December 2, 2013
MEN'S HOCKEY ROUNDUP: Bad start costly for Rams in loss to No. 6 UQTR
Tuesday, November 26
Concordia 3 @ McGill 9
MONTREAL – Rookie Alexandre Comtois of Sherbrooke, Que., scored twice and added a helper as No.5-ranked McGill rallied from a three-goal deficit to wallop Concordia 9-3 at McConnell Arena, Tuesday morning
The early morning affair was played before a near-capacity crowd of 912, as part the team's third annual "Score with School" promotion and featured a noisy throng of school children from the English Montreal School Board.
It marked the second time this season that McGill had exploded for nine consecutive goals, a feat that they previously accomplished in a 9-1 win at Royal Military College on Nov. 1.
The Redmen had a lopsided 53-29 edge in shots, including a 20-9 margin in the final period when they exploded for seven goals. Despite the one-sided affair, McGill trailed 3-1 after the opening period and were down 3-2 after two. The Redmen went 4-for-9 on the power-play and struck for a shorthanded marker as they killed off all four Concordia man-advantage situations.
Eight different Redmen found the net, four of them defencemen.
Comtois, a 5-foot-7, 180-pound electrical engineering freshman who had entered the game with only two goals to his credit, set up Ryan McKiernan on McGill's first goal in the opening period, then scored shorthanded to reduce the deficit to 3-2 at 5:08 of the middle frame. After Mathieu Pompei knotted the score at 3-3 at 1:11 of the third period, Comtois tallied the game-winner just 66 seconds later.
"We had a bit of a blunder to start the game but didn't panic," said McGill head coach Kelly Nobes. "The guys stuck with the plan, chipped away and played a full 60 minutes. The shorthanded goal by Comtois in the second period gave us a lot of momentum and was the turning point. He had a breakthrough game and brought a lot of energy today. He's been a very versatile player for us and was very effective on the penalty-kill."
Justin Ducharme and Guillaume Langelier-Parent, both forwards, each scored. Rearguards to find the mark included McKiernan (1-2-3), Samuel Carrier (1-1-2), Hugo Laporte (1-1-2) and Jean-Philippe Mathieu.
Replying for the Stingers was Olivier Hinse, Ben Dubois and Jessyco Bernard.
Each team used both of their goaltenders. Veteran Andrew Flemming got the start between the pipes for McGill but was yanked at 2:51 of the first period after allowing two goals on four shots. Freshman Jacob Gervais-Chouinard took over and kicked aside 24 of 25 shots to collect the win, improving to 6-2 on the season.
Stingers starter Antonio Mastropietro registered 41 saves but was beaten eight times and took the loss. He was replaced for the final four minutes and 21 seconds by Paul Bourbeau, who was credited with three saves on four shots.
Source: McGill Sports Info
Thursday, November 28
Brock 4 @ Guelph 1
GUELPH, Ont. (November 28, 2013) – The Guelph Gryphon men's hockey team were defeated by the Brock Badgers on Thursday night with a final score of 4-1 at the Gryphon Centre, dropping the Gryphons to 7-6-2 and moving the Badgers to 6-7-2.
The Badgers and Gryphons started the game with lots of back and forth action between the evenly matched teams. The Gryphons were finding it hard to outskate the Brock defensemen but still managed to outshoot the Badgers 14-10 in the first period. The Gryphons set up a scoring opportunity with a backhanded pass to Nicholas Trecapelli who sent the puck across to Teal Burns who was set up in front of the net, but they were unable to beat the Badger goalie, Dalton McGrath (Toronto, Ont.). The first period ended scoreless, but a penalty on Trecapelli at 19:25 for interference had Brock on the power play for the beginning of the second period.
Brock's power play turned into a two-man advantage ten seconds into the second period after James Merrett was called for slashing. Guelph was able to kill both penalties however and keep the Badgers from scoring. The Gryphons would get another penalty for having too many men on the ice at the five-minute mark, but stellar goaltending skills from Keith Hamilton kept the game scoreless.
The Gryphons would get a man advantage at 8:17 Dylan MacEachern (Mississauga, Ont.) from Brock was called for roughing. Guelph would have a couple of close calls from Nicklas Huard and Robert De Fulviis but were unable to score. Brock would get back-to-back power plays after a penalty on Philip Teri for slashing at 13:16 and then another Gryphon penalty on Daniel Broussard for cross checking at 15:20. It would be on the second power play that the Badgers would score the first goal of the game after a pass from Kaine Geldart (Kingston, Ont.) to Thomas Stajan (Mississauga, Ont.) who tipped it in from inside the crease, with Matt Abercrombie (Sarnia, Ont.) also on the assist.
The Badgers would score again with a minute left in the second period to make it 2-0 after a goal by Andrew Radjenovic (Hamilton, Ont.) with Geldart and Stajan on the assists. The Gryphons would start the third period on a power play.
Kenneth Peroff started the third period strong for the Gryphons, slapping one in from the blue line on the power play, with Merrett and Burns on the assists to make it 2-1 for Brock. It would be back and forth action for the rest of the period, Brock using their size to box out the Gryphons, but Guelph using their speed to set up shooting opportunities.
The Badgers would get another power play at 14:45 after De Fulviis was called for hitting to the head. The Badgers would score on the power play after a scrum at the net with Abercrombie pushing the puck past Hamilton, with Dan Tanel (Brampton, Ont.) and Johnson Andrews (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.) on the assists.
The Badgers out scored and outshot the Gryphons with the shots on goal totally 32-27 in favour of Brock.
Source: Guelph Sports Info
Friday, November 29
Lakehead 1 @ York 0
The York University Lions men's hockey team was defeated by a score of 1-0 by the visiting No. 7 nationally-ranked Lakehead Thunderwolves on Friday (Nov. 29) in the first of back-to-back meetings between the two squads at Canlan Ice Sports.
The contest was a stellar goaltenders duel throughout, as York netminder Andrew Perugini (King City, Ont.) and his counterpart from Lakehead, Jeff Bosch (Martensville, Sask.), combined to make 55 saves and allow just one goal in the game.
Perugini finished with 26 saves on 27 shots, while Bosch stopped all 29 shots he faced.
Kelin Ainsworth (Thunder Bay, Ont.) scored the lone goal of the game on a power play 8:33 into the final period to lead the Thunderwolves to victory. It was his fifth of the season.
Both teams had chances throughout the contest as they tried to get on the scoreboard. The Lions had the best scoring opportunity in the first period but the shot rang off the post and back out again.
Lakehead countered in the second period with what looked like a sure goal, but Perugini slid across the net and made a gorgeous paddle save to preserve the shutout.
The Lions pulled Perugini late in the third period in an effort to get the equalizer, and they had multiple good chances in the final 90 seconds of the game but could not get the puck in the back of the net.
The loss drops the Lions to 8-7-0 on the season, while the Thunderwolves improved to 10-3-0 and regained first place in the OUA West standings.
Source: York Sports Info
Windsor 5 @ Western 1
LONDON, Ont. -- A pair of two-goal nights from Drew Palmer and Kenny Bradford gave Windsor the edge Friday night as the Lancers controlled the play on their way to a 5-1 victory over the Western Mustangs Friday night at Thompson Arena.
"[Windsor's] a good team," said head coach Clarke Singer after the game. "You don't play a good game, you're not going to win in this league. It doesn't matter who you play. They were ready for us and we weren't ready for them."
Going into Friday night's game, the Mustangs had a chance to move into a tie with the Lancers for fourth place in the OUA West division, as they sat in fifth with 16 points. But two first period goals from the Lancers caused a shift in the momentum, a shift from which the Mustangs were unable to recover.
"I just think we didn't have much game tonight," Singer said. "Usually we have a good, hard-working game but we didn't have a whole lot tonight. We were pretty loose in all three zones and we just didn't do enough good things to win. You've got to pay the price and we didn't pay the price tonight at all."
Although the Lancers did finish the first period with a two-goal advantage, the score wasn't necessarily indicative of who controlled the play in the period. After giving up the first goal to Palmer 7:18 into the frame, the Mustangs appeared to take control for the last half only to surrender the second goal to Palmer with 15 seconds left.
The line of Matt Clarke, Steve Reese, and Kyle De Coste surged onto the ice in the second, keeping the puck in Windsor's zone for the first minute of the frame. Western's momentum continued for at least another minute with the Mustangs top line picking up where Clarke, Reese and De Coste left off.
That momentum looked like it might finally pay off when Windsor took a hooking penalty 3:58 into the period, giving the Mustangs their first man-advantage of the game. But, thanks to a shorthanded 3-on-1 and a lucky bounce off a stick, the Lancers were the ones able to capitalise with Kenny Bradford scoring his sixth of the year 1:14 into the infraction.
Despite the shorthanded setback, the Mustangs capitalised on Bradford's penalty, getting a goal from Matt Marantz five seconds before Windsor was set to return to full-strength. Unfortunately Bradford would kill any Mustangs momentum five minutes later, notching his second of the night to give the Lancers a 4-1 advantage and chasing Unice from the net.
With Greg Dodds standing in for Unice in the cage, the Mustangs came back out in the third looking to turn the game around but just couldn't seem to get an edge.
Singer acknowledged after the game that putting Dodds in was an attempt to energize his team and that they did not respond to the change in the way he had hoped.
"We thought maybe getting Greg in there would jump start us a little bit," Singer said. "You've got to try those things; I mean it's always still a game in this league with the fire power we have. We just couldn't generate anything."
He was also quick to add that despite giving up four goals on 16 shots, the blame for the loss was hardly on Unice's shoulders.
"Josh is a warrior for us and he's one of the best goalies in the country," said Singer. "It certainly wasn't his night tonight and I think he'd even probably admit that."
