M-HOCKEY WEEKEND ROUNDUP: Golden Hawks help playoff chances with 3-0 win over No. 6 Lancers
Friday, January 23
Laurentian 1 @ Nipissing 4
Just when the Nipissing Lakers men's hockey team needed a big effort, they got and earned two huge points Friday night on home ice.
The Lakers, who had lost their past two games, came up with a huge 4-1 win over the Laurentian Voyageurs, the team they're battling with for fourth place in the OUA East Division.
With the win, the Lakers have now caught the Voyageurs in points and surpassed them thanks to having more wins on the season.
After surrendering the first goal of the game late in the first, the Lakers tied the game before the period came to an end.
Colin Campbell found the back of the net, with his linemates Brock Morrison and Jacob McDowell earning assists.
After the first 20, it was all Lakers as they scored once in the second and twice in the third to come away with the win.
Matt Paton scored what would be the game-winner in the second period on a power play and Jim McDowell padded the lead in the third with a power play goal of his own.
Dylan Staples would ice it with a goal late in the period to ensure the Lakers got the two points.
Paton finished with a goal and two assists and Jacob McDowell had two assists to lead the team offensively.
Kirk Rafuse bounced back from a rough weekend against Lakehead and turned in a solid game, making 29 saves for the victory.
Nipissing will look to build off this win tomorrow when they hit the road to face the powerful Carleton Ravens, who sit in third place in the division.
Game time is 7 p.m. in Ottawa.
Source: Nipissing Lakers
Queens 1 @ McGill 4
MONTREAL (January 23, 2015) - Brett Foy (Niagara Falls, Ont.) collected the lone tally for the Gaels as the men's hockey team was defeated 4-1 versus the McGill Redmen Friday night on the road in Montreal.
The Redmen recorded four unanswered goals in the middle frame, highlighted by a hat-trick from Samuel Labrecque.
Foy registered his third of the season in the final five minutes of regulation. Patrick Downe (New Maryland, N.B.) and Eric Ming (Williamstown, Ont.) collected the assists.
Finals shots for the night totalled 31-30 in favour of Queen's. Goaltender Kevin Bailie (Belleville, Ont.) started in net for the Gaels and was pulled after two periods after surrendering four goals on 20 shots. Chris Clarke (Fall River, N.S) started the final period and made 10 saves in relief. Jacob Gervais-Chouinard of the Redmen earned the 30 save victory.
The Gaels (9-12-1) return to action Tuesday night when they take on the UOIT Ridgebacks (9-12-1). Puck drop is set for 7:30pm at the Memorial Centre.
Source: Queen's Gaels
Western 0 @ York 1
Back-up goaltender Mitch Maraschiello made the most of his start on Friday (Jan. 23) as he held the Western Mustangs off the scoreboard in a 1-0 win for the York University Lions men's hockey team at Canlan Ice Sports.
The Lions came into the game 17 points behind the Mustangs in the OUA West standings and were facing a Western team that had the division's best defence and second-best offence. But the Lions turned the tables and played a strong defensive game, earning the victory and holding the Mustangs scoreless.
The win would not have been achieved without Maraschiello's (Buffalo, N.Y.) spectacular goaltending, as he made 30 saves en route to his first career shutout.
The first period was extremely fast-paced with the both sides fighting the entire 20 minutes of play. The Mustangs were the first to get a taste of the back of the net at 8:13 when Stefan Salituro fell into Maraschiello, knocking him over and scoring a disallowed goal due to goaltender interference.
After that near mishap, the Lions came down the other end and Colton Vannucci (Calgary) and Michael Santini (Woodbridge, Ont.) rushed the net at 12:40, then sent the puck back to Trevor Petersen (Thornhill, Ont.), who smacked it home to put the Lions in the lead 1-0 by the end of the period.
The Mustangs put 14 shots on Maraschiello – three of them resulting in a broken stick – but Maraschiello never backed down.
