AROUND OUA: Ravens bounce back with statement win over Patriotes

SCOREBOARD

Carleton 5 @ UQTR 1

Toronto 0 @ York 1

Concordia 5 @ McGill 6

Waterloo 1 @ Western 3

Windsor 3 @ Lakehead 4

Laurentian 4 @ UOIT 5

Ottawa @ RMC

Nipissing 4 @ Queen's 3

Guelph 1 @ Laurier 5

Ravens bounce back with statement win over Patriotes

TROIS-RIVIÈRES, QC – Facing off for the first time since last season's OUA semi-final, the Ravens handed the UQTR Patriotes their first loss of the season with a 5-1 win.

BOX SCORE

"It's a huge win, no question," says Ravens head coach Marty Johnston. "It's not an easy rink to win in and we've had some tough luck in that building so obviously coming out on top puts us in a good position."

The Ravens, who now own a 2-1 record, entered the Colisée de Trois-Rivières with a point to prove. After a loss to the RMC Paladins, the Ravens collected themselves and earned their second win of the season, all while exacting some early-season revenge on the reigning Queen's Cup champions.

In net, Francois Brassard (Gatineau, QC) made his second start of the season for the Ravens and held an offensively-dominant Patriotes group in check with a 36-save performance.

In the first, Brassard was tested early and often, but kept the game scoreless and gave his team a chance to take the lead. Thirteen minutes into the opening frame, Michael McNamee (Perth ON) found a net-front Corey Durocher (Ottawa, ON) for the game's opening goal.

"McNamee's line came up with a big goal as they often do," said Johnston as the line of McNamee, Durocher, and Ryan Van Stralen (Prescott, ON) combined for six points on the night. "They've been a key to our offence."

Later in the period, that offence was supplemented with a Hayden Hulton (Kingston, ON) goal, giving the Ravens a 2-0 lead.

A scoreless second period saw a chasing Patriotes team crack down on the Ravens offence. UQTR's defensive pressure on the Ravens' offensive-zone setup limited the visitors to four shots. However, the Patriotes couldn't get anything going the other way as Brassard denied their 11 shots on goal.

In the third, the Ravens' power play distanced the game even further. While on a 5-on-3 power play, Van Stralen and Brent Norris (Ottawa, ON) setup McNamee for his first goal of the season. Less than a minute later, Adam Chapman (Barrie, ON) also contributed on the man-advantage, stretching the Ravens lead to four.

"Our power play really made the difference in a tight game," says Johnston. "They came through when it counted and really cemented our lead."

Chapman's power-play goal ended the night of UQTR goalie Alexandre Belanger who stopped 22 of the 26 shots he faced. Second-year goalie Charles-Etienne Martin then took over the Patriotes crease for the remaining seven minutes of regulation.

Nearing the end of the period, Patriotes captain Martin Lefebvre snapped his team's scoring drought and put the home team on the board with a power-play goal. However, it was too little too late.

With an additional Curtis Meighan (Ottawa, ON) empty-net goal, the Ravens finished the night with a 5-1 win.

The statement win comes at an important time for the Ravens. With three tough, consecutive matchups – Concordia, Ottawa, and McGill – on their upcoming schedule, the Ravens will look to build off Friday night's momentum and get an early-season jump on the OUA East standings.

Source: Carleton Ravens

Campbell scores games only goal in win vs. Varsity Blues

The York University Lions men's hockey team played their home opener on Friday night (Oct. 14) at Canlan Ice Sports against their cross-town rival Toronto Varsity Blues. After three periods of play York escaped with a nail-biting 1-0 victory.
 
The first two periods of the game were scoreless for both teams even with 24 shot attempts by the Lions. In the first two periods York outshot Toronto 24-10; this would lead to good fortune in the third and final period of the game when once again the Lions outshot the Varsity Blues 10-5.
 
Early in the third period the Lions' endless barrage on Toronto goalie Andrew Hunt paid off when Kyle Campbell (Halifax) snuck the puck past the goaltender off of an assist from Bryce Milson (Miramichi, N.B.). Campbell's goal would prove to be enough offence to deliver the Lions their first victory at home as their defence was an impenetrable iron curtain.
 
Rookie goalie Mack Shields (Saskatoon) earned his first career shutout with 15 saves to obtain the win.
 
With the victory the Lions obtained their first victory of the 2016-17 campaign and rose to 1-2 on the season with two points, while Toronto drops to 1-2-1 with one point.
 
The Lions have a quick turnaround and an opportunity to start stringing together victories when the Laurier Golden Hawks will travel to Toronto to play the Lions at Canlan Ice Sports on Saturday night (Oct. 15) at 7pm. The Golden Hawks currently hold the third overall spot in the OUA West standings and have defeated the Lions once already this season.

Source: York Lions

Mustangs top Warriors in home opener

LONDON, Ont. – Strong penalty killing and 33 saves from Greg Dodds helped the Western Mustangs defeat the Waterloo Warriors 3-1 on Friday night at Thompson Arena.
 