Regardless of whether the team responded to Dodds entering the game, when the Lancers did get chances he was there to shut the door, turning away all eight shots in the third period on top of his one save in the second. The rookie goaltender made a pair of nice glove saves in the final frame, snagging a shot from the high slot 57 seconds in, then doing the same seven minutes later.
With Dodds providing security in net, the Mustangs fired 11 shots on Van Buskirk but were unable to find the twine and initiate a comeback. After the Lancers took a penalty with 3:02 remaining, Singer pulled Dodds and Windsor subsequently took advantage, scoring an empty-netter with four seconds left to make it 5-1.
Source: Western Sports Info
UOIT 2 @ Ottawa 8
The Gee-Gees used a four goal first period to propel them to an 8-2 victory over the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks. The victory makes it nine in a row for the Gee-Gees and brings their record to 10-5-0. UOIT drop to 5-8-1. The Gee-Gees were able to chase UOIT’s hot goaltender Colin Dzijacky who had come into the game having saved 71 out of 72 shots in two wins versus the 7th ranked Lakehead Thunderwolves.
“Despite not playing our best collective team game, it’s our team’s individual talents that gave us the advantage in the game. We found a way to win and to control the game and getting the two points is what counts,” added head coach Réal Paiement.
Ottawa’s offense really came alive in this game, as the power play went 4 for 8 and 15 different players recorded at least a point in this contest. Three players had three points, Mathieu Leduc had one goal and two assists, Alexandre Touchette had three assists and Stephen Blunden recorded three goals for the hat-trick.“My success was thanks to my line mates. I was fortunate to be at the right place at the right time when pucks where thrown at the net,” said fourth-year player Blunden.
The Gee-Gees started the first a little slow, but eventually came into their own, as they opened the scoring at the 6:24 mark when Jean-Sébastien Fournier found the top corner through traffic beating UOIT’s Dzijacky. That goal proved to be a source of ignition for the Gee-Gees, as they would go on to add three more goals in the period. The second goal was scored by Leduc on the power play with assists going to Guillaume Donovan and Touchette. The third Gee-Gees’ goal was scored by Nicolas Larocque-Marcoux at the 9:14 mark and the fourth was scored at the 11:50 mark, when Taylor Collins scored from Pat Burns and Andrew Creppin. The fourth goal was the final nail in the coffin for Dzijacky as he was chased from the game in favor of Jacob Rattie.
The Ridgebacks really stepped up their play in the second period as showing lots of grit and determination as they broke the shutout bid at the 6:14 mark when Matt Salituro out waited Warren Shymko and slid it past the netminder making it a 4-1 game. Ottawa would rebound quickly adding a couple of goals in the period from Mathieu Guertin and Blunden.
Blunden would score twice more within the first ten minutes of the third period making it an 8-1 game for the Gee-Gees. Despite the score UOIT did not stop fighting and they were able to muster one last goal at the 17:15 mark of the third period when James Woodcroft scored to make the final score 8-2 in favour of the Gee-Gees.
Source: Ottawa Sports Info
Laurentian 2 @ Queen’s 3
KINGSTON, Ont. (November 29, 2013) - The No. 8 Queen's Gaels (9-0-5) managed to battle back to beat the visiting Laurentian Voyageurs (4-10-0) 3-2 at the Memorial Centre in Kingston on Friday night.
Jordan Soquila (Maple Ridge, B.C.) played hero for Queen's scoring with under a minute remaining as the Gaels came back from a 2-0 deficit to get the 3-2 victory. Chris Clarke (Fall River, N.S.) stopped 22 of 24 shots to get the win and Kelly Jackson (Toronto) had a two point night. The Voyageurs were led by their netminder Alain Valiquette who finished the game with 51 saves.
After Laurentian scored the lone goal of the first period, they added another early in the second to put the No. 8 Gaels on their heals trailing by two goals. Mid-way through the second Jackson scored his eighth goal of the season to cut the Voyageur lead in half.
In the third the Gaels were relentless with their attack, finishing with 20 shots the Laurentian's five in the frame. Jordan Coccimiglio (Burlington, Ont.) evened the score in the third at 11:33 with his second goal of the season. From there the Gaels kept peppering Valiquette with shots and finally broke through late in the period.
With less than a minute remaining, Soquila managed to beat Valiquette to put Queen's ahead for good to complete the comeback. With the win Queen's improves to 9-0-5 on the season and have yet to lose in regulation.
Source: Queen’s Sports Info
RMC 2 @ Waterloo 6
The Waterloo Warriors got back in the win column to snap a 3 game losing streak scoring 3 goals in 2:01 of the third period to skate past the Royal Military College 6-2 on Friday night at the CIF arena.
Brett Mackie (Whitby) scored two goals and Joe Underwood (Canton) contributed three assists as the Warriors snapped a three-game losing streak with a decisive 6-2 victory over the RMC Paladins at the Columbia Icefield Arena on Friday night.
The win pushes the Warriors to within a game of the .500 mark, at 6-7-1. Meanwhile, the long season for the Paladins got longer – their record fell to 0-14-1 as they search for their first victory. Mike Morrison (Hamilton) made 16 saves in the win for Waterloo, while RMC keeper Paul Dorsey, under siege all evening, turned aside 45 shots in the loss.
The Warriors controlled play from the drop of the puck in the first period, outshooting the Paladins 18-8 in the opening frame – although, with some fortune and some solid play from Dorsey, the game remained scoreless through nearly 19 minutes of play. But with the period winding down, Mackie jumped on a rebound and chipped it over the outstretched left leg of a sprawling Dorsey to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead after the first.
The Warriors rode that momentum to a pair of quick goals to open up the second, as Riley Sonnenburg (Cambridge) and Justin Larson (Buckhorn) each struck with wristers off the rush before the period was four minutes old. Chris Chappell (Pickering) went top shelf on the man advantage to extend the Waterloo lead to four before Paladins forward Colin Cook finally got the visitors on the board with a backhand move in tight to make the score 4-1 through 40 minutes.
The third period lacked much of the action the second featured, and play often seemed stuck in the neutral zone. Lynes finally broke through with a gorgeous end-to-end individual effort on the power play late in the frame, followed by Mackie's own highlight-reel backhander to put the Warriors up five. Paladins rookie Mitchell Hewson rounded out the scoring at the 19-minute mark, making the final 6-2.
Source: Waterloo Sports Info
Carleton 7 @ Laurier 0
WATERLOO, Ont. (November 29, 2013) The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's hockey team hosted the Carleton Ravens as they looked to rebound from a loss to Ottawa which ended their longest win streak of the season. Kicking off a five game home stand that extends into January, the Hawks fell to the Ravens 7-0.
Laurier got off to a slow start early in the contest, finding themselves in penalty trouble three times in the first period. Goaltender Duncan Long of Brantford, Ont., bailed the Hawks out with 26 saves in the first frame. Long was exceptional, making some big saves in the period to shut down the Ravens and lead the Hawks into the second period 0-0.
Penalties continued to be an issue for the Golden Hawks in the middle frame as the Ravens finally managed to solve Long on a power play goal from Michael McNamee of Perth, Ont. McNamee earned his second of the game off another power play marker to put the Ravens up by two mid-way through the second period.
The Hawks were out-shot 39-13 after two and found themselves in a deep 3-0 hole to open the third.
The Ravens showed no signs of slowing down, scoring four unanswered goals in the third to ground the Hawks in a 7-0 final.
Long turned away 44 of 51 shots in a losing effort for Laurier. Francis Dupuis of Ottawa, earned the shutout for the Ravens with 22 saves on the night.
Source: Laurier Sports Info
UQTR 5 @ Ryerson 1
TORONTO - To say it wasn’t the start that the Ryerson Rams wanted on Friday night, is an understatement.
The number six nationally ranked Université de Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) Patriotes scored four first period goals, defeating the Ryerson Rams, 5-1.
“If I look back on it, we had a sluggish week in practice. I thought we practiced well yesterday but I didn’t think we practiced strong all week,” said head coach Graham Wise.
“You can make excuses with exams coming and papers due and stuff like that. We know they’re a good team and they’re quick and they’re fast and we just weren’t up to the speed in the first period.”
It didn’t look good from the start as Marc-Olivier Mimar scored his sixth goal of the season just 3:42 into the first period.
After a Dean Willmott (Toronto) five-minute major for hitting to the head and a game misconduct penalty, the Rams were forced to go shorthanded. According to Wise, using his top players to kill the long penalty took a toll on his players.
UQTR failed to score on the man advantage, as they failed to in all six powerplay opportunities on the evening. Shortly after the Willmott penalty expired, the Patriotes struck again.
Olivier Hotte scored his first of the season to give the Patriotes a 2-0 advantage.
After two more goals in just over 20 seconds, Courchaine’s (Kanata, Ont.) night was done, overall making six saves and suffering the loss. Troy Passingham (Mississauga, Ont.) came in the rest of the way, replacing Courchaine for the second game in a row. He was solid, making 26 saves with his only mistake coming late in the second period on a Pierre-Olivier Morin shorthanded breakaway goal.
“I liked how Passer came in and played well for us,” said Wise. “You’ve got to give full marks to him for coming in and playing a solid game the rest of the way.”
Jason Kelly (Toronto) was Ryerson’s lone goal scorer, after a nice play late in the third period. The goal was Kelly’s first of the season with Dustin Alcock (Hamilton, Ont.) picking up the assist.
Marc-Antoine Gelinas was the winning goaltender. He made 35 saves for his seventh win on the season.
Source: Ryerson Sports Info
Concordia 3 @ Toronto 2 (OT)
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's hockey team dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to the Concordia Stingers on Friday, November 29 at Varsity Arena.
With the loss, the Blues drop to 9-4-2 and sit in third place in the OUA West, while the Stingers improve to 4-7-3 and are seventh in the East.
Down 2-0 early in the second period, second-year forward Tyler von Engelbrechten got the Blues on the board, capping off a tic-tac-toe passing play with Dylan Heide and Lane Werbowski on the powerplay. Concordia led 2-1 after 40 minutes of action.
