @ York 2
The first round of the OUA playoffs kicked off with a stellar match-up Wednesday (Feb. 19) at Canlan Ice Sports as the York University Lions men's hockey team saw its third-period rally come up just short in a 4-2 loss to the Lakehead Thunderwolves in Game 1 of their best-of-three series.
Lakehead's leading scorer in the regular season, Mike Hammond (Victoria), scored what turned out to be the game winner at the 7:03 mark of the second period, a goal that at the time made the score 3-0 in favour of the visitors.
For the Lions, Jordan Forfar (Sutton, Ont.) was a bright spot offensively, earning two points in the game with a goal and an assist.
Down by three goals after the first two periods of play, the Lions opened the third period with a major statement. Forfar came to life on a beautiful snipe from inside the blue line just 56 seconds into the frame to cut the deficit to 3-1, and less than two minutes later he dropped a pass back to defenceman John de Gray (Markham, Ont.), who fired a big shot from the point that snuck just under the cross bar to shrink Lakehead's lead to 3-2.
With renewed energy the Lions battled it out for much of the final period, outshooting the Thunderwolves 16-8 in the frame but unable to bury the equalizer. Nearing the conclusion of the game, the Lions pulled their goaltender and applied incredible pressure late with a couple of extended shifts in Lakehead's end. But overaggression sent the puck back down the ice into York's end and the Thunderwolves added an empty-netter in the final minute.
Early in the game the two teams pushed the tempo but did not set up any real chances at either end. The Lions started to dump and chase the puck, and a quick surge the other way forced goaltender Andrew Perugini (King City, Ont.) into action, and he turned away a solid shot from the high slot and stifled another off the rebound for two nice saves.
A fight for a loose puck in front of York's net a of couple minutes later ended badly for the Lions, however, as David Quesnele's (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) chip shot lifted over the left pad of an outstretched Perugini to give the Thunderwolves a 1-0 advantage.
The score seemed to light a fire under the Lions, and they began to swarm in bunches around Lakehead netminder Jeff Bosch's (Martensville, Sask.) crease looking for the equalizer. Troy Barss (Barrie, Ont.) had an opportunity to tie the game in front, but couldn't wrangle in a nice feed from Jesse Messier (Keswick, Ont.) to drive it home.
On the attack again, a Lions puck carrier was forced to make a move in the neutral zone to avoid a hit but coughed up the puck in the process. The play created an odd-man rush the other way for Lakehead and Brennan Menard (Thunder Bay, Ont.) scored off another rebound to give the Thunderwolves a 2-0 lead.
The Lions closed out the frame with a flurry in the offensive zone, utilizing the defensive pinch to some success, but still trailed 2-0 entering the second.
York returned to the ice with the same sense of urgency that ended the first, but again couldn't covert. The aggression led to a penalty and Hammond capitalized on the ensuing power play only seconds into the man-advantage to extend the lead they would hold until the end.
The teams will now take a day off and travel to Thunder Bay, Ont., for Game 2 of the series on Friday (Feb. 21) at 7:30pm.
Source: York Sports Info
Carleton 4 @ Nipissing 2
A solid first period and the first goal of the game wasn’t enough for the Nipissing Lakers men’s hockey as they kicked off the 2014 OUA playoffs at home against the Carleton Ravens.
The Lakers outshot the Ravens and opened up the scoring, but an impressive final 40 minutes for Carleton gave them a 4-2 win and a 1-0 series lead in the first round of the post-season.
In the first period the Lakers limited the high flying offence the Ravens showed in the regular season, as a solid defensive effort and not allowing much speed through the neutral zone kept the Ravens at bay.
Late in the period, Kevin Rebelo opened up the scoring as he took an outlet pass from Brandon Warmington and fired a hard, high shot off the post and into the back of the net, giving the Lakers a lead heading into the first intermission.
Just 58 seconds into the second, the Ravens tied it up and seemed to take over the game, firing 15 shots towards Lakers goalie Kirk Rafuse.
The Ravens would grab a 2-1 lead thanks to Mitch Zion’s first of the playoffs after Mike McNamee tied the game with the early marker.
Before the end of the frame, Craig Campbell tied the game up and had the teams even entering the final 20 minutes. Mackenzie Keirstead earned the assist on the Lakers second tally of the game.