Things started to cool down in the second period as there were no goals scored. Both goalies did a phenomenal job in the second defending their net as the Mustangs launched six shots at Maraschiello and the Lions fired 11 shots at Greg Dodds.
In the third, the Mustangs brought the heat and pressure with fast passing and one touch shooting, constantly keeping the play in the Lions' end of the rink. The Mustangs fired 10 shots at Maraschiello and had pulled their goalie for the extra attacker, but they still couldn't find the back of the net.
The Lions remain in a tie for sixth place in the OUA West standings with a record of 9-11-2, while the Mustangs are now in a tie for first place, although Windsor holds two games in hand.
The next game for the Lions is on Saturday (Jan. 24) against the Toronto Varsity Blues in Toronto. Puck drop is set for 7:30pm.
Source: York Lions
Windsor 2 @ Brock 1
The Brock Badgers men's hockey team dropped their fourth straight game, losing 2-1 to the Windsor Lancers Friday night at the Seymour-Hannah Centre.
After a scoreless first period, the Lancers opened the scoring 11:42 into the middle stanza as Drew Palmer scored his thirteenth goal of the season.
Windsor would then take a 2-0 lead midway through the third period when Dylan Denomme beat Adrian Volpe on the powerplay for his eleventh goal of the campaign.
Tyson Dallman would finally bulge the twine for the Badgers at the 13:51 mark, with his third tally of the year, but that's all the homeside could muster behind Peter Van Buskirk who made 26 saves in the victory.
Volpe turned aside 34 in the loss.
Despite the defeat head coach Murray Nystrom was pleased with his teams performance.
"Tonight we played the defending league champions to the final buzzer," said Nystrom. "Despite not gaining a point we use the positive energy generated by our play and move forward. If we can repeat tonight's performance every game from here on out, we'll be fine."
Brock was 0-for-4 on the powerplay, while Windsor was 1-for-2.
The Badgers now welcome the Waterloo Warriors next Friday night. Game time at the Seymour-Hannah Centre is 7:15 p.m.
Source: Brock Badgers
Lakehead 3 @ Toronto 4
Fourth-year goaltender Brett Willows made 37 saves as the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's hockey team defeated the Lakehead Thunderwolves 4-3 on Friday, January 23 at Varsity Arena.
With the win, Toronto's first over Lakehead since 2001, the Blues improve to 9-11-1 and jump into a tie for seventh, just one point out of fifth in the West division.
Second-year defenceman Corey Jackson opened the scoring just 3:43 into the game as his point shot found its way through traffic to beat Thunderwolves veteran Jeff Bosch.
U of T netminder Brett Willows kept the T-Wolves off the board with a great save off a Lakehead breakaway midway through the first.
Toronto extended their lead in the final minute of the opening frame when Tyler Liukkonen picked off a Lakehead pass in front of the net and found Jeff Brown wide open off the far post. U of T led 2-0 after the first period.
The Blues had a great chance to pad their lead on the powerplay midway through the second period. Toronto peppered Bosch with shots and Patrick Marsh hit the cross bar, but it was Lakehead who struck next as Jay Gilbert's point shot floated through traffic to find the back of the net.
The Blues held a narrow 2-1 advantage heading into the final frame.
Third-year forward Patrick Marsh notched his fifth goal of the season 6:24 into the third period, taking a pass from Russell Turner and finishing it off with a backhand into the net. However, Lakehead responded as Cody Alcock wired a shot from the half boards into the top corner of the net to bring it back within one.
Kelin Ainsworth would even the game at 3-3 with a powerplay marker with 6:30 remaining, but Toronto's Christian Finch regained the U of T lead with a nice five-hole goal on a breakaway just 15 seconds later.
The Varsity Blues return to action tomorrow night as they take on the York Lions at Varsity Arena. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. The game will also be streamed live on OUA.tv.
Source: Toronto Varsity Blues
Saturday, January 24
Lakehead 4 @ Ryerson 5
TORONTO - With a blast from the blueline, rookie Rams defenceman Alex Basso (Toronto) sealed the deal Saturday in a tight matchup against the Lakehead Thunderwolves that ended 5-4 in favour of the home team.