Marcus Yolevski evened the score seven minutes into the third period with a goal assisted by Russell Turner and Cameron Bernier. Blues netminder Garrett Sheehan stood on his head in the final seconds of regulation to force the overtime period.
Werbowski had the Blues best chance in the extra minutes, ringing a point shot off the post, but it was Concordia who would find the back of the net, as George Lovatsis found the mesh with just 15 seconds to go in the frame.
Source: Toronto Sports Info
Saturday, November 30
Concordia 3 @ Ryerson 8
TORONTO - Jamie Wise’s five point night was the difference on Saturday afternoon, leading the Ryerson Rams over the Concordia Stingers, 8-3.
Wise (Stoufville, Ont.) had a hat-trick and added two assists a night after being held pointless and now has 27 points at the mid-way point of the season.
His linemate, Dominic Alberga (Maple, Ont.) had a great night himself. Alberga had two goals and an assist and now both him and Wise are a top the CIS scoring race with 27 points each.
Mitch Gallant (Charlottetown, PEI) got the scoring started for the Rams just under three minutes into the game. After a Concordia goal a minute later, Ryerson took control. Wise scored twice before the end of the period and the Rams had a 3-1 advantage going into the intermission.
The two teams would exchange goals back and forth to start the second, including Gallant’s second of the night but by the end of the second, it was 5-3 Ryerson.
Ryerson dominated the third period, getting three goals past Concordia starter Antonio Mastropietro. Lucas Froese (Grunthal, Man.), Wise and Alberga all scored and helped Ryerson secure their 10th win of the season.
Mastropietro made 42 saves on the night but allowed all eight goals in the loss.
Troy Passingham (Mississauga, Ont.) got his first start since Oct. 16 against Toronto and made the most of his opportunity. The third-year goaltender made 30 saves to record his fourth win of the season.
Ryerson went 1-4 on the powerplay while Concordia was held scoreless in all four of their chances.
Source: Ryerson Sports Info
Carleton 2 @ Waterloo 6
If the Waterloo Warriors wanted to set themselves up for an extended run of success once the calendar changes to 2014, they certainly ended 2013 on the right foot.
Colin Behenna (Waterloo), Andy Smith (Rosetown) and Chris Chappell (Pickering) each had three points and Justin Leclerc (Saskatoon) made 40 saves for the black and gold as they defeated the Carleton Ravens 6-2 in the first half finale on Saturday night at the Columbia Icefield Arena in Waterloo.
The win moves the Warriors to 7-7-1 heading into the exam and holiday break, while the defeat drops Carleton to 9-5-1. Ryan Dube made 24 saves in the Ravens net in the loss, while Leclerc's 40 stops were a season high for him.
The Warriors struck first in a fast-paced opening few moments, as Matt Amadio (Sault Ste. Marie) jumped on a loose puck off a scrambled draw and slammed it above a sprawling Dube for a 1-0 Warriors lead. Both teams had chances to score as the period wore on, but the first would end with just a single entry on the scoresheet.
The Warriors continued to apply the pressure in the second, and it paid off just over 7 minutes in when Behenna took a feed from Chappell and scored a highlight-reel goal over the glove on the short side of Dube to make it 2-0 Waterloo. Carleton responded just over a minute later when Joey West beat Leclerc from a terrible angle along the goal line, but the Warriors restored the two-goal advantage on a power play when Brett Mackie (Whitby) broke in on the wing and pinballed a shot in off of the post and off of Dube.
The 3-1 lead was short-lived though, as the Ravens responded even quicker this time – only 49 seconds after the Mackie marker, Joe Pleckaitis dragged a puck through the slot and fired a backhander against the grain to draw Carleton to within one goal again. Soon after, the Ravens would go to the power play looking for the equalizer – but the reigning CIS scoring champion shifted the game's momentum for good.
While on penalty kill duty, Justin Larson (Buckhorn) forced a turnover at the Waterloo blue line and created a clear breakaway for himself from the other side of center ice. Larson faked a shot and went to a forehand move, beating Dube on the blocker side for the gorgeous shirt-handed marker and a 4-2 Warriors lead after two periods of play.
The Ravens dominated on the shot clock in the third, but the only two goals were scored by Chappell. First, he followed up his own blocked shot in the slot to beat Dube five-hole to make it 5-2. Then, Chappell converted on a Larson feed for a power play marker to round out the scoring.
Source: Waterloo Sports Info
Lakehead 5 @ York 3
Mike Hammond's three-point performance proved overpowering Saturday (Nov. 30) as the York University Lions men's hockey team dropped a tough 5-3 battle to the No. 7 nationally-ranked Lakehead Thunderwolves on home ice at the Canlan Ice Sports.
Hammond (Victoria) finished with two goals and an assist on the night.
The game was the second of a two-game series this weekend against the visiting Thunderwolves, which saw York drop both contests. The loss moves the Lions to 8-8-0 on the season as they head into the December break tied for fifth place in the OUA West standings.
The first period would be riddled with Lions penalties as the team struggled with sloppy play early, accumulating eight minutes in the box. The missteps would culminate into a four-minute major for high sticking that left York handcuffed for an extended penalty kill.
The Lions would kill the majority of the advantage, but Lakehead ultimately converted with just 15 seconds left, as Hammond rifled a Mitch Fillman (Oakville, Ont.) rebound past York goaltender Andrew Perugini (King City, Ont.) for his first goal of the game, giving Lakehead the lead.
The Thunderwolves would remain in front 1-0 heading into the first intermission.
York's penalty struggles continued into the start of the second and Hammond would again convert on the power play for his eighth score of the year, putting the Thunderwolves up by two.
But the Lions finally started to turn the tied when Tyler Mort (Keswick, Ont.) recovered the puck and led Evan Gravenor (Winnipeg) behind the Lakehead defenders for a breakaway. Gravenor would pull out a beautiful deke on Lakehead netminder Justin McDonald (Turtleford, Sask.), finishing backhand for the score.
Moments later off of the ensuing faceoff, York captain Jesse Messier (Keswick, Ont.) would dish Troy Barss (Barrie, Ont.) across the slot for a one-timer equalizer goal that evened the score at two goals apiece.
Lakehead was stunned with the turnaround, and played catch up for the remainder of the frame. The Lions weren't finished either, as they added another goal off the stick of Jordan Forfar (Sutton, Ont.) to take a 3-2 lead into the second intermission.
Lakehead answered back to open the final period however, scoring within the first two minutes of the frame to restore a tie. Physical play resumed throughout with both teams searching for the go-ahead goal, and the Thunderwolves found it first as Hammond again got onto the score sheet by feeding Keith Grondin (Winnipeg) for the deciding goal.
York would be unable to answer, and Lakehead added an empty net goal late in the period to seal the win, their division-leading 11th of the season.
Source: York Sports Info
Laurentian 1 @ McGill 4
MONTREAL -- Rookie defenceman Samuel Carrier of Varennes, Que., tallied twice and added a pair of helpers as No.6-ranked McGill skated to a 4-1 victory over the Laurentian University Voyageurs in men's hockey at McConnell Arena, Saturday.
The Redmen were not very hospitable to their visitors from Sudbury, Ont., outshooting them 44-26, including a 19-8 margin in the first period. McGill led 2-0 after one frame and 3-1 after two.
Carrier, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound freshman, set up Marc-Olivier Vachon of Thetford Mines, Que., on the power-play at 9:17 to give the Redmen a 1-0 lead. Less than seven minutes later, the 21-year-old elementary education major scored what proved to be the game-winner. Carrier struck again with his fourth of the season, on the power-play at 2:20 of the middle stanza, then sprung team captain Benoit Levesque loose on a breakaway for a shorthanded marker at 1:34 of the final period.
Marc-Alain Begin of Hearst, Ont., scored the lone Laurentian goal, on the power-play midway through the second period.
Rookie goaltender Jacob Gervais-Chouinard of Sherbrooke, Que., made 25 saves for the victory, improving his record to 7-2. He lowered his CIS-leading goals-against average to 1.53. A 20-year-old education freshman who had an American Hockey League tryout with Hamilton last year, Gervais-Chouinard also leads the nation with a .943 save percentage.
Alain Valiquette of Sudbury registered 40 saves in a losing cause for the Voyageurs.
McGill was 2-for-7 on the power-play, while Laurentian was 1-for-5 and coughed up one shorthand goal. It was the final game of the semester for the Voyageurs (4-11-0), who will host Western (8-5-0) and Guelph (7-6-2), Jan. 3-4.
The Redmen improved to 10-4-2 lifetime versus Laurentian, which returned to hockey this year since folding up operations in 1999.
McGill, which improved to 11-3-1 and sits second in the OUA East division, will now have a month off for the December exam break. They sit two points back of an upstart squad from Queen's (10-0-5). The Redmen and Gaels are slated for a much-awaited showdown with back-to-back games in mid-January. They will meet for the first time on Jan. 11 in Kingston, with the rematch slated back in Montreal on Jan. 17 in the annual Management Carnival Game.
Over the next month, the Redmen are scheduled to have two regular practices and two optionals, per week before resuming play at Carleton (9-5-1) on Jan. 3.
Source: McGill Sports Info
Windsor 3 @ Brock 2 (SO)
ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - The Brock University men's hockey team (6-6-3 OUA West) ended the first half of the season with a 3-2 loss in shootout to the Windsor Lancers (11-4 OUA West) at the Seymour-Hannah Centre Saturday night.
After a scoreless first period, Brock would open the second period with a goal from Dylan MacEachern (Mississauga, Ont.) at 1:49, his fourth of the season. Daniel Tanel (Brampton, Ont.) and Johnson Andrews (NOTL, Ont) added the assists.
Less than a minute later, Windsor's Julian Luciani and Drew Palmer setup Curtis Longland who slid it past Brock starter Dalton McGrath (Toronto, Ont.) to tie the game 1-1.