The Ravens took their game to another level, peppering Rafuse with 18 shots and found the back of the net twice – the eventual game-winner went to Cory Durocher about six minutes into the period and Zion added his second of the game to seal the win around the midway point of the period.
The Ravens ended up outshooting the Lakers 40-26, with Rafuse making 36 saves and his counterpart, Francis Dupuis making 24.
The Lakers are now in two must-win scenarios, as they are facing elimination this weekend when they head to Ottawa for Game 2 Friday night, and potentially Game 3 Saturday night.
Game time for both of those games are 7 p.m.
Source: Nipissing Sports Info
UQTR 8 @ UOIT 3
OSHAWA, Ont. – The No. 7 ranked UQTR Patriotes would score four power play goals in an 8-3 victory over UOIT in game one of their OUA men's hockey opening round series.
The Patriotes finished the night with eight power play attempts and would capitalize on half of them to earn the series-opening win. With UOIT scoring their opening goal in the second period to cut the deficit to 3-1, UQTR countered with back-to-back power play goals less than two minutes apart to take a 5-1 lead.
Trailing 6-1 after forty minutes, UOIT interim head coach Justin Caruana turned to back-up goaltender Jacob Rattie (Niagara Falls, Ont.) looking to ignite his team. However, the move would not slow down the defending OUA champions as they netted two goals in the opening five minutes to extend their lead to 8-1.
UOIT closed the game out with a pair of goals off the stick of Jesse Stoughton (Bobcaygeon, Ont.), as they finished strong to head into game two with a bit of momentum on their side. The game is slated for Saturday at 2 p.m. in Trois-Rivières.
Five Patriotes finished the night with multi-point games with Anthony Verret leading the charge with one goal and four assists. Yannick Dube and Tommy Giroux also had big nights combining for two goals and five assists.
Stoughton was in on all three UOIT goals as he had two and assisted on James Woodcroft's (Milton, Ont.) strike in the second period. Defenders Jason Shaw (Belleville, Ont.) and Dylan King (Middle Sackville, N.S.) each had two assists apiece.
Down 1-0 in the series, UOIT will have to go on the road and win back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday. Fans can watch the games online at www.patriotes.tv.
Source: UOIT Sports Info
Ottawa 2 @ Queen's 3
KINGSTON, Ont. (February 19, 2014) – The Queen's Gaels took a 1-0 series lead in their best-of-three OUA East quarterfinal matchup over the Ottawa Gee-Gees thanks to two third period goals from Chris Van Laren (Kingston, Ont.) at the Memorial Centre in Kingston, Ontario Wednesday night.
Tyler Moore (Winnipeg) started things off in the first period with a great chance in front of the Gee-Gee net but the puck was bouncing as he one-timed it at Robin Billingham who steered it aside.
Alexandre Touchette put Ottawa up 1-0 with a power play goal at 14:54 of the opening period. Tochette found a loose puck at the side of the net and tapped it in past Gaels starter Kevin Bailie (Belleville, Ont.).
The Gaels were unable to capitalize and the period finished 1-0 for Ottawa who outshot Queen's 10-3.
In the second Ottawa nearly scored shorthanded as Mathieu Ouellet fired a shot off the cross bar. Moments later the Gee-Gees were called for another penalty giving the Gaels a five on three powerplay. Ottawa was able to fend off the attack and keep a 1-0 lead.
With only 11 seconds left in the period the Gaels were able to get on the board. Andrew Wiebe (Thunder Bay, Ont.) picked up the puck after a Gee-Gee defender broke his stick and turned the it over. He then slid a pass through the defenders legs to Moore who beat Billingham on the short side to even the game at 1-1. Ottawa added another 12 shots to the Gaels six in the second.
It didn't take long for the Gee-Gees to regain their lead in the third. An awkward bounce of the end boards jumped right out to Touchette who scored his second of the game coming only 20 seconds into the period.
From there on it was all Van Laren. First he came up with a beautiful end-to-end rush and fired a wrister on net that fooled Billingham at 7:27 of the third. Less than two minutes later the Gaels took advantage of a powerplay chance and it was Van Laren once more with a blast from the point that beat a crowd and put the Gaels ahead.
Ottawa penatlies late in the game held them back and the Gaels hung on for a 3-2 win.
Bailie stopped 27 of 29 shots faced in the game for his first career playoff win.
