MEN'S HOCKEY ROUNDUP: Lancers sweep Lakers, earn eighth straight win
Lakehead 7 @ Laurentian 1
The Laurentian Voyageurs men’s hockey team was back in action on Thursday night, playing one of their northern rivals, the Lakehead Thunderwolves, at the Countryside Arena in Sudbury. The Voyageurs were somewhat able to keep up in the first two periods of play, holding their opponents at two goals heading into the third. However the Thunderwolves had other ideas, as they put 5 more goals in the back of the Voyageurs’ net, in a game that ended in a 7-1 loss for the Voyageurs.
The Voyageurs started the game with a lot of energy, and played a near even first period with Lakehead. Unfortunately the team could not capitalize on a 5 minute major penalty and game misconduct on James Delory for a hit to the head. Near the end of the period Lakehead broke through with a goal by Paul Thompson, and the Voyageurs went into the first intermission trailing 1-0.
After the first intermission Lakehead came out strong and went up 2-0 at the 2:15 mark on a goal by Ryan Mcgill. Laurentian put up a strong performance of the rest of the period, but were unable to break through, as the second period ended 2-0 in favour of the Thunderwolves.
The Thunderwolves wasted no time after the second intermission, and only 41 seconds into the third Lakehead broke through again, with Kelin Ainsworth scoring his fourth goal of the season. That goal was the trigger for the Thunderwolves, who went on to score four more times in the third period. Laurentian was able to get on the scoreboard late, as Marc-Alain Begin broke through with a goal for the Voyageurs. The Thunderwolves outshot the Voyageurs 33-26 and for the Voyageurs it was a tough night on the powerplay, going 0 for 3.
For Lakehead, they continue their strong start, improving to a record of 6-1 on the season, which puts them at the top in the OUA West Division. For Laurentian, the loss marks their fourth straight and drops them to 3-5 on the season. The team has had trouble keeping the puck out of their own net, allowing at least 5 goals in their last four games.
Source: Laurentian Sports Info
Friday, November 8
Waterloo 3 @ UQTR 4
The 2013 Queen's Cup rematch was much closer than the OUA championship game last March, but unfortunately for the Waterloo Warriors, the result was the same.
Pierre-Olivier Morin scored a goal and added two assists, and the UQTR Patriotes were able to withstand an inspired performance by Warriors forward Chris Chappell (Pickering) in a 4-3 victory over Waterloo on Friday night in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec.
Billy Lacasse added two assists for the Patriotes, who move to 5-3-0 on the season. Chappell scored all three goals for the Warriors (4-3-1), while Justin Larson (Buckhorn) and Joe Underwood (Canton) each had a pair of assists in the loss. Marc-Antoine Gelinas turned aside 40 shots for UQTR in the win, while Mike Morrison (Hamilton) was saddled with the loss for the Warriors, making 29 stops.
The Patriotes opened up the scoring midway through the first period when, just seconds after the Warriors were stymied on a man advantage, Louis-Michel Lafreniere beat Morrison to put UQTR up 1-0 after twenty minues.
The first five minutes of the second period featured a barrage of scoring, kicked off by Chappell on the power play in the opening minute. Marc-Olivier Mimar restored the lead for the Patriotes when he shot through a screen and found the net off the rush, but Chappell evened things up at 2-2 when he converted a gorgeous Larson feed on the doorstep.
Both teams settled back into their defensive responsibilities after that, but Morin potted one on the power play just past the midway point of the period, making the score 3-2 for the Patriotes after two.
Vincent Marcoux put the Patriotes up by two goals at the six-minute mark of the third period when he capitalized on a neutral zone turnover and picked the corner over Morrison's glove on a breakaway. Late in the third, after Olivier Hotte took a major penalty for hitting from behind, Chappell drew the Warriors to within one with a gorgeous deke off the sideboards and a sniped wrister on Gelinas' short side. Waterloo kept the pressure on but couldn't find the equalizer, as the Patriotes claimed the 4-3 decision.