Midway through the second period, Brock regained the one goal lead as Tanel and Kaine Geldart (Kingston, Ont.) setup Thomas Stajan (Mississauga, Ont.) who beat Windsor starter Taylor Speed for his seventh goal of the campaign.
With 8:12 remaining in regulation, the Lancers would tie the the game 2-2 on a goal from Eric Noel. Josh Graves and MacAulay MacDonnell added the assists.
After nothing was resolved in overtime, it went to a shootout, where Windsor won 2-1 with goals from Mike Christou and Spencer Pommells. Matt Abercrombie (Sarnia, Ont.) scored the lone shootout goal for the Badgers.
Speed registered 24 saves for his first victory of the season while McGrath turned aside 25 of 27 shots he faced in the loss.
Source: Brock Sports Info
Nipissing 5 @ UOIT 4 (SO)
OSHAWA, Ont. - The UOIT men’s hockey team fell 5-4 to the Nipissing Lakers in a shootout at the Campus Ice Centre Saturday night.
Despite the loss, UOIT freshman Mitch Bennett (Fenelon Falls, Ont.) set a program high for goals in a game as he scored all four on the night. This comes on the heels of a hat-trick earlier in the season against Laurentian and now places Bennett as the Ridgebacks leader in both goals (8) and points (12). In the history of the UOIT men's hockey program, six players have recorded hat-tricks.
Both teams exchanged goals throughout the game as the Ridgebacks and Lakers went shot for shot. This included a record setting performance from the Ridgebacks as they set a new single game record with 60 total shots and 27 in the second period.
Nipissing opened the scoring before Bennett pocketed his first goal of the game on a rebound effort midway through the first. This was quickly followed by a power play goal from Bennett two minutes later which gave the Ridgebacks a first period lead. However, Nipissing would score with less than four minutes remaining in the period to even it up.
This trend continued for two more periods as Bennett recorded his third and fourth goals but both were quickly responded to by the Lakers each time.
Each team posted three shots in the overtime period but neither were able to finish the game forcing a shootout. Ridgebacks goaltender Colin Dzijacky (Thunder Bay, Ont.) came up with a save on the first shooter but was unable to stop the next two while neither UOIT shooters were able to find the back of the net.
Kirk Rafuse made several keys stops down the stretch including the two UOIT shootout attempts to earn his fourth win of the year. The Nipissing netminder was busy all night as he made a career high 56 saves in the win.
Connor O’Donnell scored two goals for Nipissing including the game-tying goal with just over seven minutes left in the third period. Grant Toulmin and Kevin Rebelo scored singles for the Lakers.
Matt Salituro (Toronto, Ont.) would have a multi-point night with two assists for UOIT.
Dzijacky finished the game with 32 saves on 36 shots and continues to face a heavy workload as he ranks seventh among all OUA goaltenders in total minutes played.
With the single point, UOIT (5-8-2) pulls in front of Concordia (4-8-3) for sixth place in the OUA eastern conference standings. Nipissing (4-11-0) jumps into a tie with Laurentian (4-11-0) for the last playoff spot.
Source: UOIT Sports Info
Ottawa 3 @ Queen’s 4 (SO)
KINGSTON, Ont. (November 30, 2013) - In the ninth round of the shootout Yannick Laflamme (Thetford Mines, Que.) scored to break a 1-1 deadlock and give the Gaels their 10th win of the season. Queen's finished with a 4-3 shootout victory over Ottawa and improve to 10-0-5 on the season.
After a scoreless first period the two teams combined for four goals in the second period. The Gee-Gees took the early lead with goals coming from Alexandre Touchette and Mathieu Guertin. Just 45 seconds after Ottawa took the two goal lead, Chris Van Laren (Kingston, Ont.) scored his third goal of the season to cut into the lead. Shortly after, Harrison Hendrix (Calgary) added his third goal of the year to even the score at 2-2 after 40 minutes.
In the third the two teams traded goals with Tyler Moore (Winnipeg) and Paul Landry scoring for Queen's and Ottawa respectively.
Overtime solved nothing and the Gaels and Gee-Gees headed to a shootout. When Touchette scored in the opening round for Ottawa, the Gaels Joey Derochie (Sudbury, Ont.) responded to even the score. After seven more shooter attempts that went unsuccessful on each side, Laflamme broke the deadlock and gave Queen's the win.
The Gaels have yet to lose in regulation and sit in first place in the OUA East heading into the break before play picks back up in 2014.
Kevin Bailie (Belleville, Ont.) stopped 41 shots for the win for Queen's while Hendrix and Moore each had two point nights with a goal and an assist a piece.
Source: Queen’s Sports Info
RMC 6 @ Laurier 7 (OT)
WATERLOO, Ont. (November 30, 2013) - The Wilfrid Laurier men's hockey team wrapped up a two game weekend against the RMC Paladins on Saturday night, as they looked to redeem their efforts in a tough loss to the Carleton Ravens. In a performance fuelled by offensive production, the Hawks edged the Paladins in a 7-6 overtime thriller.
The Hawks opened the scoring in the contest with a power play goal from Matt Brown of Calgary, late in the first period. The goal sent a wave of stuffed animals to the ice as Laurier was hosting their annual Teddy Bear Toss game in association with the Alpha Omega Sorority.
RMC were quick to answer as Scott Domenico of Nepean, Ont., found the back of the net to knot the game at one goal apiece going into the second frame.
Both teams exchanged chances in the second period, with 12 shots and 3 goals respectively.
Domenico earned his second goal of the contest mid-way through the period, but was quickly answered by Greg Lamoureux of Calgary.
Opening the third period tied at four, Lamoureax netted his second goal of the contest to take the lead early in the frame. Domenico continued to find offensive success, scoring a power play marker to complete the hat-trick.
Alex Pym of Winnipeg, scored to give the Paladins the lead in the third but the Hawks would battle back to tie the game with just over a minute left in regulation and the goalie on the bench. Zach Woolford's (Rockwood, Ont.) fourth of the season sent Laurier's bench into celebration as he tied the game at six and forced overtime.
Matt Provost of Oakville, Ont., scored on the power play early in extra time to edge the Hawks past the Paladins 7-6.
Vinny Merante of Niagara Falls, N.Y., got the start for the Hawks before being relieved by veteran goaltender Duncan Long of Brantford, Ont. Long would get credit for the win as he turned away 11 of the 14 shots he faced.
Evan Deviller of Sackville, N.S., backed the Paladins, turning aside 34 shots in a losing effort.
Source: Laurier Sports Info
UQTR 2 @ Toronto 1
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues dropped a narrow 2-1 decision to the No. 6 nationally ranked UQTR Patriotes on Saturday, November 30 at Varsity Arena.
The loss drops the Blues record to 9-5-2 as they fall out of a three-way tie for first in the OUA's West division and into a tie for third with the Ryerson Rams.
Third-year forward Tyler Liukkonen (Sault Ste Marie, Ont.) had the Blues lone goal of the contest, with team captain and Blake Boddy (Scarborough), and Winnipeg native Connor Cleverly registering the assists. Netminder Brett Willows (Rivers, Man.) was solid despite the loss, making 24 saves on the evening and keeping his team in the game.
The Blues opened the scoring midway through the first period when Boddy sent an aerial pass over the heads of two Patriotes defenders and right on the tape of a streaking Liukkonen. Liukkonen broke in alone on goal, and made a nifty forehand-to-backhand move before depositing the puck behind UQTR goaltender Guillaume Nadeau.
The Blues would hang onto a one goal lead through the end of the first, but just one minute into the second period Tommy Tremblay spun around and fired a shot from a bad angle that found a way through Willows to knot the score at one apiece.
The Blues special teams struggled all night long, as they failed to capitalize on five powerplay opportunities. Paul Van de Velde (Mariapolis, Man.) had one of Toronto's better chances in the third, but rang his shot off the near post.
Despite a great effort by Willows in turning away several glorious Patriotes chances, U of T's powerplay would eventually be their undoing late in the game.
With the score still tied with just minutes remaining, the Blues went to the man advantage after Olivier D'Aoust was called for tripping. Tyler von Engelbrechten had two excellent chances to give the Blues the lead, but after Nadeau denied him, Tremblay grabbed the puck and raced up the ice shorthanded. The diminutive forward cut to the middle and fired a rocket that sailed just over Willows pad and gave UQTR the 2-1 lead with just over a minute left in regulation.
The Blues called Willows to the bench for the extra attacker, but UQTR would ultimately hang on for the 2-1 victory.
Tommy Tremblay had two goals, while Guillaume Nadeau made 22 saves as the Patriotes improved their season record to 11-4-0.
Source: Toronto Sports Info
Sunday, December 1
Western 3 @ Nipissing 2
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There’s no question, the Nipissing Lakers men’s hockey team can skate with anyone, and they can score with anyone – it’s the smaller things that have been hurting them this season.
Coming off a thrilling 5-4 shootout win Saturday night over UOIT, the Lakers found themselves up against one of the league’s perennial contender’s and unfortunately a 38 save performance by Kirk Rafuse wasn’t enough, as the Western Mustangs edged the Lakers 3-2.
Rafuse made an incredible 56 saves Saturday night as well as two in the shootout and added to his solid weekend Sunday.
In total, Rafuse made 94 saves on 101 shots in two games – not the defensive effort Lakers head coach Mike McParalnd and his staff would like to see, but they have to be pleased with Rafuse’s effort.
Saturday, Conor O’Donnell led the attack with two goals while Grant Toulmin and Kevin Rebelo added the other goals. O’Donnell also scored in the shootout and Dorian Peca gave the Lakers the win.
Sunday, O’Donnell found the back of the net again and added an assist, while Matt Paton scored the Lakers’ first goal of the game.
Unfortunately, two goals in the second period for the Mustangs proved to be the difference as they skated to the victory.