The series will now shift to Ottawa where the Gee-Gees will host Queen's on Friday night at 7:00pm. Game three if necesary will be back in Kingston at the Memorial Centre Saturday night at 7:30pm.
Source: Queen's Sports Info
Concordia1 @ McGill 3
MONTREAL -- A pair of second-period goals by sophomore David Rose of Longueuil, Que., proved to be the difference as No.6-ranked McGill opened their OUA quarter-final series with a 3-1 victory over visiting Concordia at McConnell Arena, Wednesday.
It was the fourth straight victory and 10th in the last 11 games for the red-hot Redmen and marked their fourth consecutive conquest against the Stingers, improving their lifetime series record between the cross-town rivals to 88-93-14 in 195 meetings, including a 12-10 mark in post-season play.
All four goals were scored in the second period.
Rose, a 5-foot-9, 196-pound forward who had only seven goals during the regular season, pounced upon a pair of juicy rebounds from teammate Patrick Delisle-Houde to give the Redmen 1-0 and 2-1 leads at 6:04 and 16:40, respectively.
Olivier Hinse of Sherbrooke, Que., tallied the lone Concordia marker, which tied the score at 1-1 on a power-play at 6:44.
Marc-Olivier Vachon of Thetford Mines, Que., made it 3-1 just 63 seconds after Rose's second strike to round out the scoring.
The Stingers had a slight 31-30 edge in shots as Redmen rookie goaltender Jacob Gervais-Chouinard, also from Sherbrooke, made 30 saves to collect his first-ever playoff victory at the collegiate level. Concordia starter Antonio Mastropietro, a native Montrealer, was credited with 27 saves in a losing cause.
It was a rare low-key affair between the bitter rivals that featured only four minor penalties, three of them to the Redmen. Concordia went 1-for-3 on the power-play, while McGill was 0-for-1.
McGill leads the best-of-three series 1-0 and can eliminate the Stingers with a road win at the Ed Meagher Arena, Friday at 7:30 p.m. If a rubber match is needed, it is slated for McConnell Arena on Sunday at 7 p.m.
Source: McGill Sports Info
Lakehead 4 @ York 2
The first round of the OUA playoffs kicked off with a stellar match-up Wednesday (Feb. 19) at Canlan Ice Sports as the York University Lions men's hockey team saw its third-period rally come up just short in a 4-2 loss to the Lakehead Thunderwolves in Game 1 of their best-of-three series.
Lakehead's leading scorer in the regular season, Mike Hammond (Victoria), scored what turned out to be the game winner at the 7:03 mark of the second period, a goal that at the time made the score 3-0 in favour of the visitors.
For the Lions, Jordan Forfar (Sutton, Ont.) was a bright spot offensively, earning two points in the game with a goal and an assist.
Down by three goals after the first two periods of play, the Lions opened the third period with a major statement. Forfar came to life on a beautiful snipe from inside the blue line just 56 seconds into the frame to cut the deficit to 3-1, and less than two minutes later he dropped a pass back to defenceman John de Gray (Markham, Ont.), who fired a big shot from the point that snuck just under the cross bar to shrink Lakehead's lead to 3-2.
With renewed energy the Lions battled it out for much of the final period, outshooting the Thunderwolves 16-8 in the frame but unable to bury the equalizer. Nearing the conclusion of the game, the Lions pulled their goaltender and applied incredible pressure late with a couple of extended shifts in Lakehead's end. But overaggression sent the puck back down the ice into York's end and the Thunderwolves added an empty-netter in the final minute.
Early in the game the two teams pushed the tempo but did not set up any real chances at either end. The Lions started to dump and chase the puck, and a quick surge the other way forced goaltender Andrew Perugini (King City, Ont.) into action, and he turned away a solid shot from the high slot and stifled another off the rebound for two nice saves.
A fight for a loose puck in front of York's net a of couple minutes later ended badly for the Lions, however, as David Quesnele's (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) chip shot lifted over the left pad of an outstretched Perugini to give the Thunderwolves a 1-0 advantage.
The score seemed to light a fire under the Lions, and they began to swarm in bunches around Lakehead netminder Jeff Bosch's (Martensville, Sask.) crease looking for the equalizer. Troy Barss (Barrie, Ont.) had an opportunity to tie the game in front, but couldn't wrangle in a nice feed from Jesse Messier (Keswick, Ont.) to drive it home.