Source: Waterloo Sports Info
York 3 @ Carleton 4
Some late game heroics by Joey West enabled the Carleton Ravens to defeat the York Lions 4-3 on Friday night in OUA men’s hockey action.
West’s sharp angled shot from the left of the York goalkeeper went just inside the post for the winning goal with 18.1 seconds in the third period.
It looked like the contest was headed to overtime after the Lions stormed back to tie the game 3-3 with two third period markers after Carleton held a two goal lead.
But West seized the moment with his game winner.
“I took a pass from Mac (Mike McNamee) and didn’t want to screw the play up so I shot and it went in,” West said.
“We (Carleton) were not happy that the lead slipped away from us and wanted to get the win in regulation.”
The other goal scorers for Carleton were Patrick Harrison (Ottawa, ON), Jordan Deagle (Red Deer, AB) and Corey Durocher (Ottawa, ON). Joe Pleckaitis (Ottawa, ON) and Jake Cardwell (Niagara Falls, ON) had two assists apiece.
“I’m satisfied with the two points and really happy for Joey scoring the winning goal because he’s been kind of snake bitten lately,” said Ravens head coach, Marty Johnston.
“Playing York was different than our East division opponents, there’s not the same rivalry but we learned that we need to compete hard all the time no matter who we play.”
Carleton goaltender Ryan Dube (Sault Ste. Marie, ON) made 20 saves for his 5th win of the season.
The Ravens outshot York 41-23 and improved their overall record to (6-2-0) in the OUA East.
With the loss, York’s record is now (5-4-0) in the OUA West.
The Ravens will be back in action on Saturday afternoon with a 3:00PM game against Brock at the Carleton Ice House.
Source: Carleton Sports Info
Brock 6 @ RMC 2
KINGSTON, Ont. – Brock University's men's hockey team snapped a three-game losing streak at Royal Military College on Friday night, with a decisive 6-2 win over the Paladins.
Coach Murray Nystrom shuffled the Badgers lines heading into the contest at RMC, dressing rookie forward Sammy Banga for the first time all season, and put him on a line with Daniel Zweep and Jordan Gignac to open the game. The decision paid off, as Banga and Brandon Kerr set-up Gignac 13 seconds in, giving Brock the 1-0 lead.
Scott Domenico answered back for the Paladins two minutes later, ending the scoring in the first frame.
Matt Abercrombie put Brock ahead with his fifth goal of the campaign 1:23 into the 2nd period, and from that point forward the Badgers never looked back.
Thomas Welsh extended Brock's lead to 3-1 on the PP at 2:55, from Thomas Stajan and Gignac. Stajan made it 4-1 for the Badgers at 3:55, with assists being credited to Kerr and Josh Schram.
The Paladins cut the deficit to 4-2, before Dylan MacEachern scored late in the 2nd to give his squad a big cushion heading into the final period. Mike McGurk became the third Brock player to score their first of the season Friday, as he found net behind RMC Goalie Paul Dorsey at 19:08 of the 3rd period.
In the victory, Dalton McGrath made 22 saves on 24 shots, improving his squad to 4-4-1 on the season.
Brock plays tomorrow afternoon against the Carleton Ravens on the road, who are 6-2 thus far in OUA action.
Source: Brock Sports Info
Western 2 @ Ottawa 4
The Gee-Gees survived a late comeback attempt to beat the no. 7 ranked Western Mustangs at the uOttawa Minto Sports Complex on Friday night. The victory is the third straight for Ottawa, now 4-5-0, and drops Western’s record to 5-2-0. The game was marked by a pair of goals by Ottawa’s Stephen Blunden, including the game winner.
“We’re playing better with every game. Our team is playing with more and more confidence, and it showed tonight,” said Ottawa head coach Réal Paiement.
In the first period, the Gee-Gees came out strong and matched powerhouse Western stride for stride. Early in the game the Gee-Gees had excellent offensive zone presence, eventually forcing the Mustang defence on their toes. Ottawa opened the scoring at the 6:45 mark when second-year forward Trevor Layton took a one-time shot past the Mustang keeper on a beautiful pass from behind the net by Taylor Colins. The Gee-Gees scored again on a nice shot from the top of the hash mark by Blunden that found its way in the net after bouncing of the keeper’s shoulder, and finished the period up 2-0.