"It's a huge win for us today because it's becoming quite a log-jam if you look at the standings," said head coach Graham Wise.
Coming off a disappointing loss against the Waterloo Warriors on Thursday, the Rams needed the win in order to maintain their coveted fourth place position in the OUA west division.
It was a bit of a rough start for the Rams, despite having lots of chances in the offensive zone. By the end of the first, the Thunderwolves were up 1-0 after forward David Quesnele put his third of the season past Troy Passingham (Mississauga, Ont.).
In the second, the Rams would get sloppy, missing passes, breaking up plays and allowing Lakehead's second goal courtesy of E.J Faust.
Finding their footing midway through the period, Ryerson would answer with goals from Daniel Clairmont (Bracebridge, Ont.), Andreas Tsogkas (Scarborough, Ont.) and Kyle Blaney (Burlington, Ont.).
In his fourth game back from being sidelined earlier in the season, Blaney put up three assists along with his seventh goal of the season. Wise made the decision late in the game to play him on the first line's right wing alongside Michael Fine (Toronto) and Domenic Alberga (Maple, Ont.).
"He's a versatile player," said Wise, "and a real integral part of our team."
The match was tied at three going into the third frame. Mirroring his first goal, Clairmont would add his second off a perfect pass from Blaney.
"We found a connection between each other," said Clairmont following the win. "It's great to have [Blaney] back in the lineup."
With less than five minutes to go, Carson Dubchak would sneak one by Passingham, squaring the game at four goals apiece.
Basso's game-winning slapper came with less than two minutes remaining in the game, salvaging any chance of an overtime period.
"It was a good character win," said Wise, noticeably cheerier considering his team's performance.
Next on the docket, Ryerson will take on their University of Toronto rivals on Tuesday, Jan. 27 at 11 a.m. at the Varsity Arena. Toronto currently sits seventh in the OUA west division.
Source: Ryerson Rams
Guelph 3 @ Waterloo 4
Missing both their top scorer and their captain, the Waterloo Warriors need a new – and sometimes, unlikely – hero to step up each night. On Saturday night, Riley Sonnenburg (Cambridge) took his turn.
Sonnenburg scored two first-period goals, and Colin Behenna (Waterloo) buried a third-period tally that held up as the game-winning goal, as the Warriors topped the visiting Guelph Gryphons on Saturday night at the Columbia Icefield Arena in Waterloo.
Andrew Smith (Kitchener) also tallied for the Warriors, who ran their point streak to 13 games. They're 12-0-1 in that time, and they improved their record to 15-6-2 on the season. Meanwhile, the Gryphons had their four-game winning streak snapped, as they fell to 8-12-3 in the midst of their battle for the OUA West's final playoff spots.
The Warriors were once again without leading scorer Chris Chappell (Pickering), who is day-to-day, and captain Joe Underwood (Canton), who is out indefinitely with a broken bone in his foot.
Mike Morrison (Hamilton) turned aside 32 shots in the win for the Warriors, as he moves into a tie for 2nd in the OUA with 13 victories. Keith Hamilton was saddled with the loss for Guelph, as he made 16 saves in the final two periods. Hamilton was pressed into duty after the first period, when starter Andrew D'Agostini left the game following a goal mouth collision.
After three straight road games, and in front of their alumni weekend crowd, the Warriors came out of the gates strong. Less than four minutes in, Sonnenburg opened the scoring when he drove to the net and beat D'Agostini through the five-hole. Then, just over two minutes later, Phillip Fife (Oromocto) took advantage of a turnover and delivered a tippable shot in front for Sonnenburg, who deflected it through D'Agostini and just over the line to make it 2-0 for Waterloo.
The Gryphons bounced back with a late first period marker as the teams skated four-on-four. With some extra ice to work with, Guelph's Carlos Amestoy found a soft spot in coverage and one-timed a centering pass over Morrison's blocker to make it 2-1 after 20 minutes.
