AROUND OUA: Ming's third period marker holds as Queen's upsets No. 5 UQTR
TROIS-RIVIERES, Que. (January 8, 2016) - Queen's (11-4-0) stormed back after an early two goal deficit in the opening frame to take the game 4-3 on the road at No. 5 UQTR Patriotes (15-2-1).
SCOREBOARD
Ming's third period marker holds up as winner in upset of CIS No. 5 UQTR
TROIS-RIVIERES, Que. (January 8, 2016) - Queen's (11-4-0) stormed back after an early two goal deficit in the opening frame to take the game 4-3 on the road at No. 5 UQTR Patriotes (15-2-1).
GAME FLOW
The Gaels and most of the OUA were on break most of December, while Head Coach Brett Gibson, d-man Spencer Abraham (Campbellville, Ont.), and goalie Kevin Bailie (Belleville, Ont.) participated in the CIS and World Junior All-Star matchup in Toronto. The Partiotes came into the game tied in first for in the OUA East standings.
It took some time for the Gaels to get their feet wet after the holiday break, giving up the opening goal less than two minutes in to Marc-Olivier Milmar. UQTR kept up the pace in the opening frame, and scored another just four minutes later to take a 2-0 lead into the second period.
The Gaels wouldn't let the early deficit keep them down though as 3:05 into the frame Abraham scored his sixth of the year to cut the Patriote lead in half. Minutes later Abraham chipped in on a powerplay marker by Patrick McGillis (Calgary), his ninth of the season. Before the second ended the teams traded goals, each converting once more before the end of 40 minutes. First the Patriotes jumped out to the 3-2 lead with a goal by Carl-Antoine Delisle, then a goal by Harrison Hendrix (Calgary) tied things up at three just over a minute later.
With the game tied 3-3, both teams looked to jump in front early. While it took almost nine minutes to do so, Queen's took their first lead of the game as Eric Ming (Williamstown, Ont.) scored his ninth of the year. The Gaels locked things down the rest of the way, only allowing nine shots on goal in the third period and taking the game 4-3, completing the comeback and upset in Trois-Rivieres.
Source: Queen's Gaels
New-look Mustangs fall to Badgers at Thompson Arena
LONDON, Ont. – If Western looked like a team playing together for the first time against the Badgers on Friday night, it's because in many ways they were.
Brock took advantage of a slow start from a Mustang team that featured six players with three or less games under their belt this season and Badger backstop Clint Windsor made a number of key saves late in the third to preserve a 3-2 victory at Thompson Arena.
"There's not much more you can do," said Mustangs assistant coach David Kontzie of Western's late push. "We threw probably eight shots in the last minute at the net, one or two got behind the goaltender but we just couldn't get it across the line. That's what happens when you leave it to the last minute of the game to try and catch up."
In total, four players made their 2015-16 debut for Western on Friday. Mike DiPaolo, Stephen Sanza, Robert Polesello, and Cody Brown all suited up for the first time while Jed Rusk and Noah Schwartz were playing in their second and third games, respectively.
All six of those players managed to make an impact on the game: DiPaolo showcased his strength, Rusk his reach, Sanza and Polesello their high-end skill, and Brown and Schwartz their shiftiness and offensive foresight. But the Badgers came out of the gate sharper, scoring twice in the first, and by the time Western started clicking in the third period it was too late.
Of the fresh faces, Brown stood out as particularly impressive, especially considering that he hadn't played in a game since Western's matchup against Brock on January 21, 2015. He went bar down for his first of the season on Friday and now has five points through just five full games with the Mustangs.
"It's great to see," Kontzie said of Brown's play on Friday. "There's a player that's had a lot of terrible luck in his first year and a half or whatever with injuries. To see him step up back into the lineup and make an impact is great to see."
"I've had a lot of bad luck the last two years but it's good to be back," said Brown. "It's good to get the first one out of the way and it's good to be back with the guys too."
Peter Delmas continued to show off his elite skill in net for Western, making a number of excellent saves with the game on the line. With time winding down in the second period, he made a breakaway stop on Ryan Purvis, denying him a hat trick, before committing more highway robbery just a minute later with two straight saves in tight.