The Gee-Gees started the second period playing catch-up as the Mustangs started the second period very strong. Late in the period the Gee-Gees got in to penalty trouble, taking a couple of minor penalties back-to-back. The penalties cost the Gee-Gees as the Western scored at the 14:22 mark when Warren Shymko was beat low glove side on a one-timer by Kyle De Coste that was perfectly placed inside the post, making it a 2-1 game.
The Gee-Gees where very sluggish starting the third period, and it cost them. At the 1:31 mark Western tied up the game when Daniel Erlich scored on a third rebound that snuck by Shymko’s five hole. The Gee-Gees didn’t give up there, as they fought back and took the lead again following an absolute lazerbeam of a shot by Blunden who rifled the puck into top corner from the hash mark. “Touchette found me cutting in the middle and I just wanted to get a shot off, and I found a hole,” said the fourth-year forward, who now has four goals this season.
“There was not a moment after losing the lead that we started to panic, we kept playing our game,” said coach Paiement.
Western pulled goaltender Greg Dodds with just over a minute remaining and generated one scrum in front of the Ottawa net but no more as Mathieu Leduc tacked on an empty net goal with five seconds remaining to punctuate the victory.
Source: Ottawa Sports Info
Guelph 2 @ McGill 3
MONTREAL – Patrick Delisle-Houde of Quebec City scored twice, including the game-winner on the power-play with only 27 seconds remaining as No.5-ranked McGill edged Guelph 3-2 in OUA men's hockey at McConnell Arena, Friday.
The Redmen, who had a 46-23 edge in shots, appeared to be in cruise control with a 2-0 lead on second period goals by linemates Cedric McNicoll of Longueuil, Que., and Delisle-Houde. But Guelph struck with cobra-like precision midway through the final stanza, when Nicklas Huard of North Bay, Ont., and Teal Burns of Prince Rupert, B.C., tallied 40 seconds apart to knot the score at 2-2.
Delisle-Houde, a sophomore who led the team in scoring as a freshman, played a role on all three McGill goals. On the game-winner, he slammed home a Samuel Carrier rebound from the slot, seconds after the Gryphons had killed off one penalty kill on a 5-on-3 disadvantage. Defenceman Ryan McKiernan also drew an assist on the winning tally to up his points total to 5-5-10 in eight games. He is second on the Redmen in scoring, leads all OUA defencemen in goals and is one point behind Ryerson's Peter Hermengildo for the points lead among blueliners.
"Pat is a key player for us and was rewarded for his work by doing the things that he does so well," said Kelly Nobes, who improved to 99-40-4 in his four seasons as head coach at McGill. "He gets the team's 'blue hard-hat award' tonight for being around the blue paint (i.e. the goalie crease),
"The plan was to get pucks in behind their defencemen and we did that well. For me the correlation was to get it in deep, then we can go on offence, get pucks to the net and get going. Obviously our penalty-kill was real strong tonight -- we killed off eight penalties -- and our power-play was opportunistic. The important thing was how we responded to having a bit of a lapse (two quick goals against). We got the puck in deep, went back to work, drew two penalties and scored on the power-play."
Freshman goaltender Jacob Gervais-Chouinard registered 21 saves for the victory, improving to 3-1 on the season. The 21-year-old native of Sherbrooke, Que., played for three teams in the QMJHL and had a three-game tryout with the Montreal Canadiens AHL farm team in Hamilton last year. He is among the top two OUA goalies in goals-against average (1.40) and save percentage (.949).
Making his first start of the season, senior Andrew Loverock of Elmvale, Ont., was charged with the loss, despite a 43-save performance.
McGill was 1-for-7 with the man advantage and killed off all eight Guelph power-plays – including a pair of two-man situations – and now leads the OUA in penalty-killing. They have snuffed out 38 of 41 shorthanded situations for a .927 success rate.