The opening minutes of the second period featured increasingly chippy play from both sides, culminating in some near-fisticuffs just past the 7-minute mark. Cooler heads eventually prevailed, and when they did, the Gryphons were able to draw even – Nick Huard made a gorgeous move on a left wing rush to beat a defender and go over Morrison's glove hand to make it 2-2.
The second period was hardly Waterloo's best, but the Warriors were able to escape with the advantage thanks to the efforts of Matt Amadio (Sault Ste. Marie). With less than a minute left in the middle frame, Amadio tracked down Guelph's Kyle Neuber in the offensive zone, picked his pocket cleanly, and centered the puck for Tommy Tsicos (Barrie). The puck bounced off of Tsicos and fell loose to the trailer Smith, who slammed it past Hamilton to give Waterloo a 3-2 advantage after two periods.
After a pair of big saves from Morrison, Behenna took advantage of a turnover in the Gryphons zone and sniped a shot far side to restore the two-goal Waterloo lead. It was a timely insurance marker, as Robert De Fulvis scored just three minutes later to draw the Gyphons to within a goal again. But that was as close as the visitors got, and the Warriors survived to earn two valuable points.
The Warriors will now head back out on the road for a pair of games next week, as they meet the Brock Badgers on Friday night before a showdown with the Western Mustangs in London next Saturday.
Notes: Both teams went 0-for-4 on the power play…Waterloo forward Brett Mackie (Whitby) saw his 9-game point streak snapped…Tsicos' assist on Smith's goal was the first point of his CIS career.
Source: Waterloo Warriors
York 2 @ Toronto 3
Fifth-year netminder Garrett Sheehan made 39 saves in leading the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's hockey team to a 3-2 win over the York Lions on Saturday, January 24 at Varsity Arena.
With the win, the Blues now stand 10-11-1 in fifth place in the OUA West division.
Fourth-year Blues forward Jeff Brown tallied one goal and one assist in the win, extending his point-streak to eight games.
U of T scored three first period goals, with Brown, Michael Markovic and Paul Van De Velde all beating York's Chris Perugini in the first 8:07 of the contest.
The Blues also honoured graduating athletes Cameron Bernier, Jeff Brown, Tyler Liukkonen, Michael Markovic, Garrett Sheehan, Paul Van De Velde, Tyler von Engelbrechten, Lane Werbowski and Marcus Yolevski in a special pregame ceremony.
The Varsity Blues return to the ice this Tuesday, January 27 as they host the Ryerson Rams in their annual Downtown Showdown School Day game at 11 a.m. at Varsity Arena.
Source: Toronto Varsity Blues
UQTR 2 @ UOIT 1
OSHAWA, Ont. – The UOIT men's hockey team deserved a better fate in what was one of their best efforts of the OUA season.
Hosting the No. 4 ranked UQTR Patriotes at the Campus Ice Centre on Saturday, the Ridgebacks were on the losing end of a 2-1 game.
Billy Lacasse opened the scoring for the Patriotes 10:35 into the first period, tapping a loose puck in the slot past Brendan O'Neill (Ilderton, Ont.).
UOIT killed off a penalty and were unable to score on their lone power play of the period as UQTR took their 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
In the second period the Patriotes went to the penalty box three times, but were successful on the penalty kill all three times. Neither team scored until Mike Robinson (Stouffville, Ont.), with assists from Jesse Stoughton (Bobcaygeon, Ont.) and Mike Whiteside (Ajax, Ont.), tied the game 1-1 at the 1:58 mark of the third with a slap shot past Francis Desrosiers from the hashmarks.
The Patriotes were quick to respond as they broke down the Ridgebacks defence just 1:31 later as Lacasse scored his second goal of the night. He was left open to the left of O'Neill, who was unable to get across the crease before the puck slid along the ice and into the back of the net.
Another power play came with 3:03 left in regulation, but the Ridgebacks were unable to score on their seventh attempt as time ran out. The Patriotes were 0-for-3 on the power play in the game.