Source: Nipissing Sports Info
Concordia 3 @ McGill 9
MONTREAL – Rookie Alexandre Comtois of Sherbrooke, Que., scored twice and added a helper as No.5-ranked McGill rallied from a three-goal deficit to wallop Concordia 9-3 at McConnell Arena, Tuesday morning
The early morning affair was played before a near-capacity crowd of 912, as part the team's third annual "Score with School" promotion and featured a noisy throng of school children from the English Montreal School Board.
It marked the second time this season that McGill had exploded for nine consecutive goals, a feat that they previously accomplished in a 9-1 win at Royal Military College on Nov. 1.
The Redmen had a lopsided 53-29 edge in shots, including a 20-9 margin in the final period when they exploded for seven goals. Despite the one-sided affair, McGill trailed 3-1 after the opening period and were down 3-2 after two. The Redmen went 4-for-9 on the power-play and struck for a shorthanded marker as they killed off all four Concordia man-advantage situations.
Eight different Redmen found the net, four of them defencemen.
Comtois, a 5-foot-7, 180-pound electrical engineering freshman who had entered the game with only two goals to his credit, set up Ryan McKiernan on McGill's first goal in the opening period, then scored shorthanded to reduce the deficit to 3-2 at 5:08 of the middle frame. After Mathieu Pompei knotted the score at 3-3 at 1:11 of the third period, Comtois tallied the game-winner just 66 seconds later.
"We had a bit of a blunder to start the game but didn't panic," said McGill head coach Kelly Nobes. "The guys stuck with the plan, chipped away and played a full 60 minutes. The shorthanded goal by Comtois in the second period gave us a lot of momentum and was the turning point. He had a breakthrough game and brought a lot of energy today. He's been a very versatile player for us and was very effective on the penalty-kill."
Justin Ducharme and Guillaume Langelier-Parent, both forwards, each scored. Rearguards to find the mark included McKiernan (1-2-3), Samuel Carrier (1-1-2), Hugo Laporte (1-1-2) and Jean-Philippe Mathieu.
Replying for the Stingers was Olivier Hinse, Ben Dubois and Jessyco Bernard.
Each team used both of their goaltenders. Veteran Andrew Flemming got the start between the pipes for McGill but was yanked at 2:51 of the first period after allowing two goals on four shots. Freshman Jacob Gervais-Chouinard took over and kicked aside 24 of 25 shots to collect the win, improving to 6-2 on the season.
Stingers starter Antonio Mastropietro registered 41 saves but was beaten eight times and took the loss. He was replaced for the final four minutes and 21 seconds by Paul Bourbeau, who was credited with three saves on four shots.
Source: McGill Sports Info
Thursday, November 28
Brock 4 @ Guelph 1
GUELPH, Ont. (November 28, 2013) – The Guelph Gryphon men's hockey team were defeated by the Brock Badgers on Thursday night with a final score of 4-1 at the Gryphon Centre, dropping the Gryphons to 7-6-2 and moving the Badgers to 6-7-2.
The Badgers and Gryphons started the game with lots of back and forth action between the evenly matched teams. The Gryphons were finding it hard to outskate the Brock defensemen but still managed to outshoot the Badgers 14-10 in the first period. The Gryphons set up a scoring opportunity with a backhanded pass to Nicholas Trecapelli who sent the puck across to Teal Burns who was set up in front of the net, but they were unable to beat the Badger goalie, Dalton McGrath (Toronto, Ont.). The first period ended scoreless, but a penalty on Trecapelli at 19:25 for interference had Brock on the power play for the beginning of the second period.
Brock's power play turned into a two-man advantage ten seconds into the second period after James Merrett was called for slashing. Guelph was able to kill both penalties however and keep the Badgers from scoring. The Gryphons would get another penalty for having too many men on the ice at the five-minute mark, but stellar goaltending skills from Keith Hamilton kept the game scoreless.
The Gryphons would get a man advantage at 8:17 Dylan MacEachern (Mississauga, Ont.) from Brock was called for roughing. Guelph would have a couple of close calls from Nicklas Huard and Robert De Fulviis but were unable to score. Brock would get back-to-back power plays after a penalty on Philip Teri for slashing at 13:16 and then another Gryphon penalty on Daniel Broussard for cross checking at 15:20. It would be on the second power play that the Badgers would score the first goal of the game after a pass from Kaine Geldart (Kingston, Ont.) to Thomas Stajan (Mississauga, Ont.) who tipped it in from inside the crease, with Matt Abercrombie (Sarnia, Ont.) also on the assist.
The Badgers would score again with a minute left in the second period to make it 2-0 after a goal by Andrew Radjenovic (Hamilton, Ont.) with Geldart and Stajan on the assists. The Gryphons would start the third period on a power play.
Kenneth Peroff started the third period strong for the Gryphons, slapping one in from the blue line on the power play, with Merrett and Burns on the assists to make it 2-1 for Brock. It would be back and forth action for the rest of the period, Brock using their size to box out the Gryphons, but Guelph using their speed to set up shooting opportunities.
The Badgers would get another power play at 14:45 after De Fulviis was called for hitting to the head. The Badgers would score on the power play after a scrum at the net with Abercrombie pushing the puck past Hamilton, with Dan Tanel (Brampton, Ont.) and Johnson Andrews (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.) on the assists.
The Badgers out scored and outshot the Gryphons with the shots on goal totally 32-27 in favour of Brock.
Source: Guelph Sports Info
Friday, November 29
Lakehead 1 @ York 0
The York University Lions men's hockey team was defeated by a score of 1-0 by the visiting No. 7 nationally-ranked Lakehead Thunderwolves on Friday (Nov. 29) in the first of back-to-back meetings between the two squads at Canlan Ice Sports.
The contest was a stellar goaltenders duel throughout, as York netminder Andrew Perugini (King City, Ont.) and his counterpart from Lakehead, Jeff Bosch (Martensville, Sask.), combined to make 55 saves and allow just one goal in the game.
Perugini finished with 26 saves on 27 shots, while Bosch stopped all 29 shots he faced.
Kelin Ainsworth (Thunder Bay, Ont.) scored the lone goal of the game on a power play 8:33 into the final period to lead the Thunderwolves to victory. It was his fifth of the season.
Both teams had chances throughout the contest as they tried to get on the scoreboard. The Lions had the best scoring opportunity in the first period but the shot rang off the post and back out again.
Lakehead countered in the second period with what looked like a sure goal, but Perugini slid across the net and made a gorgeous paddle save to preserve the shutout.
The Lions pulled Perugini late in the third period in an effort to get the equalizer, and they had multiple good chances in the final 90 seconds of the game but could not get the puck in the back of the net.
The loss drops the Lions to 8-7-0 on the season, while the Thunderwolves improved to 10-3-0 and regained first place in the OUA West standings.
Source: York Sports Info
Windsor 5 @ Western 1
LONDON, Ont. -- A pair of two-goal nights from Drew Palmer and Kenny Bradford gave Windsor the edge Friday night as the Lancers controlled the play on their way to a 5-1 victory over the Western Mustangs Friday night at Thompson Arena.
"[Windsor's] a good team," said head coach Clarke Singer after the game. "You don't play a good game, you're not going to win in this league. It doesn't matter who you play. They were ready for us and we weren't ready for them."
Going into Friday night's game, the Mustangs had a chance to move into a tie with the Lancers for fourth place in the OUA West division, as they sat in fifth with 16 points. But two first period goals from the Lancers caused a shift in the momentum, a shift from which the Mustangs were unable to recover.
"I just think we didn't have much game tonight," Singer said. "Usually we have a good, hard-working game but we didn't have a whole lot tonight. We were pretty loose in all three zones and we just didn't do enough good things to win. You've got to pay the price and we didn't pay the price tonight at all."
Although the Lancers did finish the first period with a two-goal advantage, the score wasn't necessarily indicative of who controlled the play in the period. After giving up the first goal to Palmer 7:18 into the frame, the Mustangs appeared to take control for the last half only to surrender the second goal to Palmer with 15 seconds left.
The line of Matt Clarke, Steve Reese, and Kyle De Coste surged onto the ice in the second, keeping the puck in Windsor's zone for the first minute of the frame. Western's momentum continued for at least another minute with the Mustangs top line picking up where Clarke, Reese and De Coste left off.
That momentum looked like it might finally pay off when Windsor took a hooking penalty 3:58 into the period, giving the Mustangs their first man-advantage of the game. But, thanks to a shorthanded 3-on-1 and a lucky bounce off a stick, the Lancers were the ones able to capitalise with Kenny Bradford scoring his sixth of the year 1:14 into the infraction.
Despite the shorthanded setback, the Mustangs capitalised on Bradford's penalty, getting a goal from Matt Marantz five seconds before Windsor was set to return to full-strength. Unfortunately Bradford would kill any Mustangs momentum five minutes later, notching his second of the night to give the Lancers a 4-1 advantage and chasing Unice from the net.
With Greg Dodds standing in for Unice in the cage, the Mustangs came back out in the third looking to turn the game around but just couldn't seem to get an edge.
Singer acknowledged after the game that putting Dodds in was an attempt to energize his team and that they did not respond to the change in the way he had hoped.
"We thought maybe getting Greg in there would jump start us a little bit," Singer said. "You've got to try those things; I mean it's always still a game in this league with the fire power we have. We just couldn't generate anything."
He was also quick to add that despite giving up four goals on 16 shots, the blame for the loss was hardly on Unice's shoulders.
"Josh is a warrior for us and he's one of the best goalies in the country," said Singer. "It certainly wasn't his night tonight and I think he'd even probably admit that."
Regardless of whether the team responded to Dodds entering the game, when the Lancers did get chances he was there to shut the door, turning away all eight shots in the third period on top of his one save in the second. The rookie goaltender made a pair of nice glove saves in the final frame, snagging a shot from the high slot 57 seconds in, then doing the same seven minutes later.