This was McGill's first rendezvous with Guelph since 2009 and Redmen improved to 27-13-5 in 45 lifetime meetings, including a 10-3-1 mark in their last 14 matchups.
The Gryphons, who dropped to 5-4-0, play at Ottawa on Saturday night. The Gee-Gees (4-5-0) surprised No.7-ranked Western 4-2 on Friday and the Mustangs (5-2-0) will take on McGill (6-2-0) on Saturday at 7 p.m. It will mark Western's first visit to McConnell Arena since a 4-4 draw on Nov. 24, 2006.
Source: McGill Sports Info
Windsor 5 @ Nipissing 1
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Despite another very solid start, the first goal of the game and an impressive opening period, the Nipissing Lakers men’s hockey team fell short against the Windsor Lancers for the second time in as many nights.
The Lakers built a 1-0 in the first period on a Grant Toulmin goal, but Windsor scored the next four goals and held on for a 5-3 win to sweep the two-game set against the Lakers.
Down 4-1, the Lakers attempted a comeback with goals about three minutes apart by Conor O’Donnell and Dorian Peca in the final frame, but after that they couldn’t find the equalizer and the Lancers added another goal with just over a minute remaining in the game.
John Chartrand was tagged with the loss despite having a solid game in net after returning from injury.
He made 30 saves in total as the Lakers were outshot 35-28.
Source: Nipissing Sports Info
Laurier 6 @ Concordia 4
MONTREAL (November 8, 2013) - Derek Schoenmakers of Kitchener, Ont., scored four goals to lead the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's hockey team to a 6-4 victory over the Concordia Stingers on Friday night.
Schoenmakers performance set a new modern day single-game record for the Golden Hawks as no Laurier player has scored four goals in a game since single game records started being tracked in 1999.
The win helped Laurier (1-4-1) snap a five game losing streak to open the season. Concordia fell to 2-5-0 with the loss.
Also finding the back of the net for the Hawks in the contest were defenceman Mackenzie Braid of Mississauga, Ont., and Greg Cerilli of Barrie, Ont. For Braid, the goal was the first of his OUA career.
Goaltender Shayne Campbell of Cambridge, Ont., also picked up his first career OUA victory as he turned away 26 shots. Antonio Mastropietro of Montreal, stopped 24 shots in a losing effort.
Laurier was buoyed in this contest by a strong powerplay effort that saw the team finish a perfect 3-for-3 with the man advantage with Schoenmakers connecting for all three powerplay tallies.
Source: Laurier Sports Info
Toronto 1 @ Queen’s 3
KINGSTON, Ont. (November 8, 2013) - The Queen's Gaels improved their record to 5-0-4 with a 3-1 win over the Toronto Varsity Blues on Friday night in OUA hockey action at the Memorial Centre in Kingston.
The Gaels have yet to lose a game in regulation and currently sit in first place in the OUA East with 14 points.
Paul Van De Velde opened the scoring for the Varsity Blues in the first period and the Gaels were able to respond in the second.
Chris Van Laren (Kingston, Ont.) got the Gaels on the board at 3:05 and two and a half minutes later Patrick McGillis (Calgary) notched his second goal of the season. Jordan Coccimiglio (Burlington, Ont.) assisted on both of the Gaels second period tallies.
In the third Gaels starting netminder Kevin Bailie (Belleville, Ont.) stood tall in the the third and Queen's hung on for the win. McGillis added his second goal of the game with an empty netter. Bailie stopped 21 of 22 shots for the win.
Source: Queen’s Sports Info
Lakehead 4 @ Laurentian 1
The Laurentian Voyageurs men’s hockey team was back in action Friday night, and were looking for redemption after their loss to the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Thursday. While their effort was much better than that in their previous game, the Voyageurs were unable to stop the Thunderwolves, falling 4-1 in their second encounter of the season.
The Thunderwolves came into the game tied for top spot in the OUA West, while the Voyageurs were sitting 7th in the East. The game was the second game of back to back meetings between the teams, with the Thunderwolves taking the first meeting 7-1.