Delmas finished with 34 saves on 37 shots while his counterpart in Windsor made 17 saves in the third period alone to bring his total to 40 saves on the night. Windsor, a sophomore for the Badgers, now possesses a .927 save percentage through 13 games this season.
Neither team cashed in on the man advantage, although Brock still benefitted immensely from Western's six minutes of penalties early in the third period. Ray Huether took a four-minute high sticking penalty in the offensive zone before Alex Micallef was called for interference 11:11 into the frame, allowing Brock to keep the focus out of their own zone.
For their part, the Badgers took their own high sticking call late in the third, although it didn't prove to be costly. With Delmas pulled, the Mustangs got off nearly ten shots on Windsor, although they just couldn't find the back of the net.
"We've been working on the power play quite a bit and we had some great looks," said Kontzie. "We moved the puck around the way we wanted to, got pucks to the net. It was just one of those nights the puck didn't go into the net for us."
Next up on the docket for Western is a trip to Waterloo, where they'll face off against the Laurier Golden Hawks with a chance to split the weekend on the line.
"The approach that we had in the last five minutes [of tonight's game], we need that approach from the get-go," said Kontzie when asked about Saturday's game. "[We need to] come out, play better systems, we have to get the puck to the net, have to eliminate the two-on-ones, three-on-ones against us and play a full sixty minutes."
NOTES
With an assist on Friday, Schwartz now has a point in all three of the games that he's played this season. He's one year removed from an impressive 21-point campaign and will be a key piece if Western is to have a playoff run this year… Brock's Ryan Purvis led all skaters with three points on Friday, scoring two goals and adding an assist…
Source: Western Mustangs
The 1,957 fans that showed up at the Fort William Gardens Friday night saw one of the most exciting games in recent memory as the Lakehead Thunderwolves took down the Carleton Ravens and skated off with a 3-2 victory over the 8th ranked team in the country.
The game was filled with great goaltending, plenty of scoring chances, loads of hard hits, 110 minutes in penalties and a good old-fashioned donnybrook.
Lakehead controlled most of the play in the first period, and Cody Alcock gave the Wolves a 1-0 lead on a goal set up by Dylan Butler and Jake Wright 12:06 into the game.
With Lakehead on the power play, Billy Jenkins fed Jake Ringuette who blasted a point shot past Ravens' netminder Patrick Killeen with a minute left on the clock to give the Wolves a 2-0 lead heading into the second.
Michael McNamee converted a perfect tic-tac-toe play that Lakehead goalie Devin Green had no chance on while Carleton held the man-advantage 4:57 into the middle frame.
The Ravens seemed to get their legs back and were gaining momentum as the period wore on, but Green was equal to the task whenever he was called upon.
With less than two minutes to go in the second, Carleton's Owen Werthner cross-checked Brennen Dubchak into the boards at the Ravens end of the rink, raising the ire of Brennen's brother Carson and a melee ensued.
Killeen left his goal crease to join the fray, which was highlighted by an exchange of blows between Lakehead's Linden Springer and Carleton's Hayden Hulton. Springer definitely held the advantage in the showdown, and all three were subsequently ejected from the game.
Kelin Ainsworth put the Wolves up 3-1 at 16:25 of the third by firing the puck high on the blocker side of Francis Dupuis, who had replaced Killeen in the Ravens' net. Jenkins picked up his second helper of night and Jay Gilbert was also credited with an assist.
Carleton pulled Dupuis for an extra attacker in the waning minutes and Brett Welychka scored on a screen shot with five seconds left on the clock, but it was too little, too late for the Ravens and Lakehead held on for the win.
Shots on goal for the night were 32-29 for Carleton.
The Molson Three Stars of the game were:
1. Devin Green, Lakehead
2. Jake Ringuette, Lakehead
3. Kelin Ainsworth, Lakehead
The two teams will square off again tomorrow night at the Fort William Gardens beginning at 7:00 PM.
Source: Lakehead Thunderwolves
Perugini earns shutout in 4-0 win over Windsor
On Friday night (Jan. 8) the York University Lions men's hockey team defeated the Windsor Lancers with a convincing 4-0 victory at Windsor Arena thanks to a 34-save performance by goaltender Chris Perugini.
Adding another win to their 11-5-3 record on the year, the Lions are currently seated at the top of the OUA West with 26 points.