On the attack again, a Lions puck carrier was forced to make a move in the neutral zone to avoid a hit but coughed up the puck in the process. The play created an odd-man rush the other way for Lakehead and Brennan Menard (Thunder Bay, Ont.) scored off another rebound to give the Thunderwolves a 2-0 lead.
The Lions closed out the frame with a flurry in the offensive zone, utilizing the defensive pinch to some success, but still trailed 2-0 entering the second.
York returned to the ice with the same sense of urgency that ended the first, but again couldn't covert. The aggression led to a penalty and Hammond capitalized on the ensuing power play only seconds into the man-advantage to extend the lead they would hold until the end.
The teams will now take a day off and travel to Thunder Bay, Ont., for Game 2 of the series on Friday (Feb. 21) at 7:30pm.
Source: York Sports Info
Carleton 4 @ Nipissing 2
A solid first period and the first goal of the game wasn’t enough for the Nipissing Lakers men’s hockey as they kicked off the 2014 OUA playoffs at home against the Carleton Ravens.
The Lakers outshot the Ravens and opened up the scoring, but an impressive final 40 minutes for Carleton gave them a 4-2 win and a 1-0 series lead in the first round of the post-season.
In the first period the Lakers limited the high flying offence the Ravens showed in the regular season, as a solid defensive effort and not allowing much speed through the neutral zone kept the Ravens at bay.
Late in the period, Kevin Rebelo opened up the scoring as he took an outlet pass from Brandon Warmington and fired a hard, high shot off the post and into the back of the net, giving the Lakers a lead heading into the first intermission.
Just 58 seconds into the second, the Ravens tied it up and seemed to take over the game, firing 15 shots towards Lakers goalie Kirk Rafuse.
The Ravens would grab a 2-1 lead thanks to Mitch Zion’s first of the playoffs after Mike McNamee tied the game with the early marker.
Before the end of the frame, Craig Campbell tied the game up and had the teams even entering the final 20 minutes. Mackenzie Keirstead earned the assist on the Lakers second tally of the game.
The Ravens took their game to another level, peppering Rafuse with 18 shots and found the back of the net twice – the eventual game-winner went to Cory Durocher about six minutes into the period and Zion added his second of the game to seal the win around the midway point of the period.
The Ravens ended up outshooting the Lakers 40-26, with Rafuse making 36 saves and his counterpart, Francis Dupuis making 24.
The Lakers are now in two must-win scenarios, as they are facing elimination this weekend when they head to Ottawa for Game 2 Friday night, and potentially Game 3 Saturday night.
Game time for both of those games are 7 p.m.
Source: Nipissing Sports Info
UQTR 8 @ UOIT 3
OSHAWA, Ont. – The No. 7 ranked UQTR Patriotes would score four power play goals in an 8-3 victory over UOIT in game one of their OUA men's hockey opening round series.
The Patriotes finished the night with eight power play attempts and would capitalize on half of them to earn the series-opening win. With UOIT scoring their opening goal in the second period to cut the deficit to 3-1, UQTR countered with back-to-back power play goals less than two minutes apart to take a 5-1 lead.
Trailing 6-1 after forty minutes, UOIT interim head coach Justin Caruana turned to back-up goaltender Jacob Rattie (Niagara Falls, Ont.) looking to ignite his team. However, the move would not slow down the defending OUA champions as they netted two goals in the opening five minutes to extend their lead to 8-1.
UOIT closed the game out with a pair of goals off the stick of Jesse Stoughton (Bobcaygeon, Ont.), as they finished strong to head into game two with a bit of momentum on their side. The game is slated for Saturday at 2 p.m. in Trois-Rivières.
Five Patriotes finished the night with multi-point games with Anthony Verret leading the charge with one goal and four assists. Yannick Dube and Tommy Giroux also had big nights combining for two goals and five assists.
Stoughton was in on all three UOIT goals as he had two and assisted on James Woodcroft's (Milton, Ont.) strike in the second period. Defenders Jason Shaw (Belleville, Ont.) and Dylan King (Middle Sackville, N.S.) each had two assists apiece.
Down 1-0 in the series, UOIT will have to go on the road and win back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday. Fans can watch the games online at www.patriotes.tv.