The Voyageurs established physical play early, with a flurry of big hits. However, after that the Thunderwolves took control, dominating the Voyageurs in shots in the period (16-3) and jumping out to a 2-0 lead heading into the second period.
The second period was a defensive battle, with only 9 total shots between the two teams. However, Lakehead was the only team to break through with a goal by Mike Hammond. This put the Thunderwolves up 3-0 heading to the third.
In the third the Voyageurs came out flying with a goal by Brandon Howes just 26 seconds into the period. That would be all the Voyageurs could muster though as Lakehead added an empty netter to win 4-1. The game was an improvement for the Voyageurs, who had lost 7-1 to Lakehead a night earlier.
The Voyageurs had trouble staying out of the penalty box, giving Lakehead 13 power play opportunities. The Voyageurs demonstrated their strength on the penalty kill as they were able to prevent the Thunderwolves from capitalizing on all thirteen powerplays.
For the Voyageurs, the loss is the fifth in a row after a promising 3 and 1 start.
Source: Laurentian Sports Info
Saturday, November 9
Waterloo 5 @ Concordia 2
If the rest of the OUA men's hockey community didn't already know how talented Chris Chappell (Pickering) was, they certainly know now.
Chappell's two goals and three assists capped off an eight-point weekend, and the Waterloo Warriors used four unanswered goals in the third period to top the Concordia Stingers 5-2 in Montreal on Saturday afternoon.
Justin Larson (Buckhorn) added two goals and an assist for the 4-4-1 Warriors, who earned their first road win of 2013-14. Taylor Lambke and Kyle Armstrong scored for the Stingers, who fall to 2-6-0. Justin Leclerc (Saskatoon) was solid when needed for Waterloo, making 33 saves for the victory. Antonio Mastropietro was under siege in the Stingers net for the bulk of the afternoon, turning aside 36 shots in a losing cause.
The start of the game was delayed by over an hour due to a malfunctioning Zamboni entrance door, and the layoff seemed to hinder the hosts more than the visiting Warriors – Waterloo came out of the gate on fire, piling up scoring chances and drawing the game's first three power play opportunities. However, Concordia counted the only goal of the frame, when Lambke jumped on a rebound and put the Stingers up 1-0 after the first.
The Warriors responded midway through the second when Larson notched his fourth of the season on the man advantage. Again the Warriors dominated possession, surrendering only three shots in the period. Mastropietro stood tall though, and the clubs finished 40 minutes of play tied at 1-1.
The Warriors looked like they might be headed for a disappointing loss when Armstrong took advantage of a turnover and put the Stingers up 2-1 just two minutes into the third. But that's when the Chappell-Larson-Brett Mackie (Whitby) line took over the contest, and the Warriors rattled off four straight goals.
First, Stephen Silas (Georgetown) flew in from the point and grabbed a rebound for his first career CIS goal to even the score at 2-2. Then, just past the seven-minute mark, Chappell scored the eventual game-winner, and Larson followed with some insurance just over four minutes later. Chappell then rounded out the scoring on the power play, giving him his 11th goal in just nine career CIS games.
The Warriors will now return home for a pair of weekend tilts against OUA East opponents, as they'll host the Laurentian Voyageurs in the annual Think Pink cancer awareness game on Friday night, before facing the Nipissing Lakers on Saturday evening.
Source: Waterloo Sports Info
Laurier 0 @ UQTR 4
TROIS-RIVIERES, Que. (November 9, 2013) - The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's hockey team traveled to Quebec to take on the UQTR Patriotes to close out weekend action. The Hawks, coming off their first win of the season, were blanked by the Patriotes in a 4-0 loss.
A strong start from both sides provided an even start to the game, with equal offensive exchanges and strong defensive play. The Patriotes opened the scoring late in the first with a goal from Pierre-Olivier Morin of Trois-Rivieres, Que.
UQTR would open the second period with a power play marker from Mikael Langlois of Trois-Rivieres, Que. Langlois would find the net off of another power-play opportunity mid-way through the second period, giving the Patriots a comfortable 3-0 lead after 40 minutes.