With Dodds providing security in net, the Mustangs fired 11 shots on Van Buskirk but were unable to find the twine and initiate a comeback. After the Lancers took a penalty with 3:02 remaining, Singer pulled Dodds and Windsor subsequently took advantage, scoring an empty-netter with four seconds left to make it 5-1.
Source: Western Sports Info
UOIT 2 @ Ottawa 8
The Gee-Gees used a four goal first period to propel them to an 8-2 victory over the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks. The victory makes it nine in a row for the Gee-Gees and brings their record to 10-5-0. UOIT drop to 5-8-1. The Gee-Gees were able to chase UOIT’s hot goaltender Colin Dzijacky who had come into the game having saved 71 out of 72 shots in two wins versus the 7th ranked Lakehead Thunderwolves.
“Despite not playing our best collective team game, it’s our team’s individual talents that gave us the advantage in the game. We found a way to win and to control the game and getting the two points is what counts,” added head coach Réal Paiement.
Ottawa’s offense really came alive in this game, as the power play went 4 for 8 and 15 different players recorded at least a point in this contest. Three players had three points, Mathieu Leduc had one goal and two assists, Alexandre Touchette had three assists and Stephen Blunden recorded three goals for the hat-trick.“My success was thanks to my line mates. I was fortunate to be at the right place at the right time when pucks where thrown at the net,” said fourth-year player Blunden.
The Gee-Gees started the first a little slow, but eventually came into their own, as they opened the scoring at the 6:24 mark when Jean-Sébastien Fournier found the top corner through traffic beating UOIT’s Dzijacky. That goal proved to be a source of ignition for the Gee-Gees, as they would go on to add three more goals in the period. The second goal was scored by Leduc on the power play with assists going to Guillaume Donovan and Touchette. The third Gee-Gees’ goal was scored by Nicolas Larocque-Marcoux at the 9:14 mark and the fourth was scored at the 11:50 mark, when Taylor Collins scored from Pat Burns and Andrew Creppin. The fourth goal was the final nail in the coffin for Dzijacky as he was chased from the game in favor of Jacob Rattie.
The Ridgebacks really stepped up their play in the second period as showing lots of grit and determination as they broke the shutout bid at the 6:14 mark when Matt Salituro out waited Warren Shymko and slid it past the netminder making it a 4-1 game. Ottawa would rebound quickly adding a couple of goals in the period from Mathieu Guertin and Blunden.
Blunden would score twice more within the first ten minutes of the third period making it an 8-1 game for the Gee-Gees. Despite the score UOIT did not stop fighting and they were able to muster one last goal at the 17:15 mark of the third period when James Woodcroft scored to make the final score 8-2 in favour of the Gee-Gees.
Source: Ottawa Sports Info
Laurentian 2 @ Queen’s 3
KINGSTON, Ont. (November 29, 2013) - The No. 8 Queen's Gaels (9-0-5) managed to battle back to beat the visiting Laurentian Voyageurs (4-10-0) 3-2 at the Memorial Centre in Kingston on Friday night.
Jordan Soquila (Maple Ridge, B.C.) played hero for Queen's scoring with under a minute remaining as the Gaels came back from a 2-0 deficit to get the 3-2 victory. Chris Clarke (Fall River, N.S.) stopped 22 of 24 shots to get the win and Kelly Jackson (Toronto) had a two point night. The Voyageurs were led by their netminder Alain Valiquette who finished the game with 51 saves.
After Laurentian scored the lone goal of the first period, they added another early in the second to put the No. 8 Gaels on their heals trailing by two goals. Mid-way through the second Jackson scored his eighth goal of the season to cut the Voyageur lead in half.
In the third the Gaels were relentless with their attack, finishing with 20 shots the Laurentian's five in the frame. Jordan Coccimiglio (Burlington, Ont.) evened the score in the third at 11:33 with his second goal of the season. From there the Gaels kept peppering Valiquette with shots and finally broke through late in the period.
With less than a minute remaining, Soquila managed to beat Valiquette to put Queen's ahead for good to complete the comeback. With the win Queen's improves to 9-0-5 on the season and have yet to lose in regulation.
Source: Queen’s Sports Info
RMC 2 @ Waterloo 6
The Waterloo Warriors got back in the win column to snap a 3 game losing streak scoring 3 goals in 2:01 of the third period to skate past the Royal Military College 6-2 on Friday night at the CIF arena.
Brett Mackie (Whitby) scored two goals and Joe Underwood (Canton) contributed three assists as the Warriors snapped a three-game losing streak with a decisive 6-2 victory over the RMC Paladins at the Columbia Icefield Arena on Friday night.
The win pushes the Warriors to within a game of the .500 mark, at 6-7-1. Meanwhile, the long season for the Paladins got longer – their record fell to 0-14-1 as they search for their first victory. Mike Morrison (Hamilton) made 16 saves in the win for Waterloo, while RMC keeper Paul Dorsey, under siege all evening, turned aside 45 shots in the loss.
The Warriors controlled play from the drop of the puck in the first period, outshooting the Paladins 18-8 in the opening frame – although, with some fortune and some solid play from Dorsey, the game remained scoreless through nearly 19 minutes of play. But with the period winding down, Mackie jumped on a rebound and chipped it over the outstretched left leg of a sprawling Dorsey to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead after the first.
The Warriors rode that momentum to a pair of quick goals to open up the second, as Riley Sonnenburg (Cambridge) and Justin Larson (Buckhorn) each struck with wristers off the rush before the period was four minutes old. Chris Chappell (Pickering) went top shelf on the man advantage to extend the Waterloo lead to four before Paladins forward Colin Cook finally got the visitors on the board with a backhand move in tight to make the score 4-1 through 40 minutes.
The third period lacked much of the action the second featured, and play often seemed stuck in the neutral zone. Lynes finally broke through with a gorgeous end-to-end individual effort on the power play late in the frame, followed by Mackie's own highlight-reel backhander to put the Warriors up five. Paladins rookie Mitchell Hewson rounded out the scoring at the 19-minute mark, making the final 6-2.
Source: Waterloo Sports Info
Carleton 7 @ Laurier 0
WATERLOO, Ont. (November 29, 2013) The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's hockey team hosted the Carleton Ravens as they looked to rebound from a loss to Ottawa which ended their longest win streak of the season. Kicking off a five game home stand that extends into January, the Hawks fell to the Ravens 7-0.
Laurier got off to a slow start early in the contest, finding themselves in penalty trouble three times in the first period. Goaltender Duncan Long of Brantford, Ont., bailed the Hawks out with 26 saves in the first frame. Long was exceptional, making some big saves in the period to shut down the Ravens and lead the Hawks into the second period 0-0.
Penalties continued to be an issue for the Golden Hawks in the middle frame as the Ravens finally managed to solve Long on a power play goal from Michael McNamee of Perth, Ont. McNamee earned his second of the game off another power play marker to put the Ravens up by two mid-way through the second period.
The Hawks were out-shot 39-13 after two and found themselves in a deep 3-0 hole to open the third.
The Ravens showed no signs of slowing down, scoring four unanswered goals in the third to ground the Hawks in a 7-0 final.
Long turned away 44 of 51 shots in a losing effort for Laurier. Francis Dupuis of Ottawa, earned the shutout for the Ravens with 22 saves on the night.
Source: Laurier Sports Info
UQTR 5 @ Ryerson 1
TORONTO - To say it wasn’t the start that the Ryerson Rams wanted on Friday night, is an understatement.
The number six nationally ranked Université de Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) Patriotes scored four first period goals, defeating the Ryerson Rams, 5-1.
“If I look back on it, we had a sluggish week in practice. I thought we practiced well yesterday but I didn’t think we practiced strong all week,” said head coach Graham Wise.
“You can make excuses with exams coming and papers due and stuff like that. We know they’re a good team and they’re quick and they’re fast and we just weren’t up to the speed in the first period.”
It didn’t look good from the start as Marc-Olivier Mimar scored his sixth goal of the season just 3:42 into the first period.
After a Dean Willmott (Toronto) five-minute major for hitting to the head and a game misconduct penalty, the Rams were forced to go shorthanded. According to Wise, using his top players to kill the long penalty took a toll on his players.
UQTR failed to score on the man advantage, as they failed to in all six powerplay opportunities on the evening. Shortly after the Willmott penalty expired, the Patriotes struck again.
Olivier Hotte scored his first of the season to give the Patriotes a 2-0 advantage.
After two more goals in just over 20 seconds, Courchaine’s (Kanata, Ont.) night was done, overall making six saves and suffering the loss. Troy Passingham (Mississauga, Ont.) came in the rest of the way, replacing Courchaine for the second game in a row. He was solid, making 26 saves with his only mistake coming late in the second period on a Pierre-Olivier Morin shorthanded breakaway goal.
“I liked how Passer came in and played well for us,” said Wise. “You’ve got to give full marks to him for coming in and playing a solid game the rest of the way.”
Jason Kelly (Toronto) was Ryerson’s lone goal scorer, after a nice play late in the third period. The goal was Kelly’s first of the season with Dustin Alcock (Hamilton, Ont.) picking up the assist.
Marc-Antoine Gelinas was the winning goaltender. He made 35 saves for his seventh win on the season.
Source: Ryerson Sports Info
Concordia 3 @ Toronto 2 (OT)
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's hockey team dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to the Concordia Stingers on Friday, November 29 at Varsity Arena.
With the loss, the Blues drop to 9-4-2 and sit in third place in the OUA West, while the Stingers improve to 4-7-3 and are seventh in the East.
Down 2-0 early in the second period, second-year forward Tyler von Engelbrechten got the Blues on the board, capping off a tic-tac-toe passing play with Dylan Heide and Lane Werbowski on the powerplay. Concordia led 2-1 after 40 minutes of action.