"I thought we had a great start, did a great job in the first period executing our game plan, and obviously we got that early [goal] which helped a lot," said Mustangs head coach Clarke Singer. "We did a great job killing penalties. Our penalty kill made a couple adjustments for Waterloo and I thought our guys did a fabulous job with that."
 
The win is the second consecutive victory for Western, and moves the team to 2-1 on the year, while Waterloo falls to 1-2.
 
The purple and white killed off six minor penalties throughout the game with relative ease, including two clutch kills just after Waterloo scored in the third period.
 
"Waterloo had one of the top powerplays in the league last year and we just wanted to try to get them out of the structure they like to run…our guys did a great job implementing that," said Singer regarding his team's penalty kill.
 
Dodds featured prominently in the first period, stopping all nine shots he faced, including a fantastic glove save on a 2-on-1 six minutes into the period. It wasn't all positive for the netminder however, as he was dinged for a high-sticking double minor, however the Mustangs were able to kill off the Warriors power play.
 
The Mustangs emerged from the period with a 1-0 lead thanks to a glove-side snipe by forward Luke Karaim on an odd man rush. Trent Oullette and Connor Chartier were credited with the assists.
 
Western would add to its lead in the second on a goal by Robert Polesello. After a strong play by defenceman Jed Rusk to prevent the puck from leaving the offensive zone, it made its way behind the net to Spenser Cobbold, who fed Polesello in front. Polesello made no mistakes putting it high and giving the Mustangs a 2-0 lead.
 
Waterloo cut that lead in half early in the third period thanks to a goal by Michael Siddall, however the Mustangs shut the door after that, with Ouellette adding an empty net goal with 20 seconds left to seal the victory.
 
Next up, the Mustangs take on Laurier in London on Friday, October 21, at Thompson Arena. Game time is set for 7 p.m., and fans can tune in live on OUA.tv

Source: Western Mustangs

Thunderwolves win OUA opener

The first period was played quite briskly with very few stoppages in play, and both teams went to their dressing rooms scoreless after 20 minutes.

Steve Anthony staked Windsor to a 1-0 lead 1:19 into the second period, and Kyle Haas beat Lakehead goalie Devin Green with a wrist shot from the point to put the Lancers up by two at 12:07.

The Wolves responded with a pair quick goals late in the period.  Devin Fullum got the first one when he knocked a rebound past Windsor netminder Blake Richard at 16:14, with Trevor Hynnes and Grant Valiquette getting the assists.

Sam Schutt notched the second on a goal set up by Carson Dubchak and Jake Ringuette with just over a minute remaining in the middle stanza.

Justice Dundas stuffed the puck between Green's pads 4:06 into the third period to put the Lancers ahead 3-2, but Dylan Butler pounced on Ringuette's rebound while Lakehead was on the power play to knot the score at the 10:09 mark.  Justin Sefton was credited with the second helper.

Lakehead got the winner on a short-handed goal when Carson Dubchak fed a streaking Kelin Ainsworth who broke in alone and beat Richard just before crashing into the Windsor goalkeeper at 15:09.

The Wolves played sound defense the rest of the way, and although the Lancers mounted a late flurry of action around Green, Lakehead held on to preserve the win.

For the night, the Thunderwolves went 1-for-3 on the power play, while the Lancers were 0-for-4.

Total shots on goal for the game were 26-25 for Lakehead.

Source: Lakehead Thunderwolves

Nationally ranked Ridgebacks beat Laurentian

OSHAWA, Ont. – It's not how head coach Curtis Hodgins drew it up but the No. 9 ranked UOIT men's hockey team managed to get a win in their 2016-17 home opener beating the Laurentian Voyageurs 5-4 in overtime.

After Laurentian's Christopher Smith roofed the puck to tie the game at 4-4 with just over a minute in regulation, the Ridgebacks looked as if they were going to give the game away.
 
Jake Logan (Napanee, Ont.) and Cameron Yuill (Wellington, Ont.) had other thoughts as Logan one-timed a give-and-go pass under the glove of Laurentian goaltender Joel Vienneau for the game-winner.
 
The Ridgebacks were disappointed that Logan's OT winner was necessary as they held a 3-0 lead late in the second period behind goals from Danny Elser (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.), Ryan Doucette (Waterloo, Ont.) and Ben Blasko (Kingston, Ont.). Elser and Blasko have three-game point streaks to start the season.
 
After Laurentian cut the lead to 3-2, Yuill potted his second goal of the year to restore the Ridgebacks two-goal lead. The Voyageurs had a no-quit attitude as they scored two late third period goals to force overtime and pick up a point.

UOIT goaltender Brendon O'Neill (Ilderton, Ont.) was busy in net facing 52 shots including six in overtime.  Vienneau ended up with 27 saves in the losing effort for Laurentian.
 
Yuill and freshman Malik Johnson (Montreal, Que.) ended the night as the only Ridgebacks with multi-point nights.
 
Both power plays struggled going 0-for-3.
 
With a 3-0 record, UOIT is in first place and the only team in the OUA eastern conference without a loss. There will not be much time to celebrate the win as the Ridgebacks host the Nipissing Lakers at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
 
QUICK LOOK AT THE RIDGEBACKS
Overall Record: 5-1-2
Conference Record: 3-0-0
 
Next Game: Sat. Oct. 15 vs. Nipissing (3:30 p.m.)