The third period proved to be the sa me story for the Golden Hawks, as their struggle to find offensive production continued. Billy Lacasse of Mont-Laurier, Que., recorded a goal late in the third period, adding insult to injury as the Patriots downed the Hawks 4-0.
The Patriots offensive production came from a multi-point game from three different players. Marc-Olivier Mimar of Quebec City, and Lacasse each earned three points in the contest, while Langlois netted two goals to lead the UQTR to victory.
Also finding the score sheet was Olivier Dallaire of St-Basile-le-Grand, Que., Jesse Guathier-Le Breton of Mont-Laurier, Que. and Raphael Boudreau of Lasalle, Que., each earning a single assist.
Duncan Long of Brantford, Ont. got the call for the Hawks, turning aside 40 shots in a strong outing. Guillaume Nadeau of St-Charles de Bellechasse, Que., recorded the shutout with 32 saves, earning the win for the Patriots.
Source: Laurier Sports Info
Brock 3 @ Carleton 1
It was a classic example of a goaltender stealing a game in Saturday’s OUA men’s hockey contest between the Carleton Ravens and visiting Brock Badgers.
The Ravens outshot the Badgers and their goalie Dalton McGrath by the outrageous amount of 40-18 but Brock managed to win the game 3-1.
“Our guys (Carleton) worked hard but couldn’t find the back of the net,” said Marty Johnston, Ravens head coach.
“Our forwards have to create more luck and opportunities in the dirty areas of the ice and we need to be better on our specialty teams.”
Carleton controlled play in the opening period and outshot Brock 15-3 but it was the Badgers who led 1-0.
Each team scored once in the middle frame with Carleton’s goal coming from Mitch Zion (Manotick, ON) with the Ravens shorthanded.
The Ravens pressed for the tying goal in the final period but were denied by McGrath every time.
Carleton (6-3-0) had a late game power play but the Ravens came up empty in their attempt to tie the score.
With Carleton goalie Francis Dupuis (Ottawa, ON) on the bench in favour of an extra attacker, the Ravens blitzed their opponents net but had to watch helplessly as a Badger player picked up a loose puck and tapped it into any empty cage to seal the 3-1 victory for Brock (5-5-0).
Brock’s power play finished 1 for 3 while Carleton was 0-3. Dupuis made 15 saves for Carleton.
Source: Carleton Sports Info
Windsor 5 @ Nipissing 3
?Despite another very solid start, the first goal of the game and an impressive opening period, the Nipissing Lakers men’s hockey team fell short against the Windsor Lancers for the second time in as many nights.
The Lakers built a 1-0 in the first period on a Grant Toulmin goal, but Windsor scored the next four goals and held on for a 5-3 win to sweep the two-game set against the Lakers.
Down 4-1, the Lakers attempted a comeback with goals about three minutes apart by Conor O’Donnell and Dorian Peca in the final frame, but after that they couldn’t find the equalizer and the Lancers added another goal with just over a minute remaining in the game.
John Chartrand was tagged with the loss despite having a solid game in net after returning from injury.
He made 30 saves in total as the Lakers were outshot 35-28.
Source: Nipissing Sports Info
York 3 @ RMC 1
The York University Lions men's hockey team snapped a four-game slide Saturday (Nov. 9), claiming victory over the RMC Paladins by a score of 3-1 at Constantine Arena in Kingston, Ont.
The win improves the Lions record to 6-4-0 on the year, while the Paladins remain winless.
Two different players for the Lions had multiple point nights, with captain and leading scorer Jesse Messier (Keswick, Ont.) notching a goal and an assist and teammate Troy Barss (Barrie, Ont.) recording two helpers.
The opening period was a close affair from the start, with both teams unable to secure an edge. But RMC would kick off the scoring just moments past the halfway point of the first when Patrick Pinder (Calgary) beat York goaltender Andrew Perugini (King City, Ont.) to secure a one-goal advantage.