The first period remained scoreless, but the Lions soon executed off of several chances in the second period that gave them a 3-0 lead.
Derek Sheppard (Ajax, Ont.) opened the scoring after receiving the puck from Julien Lepage (Baie-Comeau, Que.) at 5:20, and slammed it past the guard of Lancers goaltender Richard Blake.
Minutes later Justin Larson (Buckhorn, Ont.), Greg Milner (Watford, Ont.) and Sheppard teamed up to put two power play goals between the bars at 6:35 and 13:54. Larson and Milner were credited with a goal and assist each, while Sheppard picked up two assists.
In the third period the Lions put the game to rest after Tyler McGee (Timmins, Ont.) passed the puck to Nicholas Geiser (Bolton, Ont.), who in turn slammed it home for a 4-0 victory.
Perugini (King City, Ont.) earned his second shutout of the season, while Blake made 36 saves on 40 shots.
Within the next week the Lions will prepare to take on the Brock Badgers at 7:15pm on Friday (Jan. 15). The game will take place in St. Catharines, Ont., at the Seymour-Hannah Centre.
Source: York Lions
Waterloo scores twice late to upend Ryerson
TORONTO – Waterloo Warriors leading scorer Colin Behenna blasted home a late third period goal to give the Warriors a 3-2 win over the Ryerson Rams Friday night.
BOXSCORE
Behenna received a pass from behind the net and buried it in front with just three minutes remaining in the third. The goal gave the Warriors their first lead of the game and ended up being the game winner in what was a back and forth affair.
The Rams started things off in this one with Michael Fine's tenth of the year. Fine's power play marker was his fourth goal in two games and gave the Rams a 1-0 lead through twenty.
The Warriors then evened things up in the second. Cam Nicoll flew down the short side and wristed one past starting goaltender Taylor Dupuis for his second of the year. The Warriors marker was the lone goal in the second and set up what was a thrilling third period.
All tied up at one, Mitch Gallant decided to take matters into his own hands with his fourth goal of the year. Gallant whacked home a loose puck in front past Warriors starting goaltender Mike Morrison to regain the Rams one goal lead.
The lead was short lived however, after Joey Champigny beat Dupuis just 22 seconds later. Champigny's fourth of the year evened things at two and paved the way for a nail biting finish.
With one swift motion, Warriors Behenna was deemed the hero, and gave the Waterloo Warriors a 3-2 win over Ryerson.
With the win the Warriors improve to 2-0 against the Rams this season and tie them for fifth in the OUA West division with 18 points on the year.
The loss is indeed a tough one to take for the Rams but head coach Graham Wise hopes it's a lesson learned.
"Like I said to them in the room, we have to be good," insisted Wise. "We need to do a better job with moving pucks and we're going to work on it. We're a good team and we're going to be fine but we need to come ready to play every game."
No matter how tough the loss is at first, a five-year veteran like Gallant knows you just need to learn from it and move on.
"It comes down to work ethic," said Gallant. "After giving up a goal you know they're going to send their best line at us and they did. These things happen and we just need to learn from it and stay in the right mindset moving forward."
The Rams will now turn their focus to next weekend and prepare for a visit north to take on the Lakehead Thunderwolves.
They play the Thunderwolves in back-to-back affairs starting on the Friday, January 15 and finishing on the Saturday, January 16. Both matches are scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start at Fort William Gardens.
Source: Ryerson Rams
Ulett's hat-trick leads UOIT to victory
OSHAWA, Ont. – The UOIT men's hockey team did not suffer any type of a holiday hangover as they earned a 5-2 win over the Concordia Stingers Friday night in Montreal.
Loren Ulett (Port Perry, Ont.) fueled the Ridgeback offence as he netted his first-career OUA hat-trick, scoring goals in all three periods. The commerce major sits second in team scoring with nine goals, one behind Mark Petaccio (Sicklerville, N.J.).
Jesse Stoughton (Bobcaygeon, Ont.), who was named the game's third star, picked up assists on all three of Ulett's goals. Stoughton has ten assists this year which is a career-high.
Ben Blasko (Kingston, Ont.) scored the game-winning goal in the second period while Cameron Yuill (Wellington, Ont.) recorded an empty-netter to seal the victory.