Desrosiers made 41 saves in win, while O'Neill stopped 28 UQTR shots in the loss.
UOIT is back in action Tuesday, Jan. 27 at Queen's.
Source: UOIT Ridgebacks
Laurier 3 @ Windsor 0
WATERLOO, Ont., (January 24, 2015) – The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's hockey team won a critical game Saturday night as they upset the No. 6 Windsor Lancers 3-0 at the Waterloo Recreational Complex.
After losing on Thursday to the Guelph Gryphons, the Golden Hawks came into tonight's game sitting four points out of the final playoff spot in the OUA West division. They needed a big team effort in order to pull a victory over the No. 6 Lancers, who were riding a four game winning streak heading into the game. With the combination of great goaltending and a big third period from the captain, Laurier pulled a crucial two points.
Laurier goaltender Vinny Merante of Niagara Falls, N.Y., had a monster game to say the least. After surrendering three goals in the first five minutes against the Gryphons, and ultimately getting pulled, Merante rebounded quite nicely. He held the second highest scoring team in the OUA off the scoreboard stopping all 36 shots the Lancers threw his way.
Heading into the third period up 1-0 thanks to defenceman Mackenzie Braid of Mississauga, Ont., team captain and leading goal scorer Tyler Stothers of Oakville, Ont., was outstanding over the final 20 minutes.
Stothers scored two goals in the third period to help give Laurier a huge confidence boost heading into the final stretch of the season. With his twelfth and thirteen goals of the season, Stothers passed his career high in goals, which was previously eleven back in the 2012-2013 season.
Windsor's Parker Van Burskirk of Windsor, Ont., a former member of the Kitchener Rangers, made 25 saves on the night in a losing effort.
With the win Laurier's record improves to 8-14-1 on the season and they now only sit two points back of the Guelph Gryphons for the final playoff spot in the OUA West division.
The Golden Hawks will look to edge closer to a playoff berth when they travel to Toronto to take on the York Loins (9-12-2) Thursday night. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at the Canlan Ice Sports arena.
Source: Laurier Golden Hawks
Other Scores: Nipissing 2 @ Carleton 5
Sunday, January 25
Laurentian 4 @ Concordia 2
Coming off of a loss, the Laurentian Voyageurs looked to split the weekend as they played the Concordia Stingers. Led by Bradley MacDonald's (18) offensive efforts, the team was able to take the game by a score of 4-2.
Just over a minute into the game, Dany Potvin (18) put Concordia on the board first beating Charlie Millen (33) glove side. However, the Voyageurs were quick to respond. MacDonald (18) set up Graham Yeo (15) to tie up the game with his third goal of the season.
After killing off three straight penalties, Laurentian was awarded a powerplay of their own. Nicolas Dionne (19), with a nice shot, gave his team the lead after picking up the pass from Daniel Pachis (16). First period ended with the Voyageurs up 2-1.
The second period brought the opposite of what was seen in the first. There was no scoring and both teams came out with the same amount of shots. Both Millen (33) and Robin Billingham (31) were able to shut the door, keeping Laurentian up on the Stingers as the game headed into the second intermission.
Not even thirty seconds into the third period, MacDonald (18) connected with his linemates Brian Nanne (14) and Yeo (15) to bring the lead to two goals for the Voyageurs.
This did not dishearten the Concordia squad, they pushed back as they received three powerplay chances. Although they were unable to score on any of them until both teams were at full strength. Kyle Armstrong (15) brought his team closer to coming back after scoring his third goal of the season.
This goal seemed to wake up the Laurentian defence as they were able to shut down the Stingers for the rest of the game. To ice the contest, MacDonald (18) scored an empty net goal for his second goal and third point of the game.
The Voyageurs picked up the victory and split the weekend, two big points in an attempt to gain home playoff positioning. With only three games left in the regular season, Laurentian's next game is at home against the Queens Gaels on Saturday, January 31st at 7:45 pm. Continue to follow your Voyageurs at www.luvoyageurs.com for up-to-date news and results.
Source: Laurentian Voyaguers