The Lions were anxious to respond however, as Tyler McGee (Timmins, Ont.) would find teammate Mark Cross (Strasbourg, Sask.) in front of the net only 15 seconds later for the equalizer goal. It remained tied at 1-1 going into the second.
The middle period would settle nothing, as both teams remained unwilling to give an inch. York did outshoot RMC 17-12 in the frame, but the teams were still deadlocked at a goal apiece after two. Breaking for the final intermission, York would look to pull away in the third.
Defenceman Tyler Mort (Keswick, Ont.) provided the Lions with an opportunity to pull away in the third, scoring within the first minute of play off of a Messier pass to give the Lions a 2-1 lead.
With the advantage in hand, York was able to control most of the remaining action. Messier would add an insurance goal with only minutes left of play to seal the deal, his team-leading seventh goal and 15th point of the year. He is currently tied for fourth in OUA scoring.
Source: York Sports Info
Western 4 @ McGill 5
MONTREAL – Cedric McNicoll of Longueuil, Que., snapped a 4-4 tie with the game-winner at 10:56 of the final period as No.5-ranked McGill rallied for a 5-4 victory over seventh-ranked Western in a highly-entertaining OUA men's hockey game at McConnell Arena, Saturday.
It was Western's first visit to Montreal since 2006 but the teams are no strangers and have crossed paths three times over the last five years in the Queen's Cup league championship game. They have also met twice at Nationals over that span, including a 4-3 overtime victory for McGill in the 2012 CIS gold medal game.
"Western's a real good team and one that we've had some history with over the last few years," said Kelly Nobes, who collected his 100th victory behind the bench for McGill and now owns a 100-40-4 overall record as bench boss of the Redmen. "We expected a battle and that's exactly what we got."
McGill, which leads the 20-team OUA conference in both, goals scored (38) and fewest goals against (17), had five different marksmen on the scoresheet, including newcomer Neal Prokop of Winnipeg, who registered a goal and two helpers. The 6-foot-4, 201-pound walk-on who played five years in the Western Hockey League, has collected 10 points, including three goals, in nine games.
McGill went over the 40-shot plateau for the fourth consecutive game, outshooting the Mustangs 49-38 in a wide-open and very physical contest that featured five lead changes and a whopping 88 penalty minutes, including 44 to McGill. The Redmen went 3-for-8 on the power-play, while Western was 2-for-10.
"I was pleased with our effort for a few reasons," said Nobes. "It was a tough game for the players because when we were on the penalty-kill for long stretches, our power-play unit was sitting on the bench. Then when the power-play unit was on for extended play, the other guys were sitting on the bench. So it takes a lot of focus to stay in the game and be ready to go for the next shift when there is not a lot of flow. The other thing that I liked was that we came from behind three times in the game and that shows composure for our young team and that was good to see."
The Mustangs led 2-1 after the first period and 4-3 after two.
Redmen rookie Carl Gelinas of Sherbrooke, Que., tied the game at 4-4 with a power-play marker at 3:14 of the final stanza, setting the stage for McNicoll's heroics less than eight minutes later.
Forward David Rose of Longueuil, Que., and defenceman Ryan McKiernan of White Plains, N.Y., also struck for the Redmen. McKiernan, a management senior who has a modest six-game point-scoring streak, now leads all OUA blueliners in both goals (6) and points (12)
Replying for the Mustangs was Steven Reese, Matt Clarke, Zach Hamden and Daniel Erlich.
Veteran goaltender Andrew Flemming got the start for McGill and saved 23 of 27 shots before being relieved by rookie Jacob Gervais-Chouinard, who stopped all 11 shots faced and earned the victory despite just 20 minutes of work.
Josh Unice, a fifth-year senior from Toledo, Ohio, made 44 saves in vain for the Mustangs.
Western (5-3-0) will have almost a week off before they take to the ice at home on Nov. 15, for a game against UOIT (3-5-1). McGill, which sits atop the OUA East Division with a 7-1-1 record, will hit the road next weekend with games at Brock (5-4-1) in St. Catharines, Ont., and at York (6-4-0), Nov. 15-16.
