OSHAWA, Ont. – With both teams having already secured a playoff spot, Friday night's game between UOIT and Concordia was about playoff positioning.

When the final horn sounded, it was the Ridgebacks victorious 5-3 over the Stingers, clinching fifth place in the OUA east.

On a night where UOIT honoured its graduating seniors, the home side came out of the gates flying. The early energy shown by the Ridgebacks rewarded them with the opening goal just under two minutes into the game. Concordia was able to rebound and push back with great opportunities, however senior goaltender Brendan O'Neill (Ilderton, Ont.) was equal to everything in the Ridgebacks' net.
 
Prior to puck drop O'Neill was joined by Danny Elser (Hopewll Juncton, N.Y.), Anthony Latina (Scarborough, Ont.) and Tyler Mayea (Burlington, Ont.) for the special pregame ceremony recognizing the graduates.

It was after a flurry of chances on the power play, before the Stingers finally solved O'Neill. The game looked to be heading to the final 20 minutes of regulation tied, until Keaton Holinaty (Hardisty, Alta.) scored his first as a Ridgeback, with under a minute to go in the second.

The Ridgebacks displayed great team defence throughout the third period, ultimately leading to Jack Patterson (Bedford, N.S.) icing the game with an empty netter.

As mentioned, the win secures the Ridgebacks fifth place and will face the fourth-place McGill Redmen. The series will open in Oshawa, with Game 1 going Wednesday or Thursday at the Campus Ice Centre.
 

LIGHT THE LAMP

• JC Thivierge (Welland, Ont.) opened the scoring, after controlling a bouncing puck in the neutral zone and walking around the Concordia defender, before placing the backhander over the goalie's right shoulder.
• It was late on a power play, when Jake Bricknell (Port Perry, Ont.) took the slot pass from Brennan Roy (Iroquois Falls, Ont.), before burying the wrist shot past the netminder with 7:14 o go in the second.
• Charles-Eric Legare was able to find space in the high slot to receive a pass from the corner, before rifling a shot over a diving O'Neill.
• Shortly after their first goal, the Stingers found themselves on a 2-on-1, with Jake Fletcher blasting the slap shot into the top left corner.
• With just under a minute left in the second frame, Holinaty potted his first as a Ridgeback on a quick spinning wrister, after great puck control from Josh Maguire (Cobourg, Ont.).
• Maguire restored the two-goal lead with a beautiful strip of the puck off the Stingers defenceman and a centering pass that deflected off a Stingers skate before going in.
• Stingers defenceman, Simon Bourque beat O'Neill short side after the Ridgebacks failed to clear the defensive zone.
• Patterson corralled the puck in the neutral zone and found room to skate, before passing the puck into the empty cage with 59 seconds remaining
 

BETWEEN THE PIPES

• Brendan O'Neill finished with 33 saves on 36 shots, highlighted by a couple of spectacular saves.
• Marc-Antoine Turcotte faced 26 shots, making 22 saves in the loss.
 

RIDGEBACKS AT A GLANCE

Overall Record: 16-11-5
Conference Record: 14-9-5
 
Next Game: Date TBD vs. McGill Redmen • Campus Ice Centre