Brendan O'Neill (Ilderton, Ont.) looked solid in net for UOIT allowing two goals on 34 shots. The second-year netminder has allowed two goals or less in six starts this season, all of which resulted in UOIT victories.
Antoine Marchand made his first start of the season in goal for Concordia and allowed three goals on 29 shots before being pulled for Robin Billingham who let in one goal on four shots faced.
Both power play units went 1-for-4 while shots finished up 37-34 in favour of the Ridgebacks.
UOIT (11-5-1) remains one point ahead of Queen's (11-4-0) for fourth place in the OUA eastern conference as the Gaels pulled off a 4-3 win over UQTR (15-3-1) on Friday.
UOIT will have a tough test ahead of them as they begin a home-and-home series with UQTR Saturday night in Quebec. The nationally ranked Patriotes have not dropped back-to-back games since November 2014.
Source: UOIT Ridgebacks
Milne scores in double overtime as hockey Redmen paddle past Voyageurs
SUDBURY, Ont. -- Freshman Daniel Milne of Unionville, Ont., scored at 2:27 of double overtime as No.2-ranked McGill edged the Laurentian University Voyageurs 4-3 in OUA men's hockey at Countryside Arena, Friday.
It improved McGill's record to 14-5-2 lifetime versus Laurentian and 1002-933-127 all-time against CIS opponents.
"We battled through 'Sudbury rules' all night and ground out a good win in overtime," said McGill head coach Kelly Nobes. "We killed off three key penalties in the third, got better as the game went into the overtime and found a way to win when we probably didn't play our best game."
The teams were tied 1-1 after one and 3-3 after two, then the Sudbury rules seemed in full effect, with McGill receiving three of the four penalties called in the third stanza, including a hooking infraction at 1:44, a tripping call at 8:46 and a timely boarding penalty at 18:42.
On the winning tally, defenceman Dominic Talbot-Tassi, a civil engineering freshman, went coast-to-coast and dished a nifty pass to Milne, sitting the edge of the blue paint, who buried the puck past netminder Alain Valiquette. Milne, a commerce major, is one of the few players to try his hand in the NCAA (Michigan), then move on to a junior career (Ownen Sound, OHL) before heading to the CIS ranks. He now has a 10-12-22 record in 19 contests.
Valiquette, a senior from Sundbury, made 41 saves in a losing cause and saw his record tumble to 6-7.
Talbot-Tassi, a native of Mascouche, Que., had three helpers in the contest and now ranks fourth in the CIS scoring race -- second among defencemen -- with a 9-20-29 record in 19 games. Fellow rearguard Samuel Labrecque, who collected a pair of assists, continues to lead the national scoring race with 34 points and 13 goals.
Laurentian opened the scoring on a power-play at 12:31 of the first period when Brandon Francisco connected but Patrick Delisle-Houde of Quebec City netted his fifth of the season, also on a powrer-play, at 16:45. That was a milestone goal for the Redmen, the 8,500th goal in school history against Canadian university opponents.
Senior Liam Heelis, the first year-transfer from Acadia, tallied his seventh marker at 32 seconds of the second period to put McGill ahead 2-1. The Voyageurs regained the lead however, on goals from Nicolas Dionne at 1:38 and Brent Pedersen at 13:39.
Christophe Lalonde of St. Eustache, Que., who joined the Redmen over the Christmas break after a pro tryout, scored his first regular season marker to tie the score at 3-3 at 17:41 of the middle period, setting the stage for Milne's heroics in overtime.
Jacob Gervais-Chouinard made 34 saves to collect the victory between the pipes for McGill. The junior from Sherbrooke, Que., improved his stellar record to 15-2 on the season and 30-9 lifetime in OUA play.
Laurentian was 1-for-5 on the power-play while McGill responded on one of four chances.
Combined with UQTR's 4-3 home-ice loss to Queen's, the Redmen gained a bit of breathing room atop the OUA East standings. McGil, which has a 16-2-1 record and sits two points ahead of the Patriotes (15-3-1), will make a two-hour trip east to North Bay on Saturday for a 7 p.m. rendezvous with the Nipissing Lakers (8-6-3).
Source: McGill Redmen