Source: UOIT Sports Info
Ottawa 2 @ Queen's 3
KINGSTON, Ont. (February 19, 2014) – The Queen's Gaels took a 1-0 series lead in their best-of-three OUA East quarterfinal matchup over the Ottawa Gee-Gees thanks to two third period goals from Chris Van Laren (Kingston, Ont.) at the Memorial Centre in Kingston, Ontario Wednesday night.
Tyler Moore (Winnipeg) started things off in the first period with a great chance in front of the Gee-Gee net but the puck was bouncing as he one-timed it at Robin Billingham who steered it aside.
Alexandre Touchette put Ottawa up 1-0 with a power play goal at 14:54 of the opening period. Tochette found a loose puck at the side of the net and tapped it in past Gaels starter Kevin Bailie (Belleville, Ont.).
The Gaels were unable to capitalize and the period finished 1-0 for Ottawa who outshot Queen's 10-3.
In the second Ottawa nearly scored shorthanded as Mathieu Ouellet fired a shot off the cross bar. Moments later the Gee-Gees were called for another penalty giving the Gaels a five on three powerplay. Ottawa was able to fend off the attack and keep a 1-0 lead.
With only 11 seconds left in the period the Gaels were able to get on the board. Andrew Wiebe (Thunder Bay, Ont.) picked up the puck after a Gee-Gee defender broke his stick and turned the it over. He then slid a pass through the defenders legs to Moore who beat Billingham on the short side to even the game at 1-1. Ottawa added another 12 shots to the Gaels six in the second.
It didn't take long for the Gee-Gees to regain their lead in the third. An awkward bounce of the end boards jumped right out to Touchette who scored his second of the game coming only 20 seconds into the period.
From there on it was all Van Laren. First he came up with a beautiful end-to-end rush and fired a wrister on net that fooled Billingham at 7:27 of the third. Less than two minutes later the Gaels took advantage of a powerplay chance and it was Van Laren once more with a blast from the point that beat a crowd and put the Gaels ahead.
Ottawa penatlies late in the game held them back and the Gaels hung on for a 3-2 win.
Bailie stopped 27 of 29 shots faced in the game for his first career playoff win.
The series will now shift to Ottawa where the Gee-Gees will host Queen's on Friday night at 7:00pm. Game three if necesary will be back in Kingston at the Memorial Centre Saturday night at 7:30pm.
Source: Queen's Sports Info
Concordia1 @ McGill 3
MONTREAL -- A pair of second-period goals by sophomore David Rose of Longueuil, Que., proved to be the difference as No.6-ranked McGill opened their OUA quarter-final series with a 3-1 victory over visiting Concordia at McConnell Arena, Wednesday.
It was the fourth straight victory and 10th in the last 11 games for the red-hot Redmen and marked their fourth consecutive conquest against the Stingers, improving their lifetime series record between the cross-town rivals to 88-93-14 in 195 meetings, including a 12-10 mark in post-season play.
All four goals were scored in the second period.
Rose, a 5-foot-9, 196-pound forward who had only seven goals during the regular season, pounced upon a pair of juicy rebounds from teammate Patrick Delisle-Houde to give the Redmen 1-0 and 2-1 leads at 6:04 and 16:40, respectively.
Olivier Hinse of Sherbrooke, Que., tallied the lone Concordia marker, which tied the score at 1-1 on a power-play at 6:44.
Marc-Olivier Vachon of Thetford Mines, Que., made it 3-1 just 63 seconds after Rose's second strike to round out the scoring.
The Stingers had a slight 31-30 edge in shots as Redmen rookie goaltender Jacob Gervais-Chouinard, also from Sherbrooke, made 30 saves to collect his first-ever playoff victory at the collegiate level. Concordia starter Antonio Mastropietro, a native Montrealer, was credited with 27 saves in a losing cause.
It was a rare low-key affair between the bitter rivals that featured only four minor penalties, three of them to the Redmen. Concordia went 1-for-3 on the power-play, while McGill was 0-for-1.
McGill leads the best-of-three series 1-0 and can eliminate the Stingers with a road win at the Ed Meagher Arena, Friday at 7:30 p.m. If a rubber match is needed, it is slated for McConnell Arena on Sunday at 7 p.m.
Source: McGill Sports Info