Source: McGill Sports Info
Guelph 3 @ Ottawa 8
A five-goal third period carried the Gee-Gees to an 8-3 win over the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday night in Ottawa. The victory brings the Gee-Gees back to .500 at 5-5-0 and drops the Gryphons to 5-5-0.
The game was a coming out party for second-year forward Mathieu Ouellette, who came into the game with just two points in eight games. Last season’s leading goal scorer for Ottawa lit up tonight, notching two goals and two assists. “Scoring four points tonight was really relieving,” said the native of Clarence Creek, Ont. “I had a slow start to the season but I was starting to play better the last couple of games.”
Third-year forward Alexandre Touchette also scored twice for the Gee-Gees, including one of the three power play markers to elude Guelph keeper Andrew Loverock. Ottawa outshot the visitors by a 50-24 margin.
It was a seesaw battle until the third period. Near the halfway point of the first period, the Gee-Gees started getting in penalty troubles, taking back-to-back minor penalties. Goaltender Warren Shymko kept them in it but could not hold Guelph off for long in the second power play as the Gryphons used their CIS top-five power play unit to score at the 8:59 mark and make it 1-0. The Gee-Gees fought back and tied it at the 14:21 mark, when Loverock lost sight of the puck and Ouellette wrapped it around and past the keeper. The Gryphons took the lead back at the 19:02 mark when Guelph’s Philip Teri finished an odd-man rush.
The second period started with a bang, as the Gee-Gees tied it up just 15 seconds in when Ouellette buried a rebound goal with assists going to Nicholas Larocque-Marcoux and Rock Régimbald. After a pretty even period, Ottawa scored their second unanswered goal on the power play at 6:39 when Touchette buried a rebound goal off a shot from Guillaume Donovan following a one timer attempt between Stephen Blunden and Donovan. The lead didn’t last long as the Gryphons tied it up at the 7:29 mark with a goal by Cale Jefferies. That goal would stand as the equalizer and the period finished in a 3-3 tie.
The Gee-Gees opened the third period with another early goal just 44 seconds into the period. “The team that was to score the fourth goal was going to be the team to win and we were lucky to score early in the period, that goal put wind in our sails,” noted Gee-Gees bench boss Réal Paiement.
The early goal proved to be one of many, and the Gee-Gees tallied five goals including Andrew Creppin’s first goal of the season. Nothing could go right for Guelph in the final frame as Ottawa’s Matt White notched a short-handed marker at 16:36, and the game was punctuated with a power play goal by Matthieu Tanguay-Theriault with just eight seconds left on the clock.
Source: Ottawa Sports Info
Toronto 5 @ UOIT 1
OSHAWA, Ont. – The UOIT Ridgebacks men’s hockey team dropped a 5-1 decision to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday night at the Campus Ice Centre.
After taking a 1-0 lead into the locker room after 20 minutes, Toronto’s offence would catch fire to open the second period scoring three goals over a three minute span. Dylan Heide scored his third goal of the year on the power play three minutes into the period, followed by goals from Paul Van De Velde and Andrew Doyle at the 5:08 and 6:18 minute mark respectively.
UOIT goaltender Jacob Rattie would come into the game in relief after the four goal outburst and shut Toronto down for the remainder of the period. Rattie’s only goal against came 52 seconds into the third period when Michael Markovic scored his ninth goal of the season.
Matt Salituro would register the Ridgebacks lone goal at the 1:26 minute mark of the third with Cameron Yuill picking up an assist on the play.
Shots were relatively even in the game with Toronto holding a slight 36-35 advantage.
Toronto goaltender Brett Willows, who was called up to the Toronto Maple Leafs in an emergency situation earlier in the year, made 34 saves in the win. Colin Dzijacky allowed four goals against on 17 shots while Rattie made 18 saves.
Toronto was 1-for-3 with the man-advantage and UOIT was shutout going 0-for-4.
UOIT has struggled on home ice this season as they have only picked up three points in five games, which includes a forfeited win over Ryerson.
Source: UOIT Sports Info