AROUND OUA: Western edges out Toronto to take division lead
LONDON, Ont. – Clarke Singer isn't known to tip his hand.
SCOREBOARD
Western edges out Toronto to take division lead
LONDON, Ont. – Clarke Singer isn't known to tip his hand.
The even-keeled coach, in his fifteenth year behind the bench for the Mustangs, never seems to get too excited or too down in the midst of a season and his post-game interview Thursday night was no different.
Fresh off of watching his team beat the Toronto Varsity Blues 3-2 at Thompson Arena for their fourth straight win, Singer admitted that things are beginning to go Western's way again after a rough end to 2015. But he wasn't willing to say that his team is turning a corner.
"I thought right through the stretch we were playing pretty good," he said, referring to the period in November and December that saw Western go 1-5-0. "It's kind of like the power play: you do some good things but you're not rewarded. Even earlier in the year when we were on a good stretch we maybe won some games we shouldn't have and even during that losing streak I thought we lost some games we maybe shouldn't have."
Western certainly deserved to win on Thursday night, coming out of the gates hot with two first period goals and shutting down Toronto in the game's final ten minutes. Sure, the victory marked Western's sixth straight one-goal game and came against a team just barely in playoff position, but Singer wasn't complaining about the margin of victory.
"That's our league—it doesn't matter who you play, they're real close games," he said. "There's not many games where the last few minutes of the game don't matter and that's a real credit to the league, I think to the coaches in the league, and makes the game fun."
Connor Chartier got the scoring started for Western four minutes into the matchup, taking a pass from Trevor Warnaar behind Toronto's defence and lifting the puck it over the shoulder of Michael Nishi. Shaun Furlong capitalized on a tough break for Toronto just minutes later, picking up Noah Schwartz's deflected pass and going shelf to double Western's lead.
Schwartz would add the game-winning goal in the third period to finish with his second straight multi-point night and he now has five points over a three-game streak. The junior, who has shifted to centre in recent games, has been on fire since returning to the lineup in December, although it took him a little bit of time to get re-adjusted to the OUA's pace of play.
"The first couple games back against Windsor and Waterloo [in December] were pretty tough for me and it took me a few games to get back," he admitted. "Having that three week break in December was really big for me—I went back to Toronto, rehabbed a little bit and came back strong. I feel way better than I did in the first half and last year. I really want to win a championship and I think we can with this team."
Also finishing with a multi-point night was rookie defenceman Jonathan Laser, who played a big part in Schwartz's winning goal. He undressed a Toronto forechecker to begin a breakout and Spenser Cobbold was able to find Schwartz on the rush for the snipe.
The Varsity Blues responded three minutes later to make the final ten minutes interesting but Greg Dodds held down the fort in net. He made nine stops in the third period and finished with 28 saves on the night to pick up his third straight win. Both Dodds and fellow backstop Peter Delmas have picked up their play as of late, and Singer is taking notice.
"Both him and Peter have been outstanding since we've come back—not that they weren't good in the first half but they've really elevated their game," said Singer. "Doddsey was great [tonight]—he did a great job and made some real big saves for us too. He played the puck well. I think he played the puck up the ice seven or eight times for us."
Western will need all the goaltending they can get this weekend, as they hit the road on Friday in preparation for a matchup against McGill on Saturday. The Redmen are currently second in the OUA with a 18-3-1 record and have won six of their last eight.
"Always welcome a game against one of the best teams in the country," said Singer.
NOTES: Western went zero-for-three on the power play Thursday night and are now 2-for-18 since the beginning of December… With his goal against Toronto, Furlong is now on a four-game point streak that's seen him put up six points. He's second in team scoring behind Matt Marantz, who sat out Thursday's game…
Passingham, Lewis lead Rams over Badgers
TORONTO – Ryerson Rams Troy Passingham returned to the crease in dramatic fashion Thursday night, stopping all 37 of the shots he faced on route to a 3-0 shutout win over the Brock Badgers.
BOXSCORE
Thursday night's perfect game puts Passingham on a list all by his lonesome, becoming the first men's goalie to record a shutout on Mattamy Home Ice in program history.
Passingham's last two career shutouts have come on the road, with his last one dating as far back as January 19th, 2012 in a 3-0 win over U of T.
The Rams net-minder returned to the blue paint for the first time since pulling his groin on November 28th, and looked to be in fine working condition after perfect results.
"I obviously felt pretty good," said Passingham. "I've been getting some practice in lately and it feels good to be back. I just felt really good out there."
A scoreless first period saw Passingham matched save for save from Badgers starting goaltender Clint Windsor, but the Rams would break the seal early in the second.
The top line of Michael Fine, Jamie Lewis and Marcus Hinds looked like their typical selves on Thursday. They all touched the puck before Lewis put it home for the first goal of the game. Lewis's second of the year had the Rams up 2-0 early in the second.
Both goaltenders then dueled it out for the remainder of the period. The Rams rounded out the first forty minutes with the lone goal in the frame.
The Rams then took over in the third. Executed possession and puck movement lead to another early period goal from Kyle Blaney. Blaney's patience showed after he skated in front and waited out his opponent before sending it past Windsor for the marker.
The Rams then sealed the deal late in the third off of Lewis's second of the game. Hinds picked the puck up from behind the net and fed a wide-open Lewis in front, who made no mistake on the doorstep for the third and final Rams goal.
Passingham remained dialed in down the stretch, helping the squad cruise to a 3-0 win over the Badgers.
Although Passingham gets all of the praise after a stellar shutout, he insists that the boys in front of him deserve some credit.
"The guys were great and our penalty kill was awesome," said Passingham. "Our D played great. They played well."
A starting goaltender loves nothing more than to hear praise from his coach and Passingham received just that Thursday night.
"He was outstanding," said head Coach Graham Wise. "He had a terrific game. He was an absolute wall out there and he was a huge factor for us tonight."
The net-minder wasn't the only thing Wise was impressed with Thursday. The puck movement and possession was executed to a tee.
"We struggled in the first but as the game went on we got better," said Wise. "Like I just said to them now we have to be better moving forward."
The win marks the second in a row for the Rams and sets up an important contest against the Windsor Lancers on Saturday.
With the win the Rams now sit just a point back from the Lancers for fifth in the West and could pass them in the standings with two points on Saturday.
Puck drop for Saturday's game is scheduled for 7:30 pm start at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. If you can't experience it first hand the game will be available on OUA.tv.
Source: Ryerson Rams