Source: UOIT Ridgebacks

Comeback falls short in 2OT loss to Nipissing

Kingston, Ont. (October 14, 2016) – The Queen's Gaels (1-1-1) were defeated 4-3 in double overtime by the Nipissing Lakers (1-2) Friday night at the Memorial Centre.
 
GAME FLOW
The first period saw consistent back and forth action. Two minutes in, Nipissing was first on the board with a snapshot goal from Adam Clements. Assists were credited to Colin Campbell and Brock Morrison. With five minutes left in the period, the Gaels were able to tie the game after Francesco Vilardi (Kingston, Ont.) made a beautiful cross-crease pass to Dylan Anderson (Greely, Ont.) for a tap-in goal. Shawn Boudreau (Kentville, N.S.) was credited with the second assist.

At the beginning of the second period, the Gaels came out heavy on the forecheck. However, it was the Lakers who would connect for back to back goals. Jimmy McDowell scored the second Nipissing goal deflecting Cody Gratton's point shot. Nearing the end of the period, McDowell scored another Lakers goal on a slapshot. Erik Robichaud picked up assists on both of the visitors goals.
 
The Gaels opened the scoring in the third period. Four minutes in, Slater Doggett (Oakville, Ont.) tapped in a perfectly placed cross-crease saucer pass from Ryan Bloom (Calgary, Alta.), allowing the Gaels to cut the Lakers lead to 3-2. With one minute left in the period, the Gaels found themselves on a 6 on 4, after a Lakers player took the only penalty of the game, and Queen's pulled goalie Kevin Bailie (Belleville, Ont.). With 22 seconds remaining, Eric Ming (Williamstown, Ont.) scored his fifth goal of the season on a screen shot from the point. Warren Steele (Williamsburg, Ont.) picked up the assist.
 
After a scoreless 4-on-4 overtime period, the game went into a 3-on-3 contest. Queen's had a number of excellent chances, but it was the Lakers who found the back of the net. McDowell picked up the first hattrick of his CIS career on a break away after a bad bounce for the Gaels.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
3 - Three goals for Lakers Jimmy McDowell
6 - Slater Doggett and Eric Ming are second in OUA points with six each after both scoring against Nipissing
 
UP NEXT
The Gaels take on the Laurentian Voyageurs in Sudbury, Ont. next weekend on October 22.

Source: Queen's Gaels

Golden Hawks defeat No. 7 ranked Gryphons 5-1

WATERLOO, Ont. (October 14, 2016) - The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's hockey team hosted the No. 7 Guelph Gryphons on Friday night, where they overtook Guelph's early lead to come away with a 5-1 victory.

Only five minutes into the game, the nationally ranked Gryphons already held a strong presence on Laurier's home ice. Consequently, Mark Raycroft (Woodstock, Ont.) buried the puck past Laurier's starting goalie, Colin Furlong of Cambridge, Ont., to put the Gryphons up 1-0. 

As the game pushed on, it was clear that both teams were pressing their offence in search of pulling away with a leading score, as both teams had 14 shots on net in the opening 20. 

Undoubtedly motivated by the home crowd, it was Laurier who took over control.

Not only did the Hawks' Neil Aird of Ancaster, Ont., answer Guelph's goal to tie the game at one, but Trevor Sauder from Tavistock, Ont., then followed up with a second quick goal to give the purple and gold a 2-1 lead.

For Aird, the goal was his first in a purple and gold uniform while Sauder netted his first of the season.

Going into the second period, Laurier was still on the hunt to increase their cushion. 

The burst of energy they were looking for came midway through the frame when Kitchener native Derek Shoenmakers found his third goal of the season to give the Golden Hawks a 3-1 advantage.

Not yet feeling secure with their leading position, Luke Hietkamp of London, Ont., sealed the deal with his first of the season to give the purple and gold a 4-1 edge heading into the third.

In the final period of play, Guelph was looking to capture a comeback. Although they outshot the Hawks 14-4 in the last 20, the Gryphons were unable to crack Laurier's defensive stability. 

Instead, Shoenmakers picked up the win for Laurier with his second goal of the night and his fourth in three games, and ensured the Golden Hawks ended the game with a 5-1 win on their record. 

Furlong picked up his second win of the year between the pipes for the Hawks as he made 31 saves. Scott Stajcer of Cambridge, Ont., took the loss for Guelph as he allowed five goals on 27 shots.

Also contributing to the victory were Matt Franzyck of Winnipeg, and Christian Mroczkowski of Kitchener, Ont., as they each had three assists in the contest.

With tonight's victory, Laurier picked up two crucial points that now has them tied for second in the OUA West division with the Gryphons and the Western Mustangs at 2-1-0 on the year.

Laurier will now look to continue their winning streak on Saturday, October 15, when they take on the York Lions (1-2-0) for the second time in two weeks. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at Canlan Arena in Toronto.

Source: Laurier Golden Hawks