Marcus Yolevski evened the score seven minutes into the third period with a goal assisted by Russell Turner and Cameron Bernier. Blues netminder Garrett Sheehan stood on his head in the final seconds of regulation to force the overtime period.
Werbowski had the Blues best chance in the extra minutes, ringing a point shot off the post, but it was Concordia who would find the back of the net, as George Lovatsis found the mesh with just 15 seconds to go in the frame.
Source: Toronto Sports Info
Saturday, November 30
Concordia 3 @ Ryerson 8
TORONTO - Jamie Wise’s five point night was the difference on Saturday afternoon, leading the Ryerson Rams over the Concordia Stingers, 8-3.
Wise (Stoufville, Ont.) had a hat-trick and added two assists a night after being held pointless and now has 27 points at the mid-way point of the season.
His linemate, Dominic Alberga (Maple, Ont.) had a great night himself. Alberga had two goals and an assist and now both him and Wise are a top the CIS scoring race with 27 points each.
Mitch Gallant (Charlottetown, PEI) got the scoring started for the Rams just under three minutes into the game. After a Concordia goal a minute later, Ryerson took control. Wise scored twice before the end of the period and the Rams had a 3-1 advantage going into the intermission.
The two teams would exchange goals back and forth to start the second, including Gallant’s second of the night but by the end of the second, it was 5-3 Ryerson.
Ryerson dominated the third period, getting three goals past Concordia starter Antonio Mastropietro. Lucas Froese (Grunthal, Man.), Wise and Alberga all scored and helped Ryerson secure their 10th win of the season.
Mastropietro made 42 saves on the night but allowed all eight goals in the loss.
Troy Passingham (Mississauga, Ont.) got his first start since Oct. 16 against Toronto and made the most of his opportunity. The third-year goaltender made 30 saves to record his fourth win of the season.
Ryerson went 1-4 on the powerplay while Concordia was held scoreless in all four of their chances.
Source: Ryerson Sports Info
Carleton 2 @ Waterloo 6
If the Waterloo Warriors wanted to set themselves up for an extended run of success once the calendar changes to 2014, they certainly ended 2013 on the right foot.
Colin Behenna (Waterloo), Andy Smith (Rosetown) and Chris Chappell (Pickering) each had three points and Justin Leclerc (Saskatoon) made 40 saves for the black and gold as they defeated the Carleton Ravens 6-2 in the first half finale on Saturday night at the Columbia Icefield Arena in Waterloo.
The win moves the Warriors to 7-7-1 heading into the exam and holiday break, while the defeat drops Carleton to 9-5-1. Ryan Dube made 24 saves in the Ravens net in the loss, while Leclerc's 40 stops were a season high for him.
The Warriors struck first in a fast-paced opening few moments, as Matt Amadio (Sault Ste. Marie) jumped on a loose puck off a scrambled draw and slammed it above a sprawling Dube for a 1-0 Warriors lead. Both teams had chances to score as the period wore on, but the first would end with just a single entry on the scoresheet.
The Warriors continued to apply the pressure in the second, and it paid off just over 7 minutes in when Behenna took a feed from Chappell and scored a highlight-reel goal over the glove on the short side of Dube to make it 2-0 Waterloo. Carleton responded just over a minute later when Joey West beat Leclerc from a terrible angle along the goal line, but the Warriors restored the two-goal advantage on a power play when Brett Mackie (Whitby) broke in on the wing and pinballed a shot in off of the post and off of Dube.
The 3-1 lead was short-lived though, as the Ravens responded even quicker this time – only 49 seconds after the Mackie marker, Joe Pleckaitis dragged a puck through the slot and fired a backhander against the grain to draw Carleton to within one goal again. Soon after, the Ravens would go to the power play looking for the equalizer – but the reigning CIS scoring champion shifted the game's momentum for good.
While on penalty kill duty, Justin Larson (Buckhorn) forced a turnover at the Waterloo blue line and created a clear breakaway for himself from the other side of center ice. Larson faked a shot and went to a forehand move, beating Dube on the blocker side for the gorgeous shirt-handed marker and a 4-2 Warriors lead after two periods of play.
The Ravens dominated on the shot clock in the third, but the only two goals were scored by Chappell. First, he followed up his own blocked shot in the slot to beat Dube five-hole to make it 5-2. Then, Chappell converted on a Larson feed for a power play marker to round out the scoring.
Source: Waterloo Sports Info
Lakehead 5 @ York 3
Mike Hammond's three-point performance proved overpowering Saturday (Nov. 30) as the York University Lions men's hockey team dropped a tough 5-3 battle to the No. 7 nationally-ranked Lakehead Thunderwolves on home ice at the Canlan Ice Sports.
Hammond (Victoria) finished with two goals and an assist on the night.
The game was the second of a two-game series this weekend against the visiting Thunderwolves, which saw York drop both contests. The loss moves the Lions to 8-8-0 on the season as they head into the December break tied for fifth place in the OUA West standings.
The first period would be riddled with Lions penalties as the team struggled with sloppy play early, accumulating eight minutes in the box. The missteps would culminate into a four-minute major for high sticking that left York handcuffed for an extended penalty kill.
The Lions would kill the majority of the advantage, but Lakehead ultimately converted with just 15 seconds left, as Hammond rifled a Mitch Fillman (Oakville, Ont.) rebound past York goaltender Andrew Perugini (King City, Ont.) for his first goal of the game, giving Lakehead the lead.
The Thunderwolves would remain in front 1-0 heading into the first intermission.
York's penalty struggles continued into the start of the second and Hammond would again convert on the power play for his eighth score of the year, putting the Thunderwolves up by two.
But the Lions finally started to turn the tied when Tyler Mort (Keswick, Ont.) recovered the puck and led Evan Gravenor (Winnipeg) behind the Lakehead defenders for a breakaway. Gravenor would pull out a beautiful deke on Lakehead netminder Justin McDonald (Turtleford, Sask.), finishing backhand for the score.
Moments later off of the ensuing faceoff, York captain Jesse Messier (Keswick, Ont.) would dish Troy Barss (Barrie, Ont.) across the slot for a one-timer equalizer goal that evened the score at two goals apiece.
Lakehead was stunned with the turnaround, and played catch up for the remainder of the frame. The Lions weren't finished either, as they added another goal off the stick of Jordan Forfar (Sutton, Ont.) to take a 3-2 lead into the second intermission.
Lakehead answered back to open the final period however, scoring within the first two minutes of the frame to restore a tie. Physical play resumed throughout with both teams searching for the go-ahead goal, and the Thunderwolves found it first as Hammond again got onto the score sheet by feeding Keith Grondin (Winnipeg) for the deciding goal.
York would be unable to answer, and Lakehead added an empty net goal late in the period to seal the win, their division-leading 11th of the season.
Source: York Sports Info
Laurentian 1 @ McGill 4
MONTREAL -- Rookie defenceman Samuel Carrier of Varennes, Que., tallied twice and added a pair of helpers as No.6-ranked McGill skated to a 4-1 victory over the Laurentian University Voyageurs in men's hockey at McConnell Arena, Saturday.
The Redmen were not very hospitable to their visitors from Sudbury, Ont., outshooting them 44-26, including a 19-8 margin in the first period. McGill led 2-0 after one frame and 3-1 after two.
Carrier, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound freshman, set up Marc-Olivier Vachon of Thetford Mines, Que., on the power-play at 9:17 to give the Redmen a 1-0 lead. Less than seven minutes later, the 21-year-old elementary education major scored what proved to be the game-winner. Carrier struck again with his fourth of the season, on the power-play at 2:20 of the middle stanza, then sprung team captain Benoit Levesque loose on a breakaway for a shorthanded marker at 1:34 of the final period.
Marc-Alain Begin of Hearst, Ont., scored the lone Laurentian goal, on the power-play midway through the second period.
Rookie goaltender Jacob Gervais-Chouinard of Sherbrooke, Que., made 25 saves for the victory, improving his record to 7-2. He lowered his CIS-leading goals-against average to 1.53. A 20-year-old education freshman who had an American Hockey League tryout with Hamilton last year, Gervais-Chouinard also leads the nation with a .943 save percentage.
Alain Valiquette of Sudbury registered 40 saves in a losing cause for the Voyageurs.
McGill was 2-for-7 on the power-play, while Laurentian was 1-for-5 and coughed up one shorthand goal. It was the final game of the semester for the Voyageurs (4-11-0), who will host Western (8-5-0) and Guelph (7-6-2), Jan. 3-4.
The Redmen improved to 10-4-2 lifetime versus Laurentian, which returned to hockey this year since folding up operations in 1999.
McGill, which improved to 11-3-1 and sits second in the OUA East division, will now have a month off for the December exam break. They sit two points back of an upstart squad from Queen's (10-0-5). The Redmen and Gaels are slated for a much-awaited showdown with back-to-back games in mid-January. They will meet for the first time on Jan. 11 in Kingston, with the rematch slated back in Montreal on Jan. 17 in the annual Management Carnival Game.
Over the next month, the Redmen are scheduled to have two regular practices and two optionals, per week before resuming play at Carleton (9-5-1) on Jan. 3.
Source: McGill Sports Info
Windsor 3 @ Brock 2 (SO)
ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - The Brock University men's hockey team (6-6-3 OUA West) ended the first half of the season with a 3-2 loss in shootout to the Windsor Lancers (11-4 OUA West) at the Seymour-Hannah Centre Saturday night.
After a scoreless first period, Brock would open the second period with a goal from Dylan MacEachern (Mississauga, Ont.) at 1:49, his fourth of the season. Daniel Tanel (Brampton, Ont.) and Johnson Andrews (NOTL, Ont) added the assists.
Less than a minute later, Windsor's Julian Luciani and Drew Palmer setup Curtis Longland who slid it past Brock starter Dalton McGrath (Toronto, Ont.) to tie the game 1-1.
