TORONTO - The Ryerson Rams men's hockey team revealed their 2016-17 lineup Thursday night and put on quite the show in a thrilling 6-3 victory over the Laurier Golden Hawks. 

BOXSCORE

The Rams received production from both new and familiar faces in Thursday's home opener win.  The returnee line of Chris Marchese, Jamie Lewis, and Mitch Theoret each had a goal, as did sophomore Vince Figliomeni.  Freshmen Landon Schiller and Josh Sterk each added a goal of their own for their first CIS markers. 

Catch a replay of the game on Rogers TV Toronto (Cable 10/63) on Saturday, October 8 at 8:30pm.

The line of Figliomeni, Devon Paliani, and Schiller combined for two of the Rams six goals Thursday night and executed a disciplined defensive structure for the entire 60 minutes, which didn't go unnoticed by Head Coach, Johnny Duco. 

“They're a line that can play against any line in this league,” said Duco.  “Something we talked about coming into this game was that they might see some time against the other teams' top lines in an effort to shut them down and chip in offensively. And that's exactly what they were able to do.  We thought that they were arguably our top line tonight.” 

Schiller (Thornhill, Ont.) got the ball rolling for the Rams early in the opening frame.  Figliomeni wheeled down the wing and sent a gift over to Schiller in front, who one-timed a perfectly placed shot over the pad of Golden Hawks net-minder Colin Furlong before crashing the net.

“I just wanted to make sure the puck went in,” laughed Schiller when asked about crashing into the net on the goal.  “If I had to go in the net too, then so be it, right?”

Three minutes after the opening Schiller goal, Lewis sauced a backhand beauty to Marchese in the slot, who made no mistake for his first of the year and the Rams second of the game.  The Rams went on to shut things down defensively for the remainder of the period and cruised into the first intermission with a controlling 2-0 lead.

Despite being down 2-0, the Golden Hawks didn't shy away in the second.  Erik Pushka of the Hawks sent a low blazing shot over the pad of what had been an unsolvable Rams goalkeeper Charlie Graham.  The Pushka marker proved that Graham was indeed human and brought the Golden Hawks to within one. 

Moments later however, forward Josh Sterk joined Schiller with his first CIS goal.  Sterk deflected a knuckle puck shot from defenceman Brandon Devlin while in front and restored the Rams two-goal lead less then a minute after they lost it.

Figliomeni's marker at 10:06 in the second established some much needed comfort for the Rams, but sloppy and relaxed execution played right into the hands of the Golden Hawks, who began to steal back the momentum late in the second period. 

With time ticking down in the second, the Rams looked to be well on their way to a lopsided season opener win, but OUA West star Derek Schoenmakers had different plans for his Golden Hawks.  Schoenmakers streaked down the far wing and released a B-line shot past Graham, which capped an impressive solo effort and brought the Golden Hawks to within two.

The third period then started off just how the second ended.  Schoenmakers walked in and potted his second goal of the night, and the 42nd of his CIS career.

 The Golden Hawks got to within one early in the third, but that was as close as they would get, as Rams' forwards Theoret and Lewis scored two unanswered third period goals to power the Rams to a 6-3 victory. 

The Rams' Graham was spectacular between the pipes in his CIS debut.  He finished his 60 minutes of work with three goals allowed but made an impressive 43 saves for the victory. 

“I thought he was a calming presence back there,” said Duco when asked about Graham's performance.  “I think he made a number of key saves for us.  I was really impressed with the way he played and how he played the puck and managed the game back there for us.” 

Although the Rams come away unscathed after Thursday's victory, there's no denying that specific aspects of their game need to be improved on come Saturday in what will be a heated tilt with Windsor. 

“We're throwing too many pucks away.  I think our amount of turnovers was unacceptable,” stated Duco in frustration.  “I think we gave up 16 grade 'A' chances in front of our net which is unacceptable so it's something we will address.  We will learn from it, we will talk to the boys, and it's a teachable thing that we can improve on.”

The Rams will take Thursday's win with a grain of salt and look to build on it against the mighty Windsor Lancers on Saturday night.  The game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start at the South Windsor Arena and will be available on OUA.tv.