Midway through the second period, Brock regained the one goal lead as Tanel and Kaine Geldart (Kingston, Ont.) setup Thomas Stajan (Mississauga, Ont.) who beat Windsor starter Taylor Speed for his seventh goal of the campaign.
With 8:12 remaining in regulation, the Lancers would tie the the game 2-2 on a goal from Eric Noel. Josh Graves and MacAulay MacDonnell added the assists.
After nothing was resolved in overtime, it went to a shootout, where Windsor won 2-1 with goals from Mike Christou and Spencer Pommells. Matt Abercrombie (Sarnia, Ont.) scored the lone shootout goal for the Badgers.
Speed registered 24 saves for his first victory of the season while McGrath turned aside 25 of 27 shots he faced in the loss.
Source: Brock Sports Info
Nipissing 5 @ UOIT 4 (SO)
OSHAWA, Ont. - The UOIT men’s hockey team fell 5-4 to the Nipissing Lakers in a shootout at the Campus Ice Centre Saturday night.
Despite the loss, UOIT freshman Mitch Bennett (Fenelon Falls, Ont.) set a program high for goals in a game as he scored all four on the night. This comes on the heels of a hat-trick earlier in the season against Laurentian and now places Bennett as the Ridgebacks leader in both goals (8) and points (12). In the history of the UOIT men's hockey program, six players have recorded hat-tricks.
Both teams exchanged goals throughout the game as the Ridgebacks and Lakers went shot for shot. This included a record setting performance from the Ridgebacks as they set a new single game record with 60 total shots and 27 in the second period.
Nipissing opened the scoring before Bennett pocketed his first goal of the game on a rebound effort midway through the first. This was quickly followed by a power play goal from Bennett two minutes later which gave the Ridgebacks a first period lead. However, Nipissing would score with less than four minutes remaining in the period to even it up.
This trend continued for two more periods as Bennett recorded his third and fourth goals but both were quickly responded to by the Lakers each time.
Each team posted three shots in the overtime period but neither were able to finish the game forcing a shootout. Ridgebacks goaltender Colin Dzijacky (Thunder Bay, Ont.) came up with a save on the first shooter but was unable to stop the next two while neither UOIT shooters were able to find the back of the net.
Kirk Rafuse made several keys stops down the stretch including the two UOIT shootout attempts to earn his fourth win of the year. The Nipissing netminder was busy all night as he made a career high 56 saves in the win.
Connor O’Donnell scored two goals for Nipissing including the game-tying goal with just over seven minutes left in the third period. Grant Toulmin and Kevin Rebelo scored singles for the Lakers.
Matt Salituro (Toronto, Ont.) would have a multi-point night with two assists for UOIT.
Dzijacky finished the game with 32 saves on 36 shots and continues to face a heavy workload as he ranks seventh among all OUA goaltenders in total minutes played.
With the single point, UOIT (5-8-2) pulls in front of Concordia (4-8-3) for sixth place in the OUA eastern conference standings. Nipissing (4-11-0) jumps into a tie with Laurentian (4-11-0) for the last playoff spot.
Source: UOIT Sports Info
Ottawa 3 @ Queen’s 4 (SO)
KINGSTON, Ont. (November 30, 2013) - In the ninth round of the shootout Yannick Laflamme (Thetford Mines, Que.) scored to break a 1-1 deadlock and give the Gaels their 10th win of the season. Queen's finished with a 4-3 shootout victory over Ottawa and improve to 10-0-5 on the season.
After a scoreless first period the two teams combined for four goals in the second period. The Gee-Gees took the early lead with goals coming from Alexandre Touchette and Mathieu Guertin. Just 45 seconds after Ottawa took the two goal lead, Chris Van Laren (Kingston, Ont.) scored his third goal of the season to cut into the lead. Shortly after, Harrison Hendrix (Calgary) added his third goal of the year to even the score at 2-2 after 40 minutes.
In the third the two teams traded goals with Tyler Moore (Winnipeg) and Paul Landry scoring for Queen's and Ottawa respectively.
Overtime solved nothing and the Gaels and Gee-Gees headed to a shootout. When Touchette scored in the opening round for Ottawa, the Gaels Joey Derochie (Sudbury, Ont.) responded to even the score. After seven more shooter attempts that went unsuccessful on each side, Laflamme broke the deadlock and gave Queen's the win.
The Gaels have yet to lose in regulation and sit in first place in the OUA East heading into the break before play picks back up in 2014.
Kevin Bailie (Belleville, Ont.) stopped 41 shots for the win for Queen's while Hendrix and Moore each had two point nights with a goal and an assist a piece.
Source: Queen’s Sports Info
RMC 6 @ Laurier 7 (OT)
WATERLOO, Ont. (November 30, 2013) - The Wilfrid Laurier men's hockey team wrapped up a two game weekend against the RMC Paladins on Saturday night, as they looked to redeem their efforts in a tough loss to the Carleton Ravens. In a performance fuelled by offensive production, the Hawks edged the Paladins in a 7-6 overtime thriller.
The Hawks opened the scoring in the contest with a power play goal from Matt Brown of Calgary, late in the first period. The goal sent a wave of stuffed animals to the ice as Laurier was hosting their annual Teddy Bear Toss game in association with the Alpha Omega Sorority.
RMC were quick to answer as Scott Domenico of Nepean, Ont., found the back of the net to knot the game at one goal apiece going into the second frame.
Both teams exchanged chances in the second period, with 12 shots and 3 goals respectively.
Domenico earned his second goal of the contest mid-way through the period, but was quickly answered by Greg Lamoureux of Calgary.
Opening the third period tied at four, Lamoureax netted his second goal of the contest to take the lead early in the frame. Domenico continued to find offensive success, scoring a power play marker to complete the hat-trick.
Alex Pym of Winnipeg, scored to give the Paladins the lead in the third but the Hawks would battle back to tie the game with just over a minute left in regulation and the goalie on the bench. Zach Woolford's (Rockwood, Ont.) fourth of the season sent Laurier's bench into celebration as he tied the game at six and forced overtime.
Matt Provost of Oakville, Ont., scored on the power play early in extra time to edge the Hawks past the Paladins 7-6.
Vinny Merante of Niagara Falls, N.Y., got the start for the Hawks before being relieved by veteran goaltender Duncan Long of Brantford, Ont. Long would get credit for the win as he turned away 11 of the 14 shots he faced.
Evan Deviller of Sackville, N.S., backed the Paladins, turning aside 34 shots in a losing effort.
Source: Laurier Sports Info
UQTR 2 @ Toronto 1
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues dropped a narrow 2-1 decision to the No. 6 nationally ranked UQTR Patriotes on Saturday, November 30 at Varsity Arena.
The loss drops the Blues record to 9-5-2 as they fall out of a three-way tie for first in the OUA's West division and into a tie for third with the Ryerson Rams.
Third-year forward Tyler Liukkonen (Sault Ste Marie, Ont.) had the Blues lone goal of the contest, with team captain and Blake Boddy (Scarborough), and Winnipeg native Connor Cleverly registering the assists. Netminder Brett Willows (Rivers, Man.) was solid despite the loss, making 24 saves on the evening and keeping his team in the game.
The Blues opened the scoring midway through the first period when Boddy sent an aerial pass over the heads of two Patriotes defenders and right on the tape of a streaking Liukkonen. Liukkonen broke in alone on goal, and made a nifty forehand-to-backhand move before depositing the puck behind UQTR goaltender Guillaume Nadeau.
The Blues would hang onto a one goal lead through the end of the first, but just one minute into the second period Tommy Tremblay spun around and fired a shot from a bad angle that found a way through Willows to knot the score at one apiece.
The Blues special teams struggled all night long, as they failed to capitalize on five powerplay opportunities. Paul Van de Velde (Mariapolis, Man.) had one of Toronto's better chances in the third, but rang his shot off the near post.
Despite a great effort by Willows in turning away several glorious Patriotes chances, U of T's powerplay would eventually be their undoing late in the game.
With the score still tied with just minutes remaining, the Blues went to the man advantage after Olivier D'Aoust was called for tripping. Tyler von Engelbrechten had two excellent chances to give the Blues the lead, but after Nadeau denied him, Tremblay grabbed the puck and raced up the ice shorthanded. The diminutive forward cut to the middle and fired a rocket that sailed just over Willows pad and gave UQTR the 2-1 lead with just over a minute left in regulation.
The Blues called Willows to the bench for the extra attacker, but UQTR would ultimately hang on for the 2-1 victory.
Tommy Tremblay had two goals, while Guillaume Nadeau made 22 saves as the Patriotes improved their season record to 11-4-0.
Source: Toronto Sports Info
Sunday, December 1
Western 3 @ Nipissing 2
?
There’s no question, the Nipissing Lakers men’s hockey team can skate with anyone, and they can score with anyone – it’s the smaller things that have been hurting them this season.
Coming off a thrilling 5-4 shootout win Saturday night over UOIT, the Lakers found themselves up against one of the league’s perennial contender’s and unfortunately a 38 save performance by Kirk Rafuse wasn’t enough, as the Western Mustangs edged the Lakers 3-2.
Rafuse made an incredible 56 saves Saturday night as well as two in the shootout and added to his solid weekend Sunday.
In total, Rafuse made 94 saves on 101 shots in two games – not the defensive effort Lakers head coach Mike McParalnd and his staff would like to see, but they have to be pleased with Rafuse’s effort.
Saturday, Conor O’Donnell led the attack with two goals while Grant Toulmin and Kevin Rebelo added the other goals. O’Donnell also scored in the shootout and Dorian Peca gave the Lakers the win.
Sunday, O’Donnell found the back of the net again and added an assist, while Matt Paton scored the Lakers’ first goal of the game.
Unfortunately, two goals in the second period for the Mustangs proved to be the difference as they skated to the victory.
Source: Nipissing Sports Info
