M-HOCKEY PLAYOFF ROUNDUP: Badgers upset defending Queen's Cup champion Lancers 2-1

Wednesday, February 12

Windsor 1 @ Brock 2

Adrian Volpe picked a perfect time to come up with his best performance of the season. 
 
The veteran goaltender made 40 saves as the eighth seeded Brock Badgers men's hockey team defeated the top-ranked Windsor Lancers 2-1 in game one of their best of three OUA quarterfinal playoff series, Wednesday night at the Seymour-Hannah Centre.
 
Volpe made 15 stops in the first period, 16 in the second and nine in the third, in what could have been his final home game in a Brock Badgers uniform.
 
"I just came into this game wanting to really just have fun.  I didn't want to think too much about that, and we really didn't have anything to lose," said the fourth year goaltender who has endured an injury riddled and inconsistent season.
 
Volpe's 2014/15 numbers:  3 wins, 5 losses, 3.94 GAA, and .886 save percentage – but that was all thrown out the door Wednesday night as the Burlington native decided to throw some of his normal pre-game habits to the curb.
 
"I'm usually a very superstitious guy," added the Sociology major.  "But the past couple of weeks, I haven't thrown it all out the window, but certainly some of it.  This is my last year and I realised I just have to start having some fun with it, and just go as far as we can." 
 
Brock head coach Murray Nystrom admitted Volpe was the difference.    
 
"We needed a solid performance from Adrian," Nystrom said  "The one goal that beat him – I don't think he had a chance on it.  It's nice to see him give us a playoff type performance and hopefully that can continue."
 
Nystrom was also pleased with how his team responded in the third period.  Trailing 1-0 after 40 minutes after being outshot 32-11, the Badgers played their best in the final stanza outshooting the Lancers 13-9.
 
"We talked a lot about that heading into the third (period)," Nystrom said.  "We knew it was going to be a game of momentum.  They have the countries leading scorer in (Spencer) Pommels, the countries top scoring defenceman in Kenny Bradford, and the countries best goaltender in Van Buskirk.  It was nice to respond the way we did."
 
After Pommels set up Dylan Denomme on the powerplay to open the scoring 18:40 into the second period, Brock tied things on a beautiful individual effort from Andrew Radjenovic .  The Badgers leading scorer split the Windsor defence and beat Van Buskirk with a nifty breakaway goal.
 
Just 51 seconds later Kaine Geldart scored what turned out to be the game winner from Radjenovic and twin brother Anthony. 
 
Game two goes Saturday afternoon.  Game 3, if necessary, is also back in Windsor on Sunday night.
 
"We know it's going to be an emotional weekend, and Windsor's going to come with a push.  They're the defending (OUA) champions," added Nysrom.

Source: Brock Badgers

Concordia 6 @ McGill 4

MONTREAL -- It wasn't quite the gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona but it came pretty darn close at McConnell Arena, Wednesday. In a wild playoff game with an unexpected result, Concordia's Olivier Hinse tallied twice and added a helper as his No.8-seeded Stingers surprised top-seeded McGill 6-4 to open the OUA East best-of-three men's hockey quarter-final series.

The 200th lifetime meeting between McGill and Concordia -- the Stingers have a record of 95-91-14 against the Redmen -- was a playoff contest disguised as a three-ring circus. It featured 82 shots on goal, five power-play markers, two-empty netters -- including the game-winner -- five goals in the last two minutes of play, and a costly game misconduct penalty.

McGill, which led the nation with the fewest goals against, conceded a season-high half-dozen goals -- the most allowed by the Redmen in 30 post-season games, dating back to a 6-1 loss to UQTR on March 4, 2011.

It only took Hinse 16 seconds to find the back of the net after McGill's Patrick Delisle-Houde was ejected at 11:26 in the first period for a checking-to-the-head major, which is accompanied with an automatic game misconduct and one-game suspension. With Delisle-Houde out of the picture, McGill is now missing their top two forwards on the penalty-killing unit, which was also without centre Marc-Olivier Vachon, injured in the final game of the regular season.

The rest was downhill from there as the Stingers went 3-for-4 on the power-play against McGill, which had the league's third-best PK unit during the regular season.

"I thought we had a good start, were playing the right way and then we got an unfortunate five-minute major," said McGill head coach Kelly Nobes. "We lost (another key player) which put us out of sync with our line matchups and we didn't respond well to the adversity of having guys playing in different positions... Concordia's power-play was very good and our PK wasn't good enough. Give credit to Concordia, they played a good game and were opportunistic on their chances... It's good adversity for our group. You don't win in the playoffs without facing some adversity."

McGill defenceman Samuel Labrecque tied it up on a power-play late in the opening period with his first of two. But the Stingers added two more in the middle stanza, on goals by Jessyko Bernard and Dany Potvin (PP) to take a 3-1 lead into the final stanza. Hinse appeared to put the game out of reach with another man-advantage marker at 8:46 to make it 4-1. But that ignited a fiery six-goal flurry down the home stetch. Rookie Simon Tardif-Richard gave McGill some hope with a PP goal at 12:54 to make it 4-2 and with the Redmen goalie pulled for an extra attacker, Labrecque narrowed the gap to 4-3 -- the ninth goal in the past six games for the 5-foot-8 rearguard -- at 18:02 after Cedric McNicoll won a key faceoff back to the point. Labrecque has tallied four goals in his three league and playoff games against the Stingers.

Philippe Hudon and Domenic Beauchemin both added unassisted empty-net goals for Concordia, each attempting a risky manoeuvre by shooting the puck all the way down the ice from inside their own zone. Thirteen seconds later, with the McGill goalie pulled for the fourth time, the Redmen replied again when Guillaume Langelier-Parent found the net at 19:46 to cap a zany finish.

McGill went 2-for-3 on the power-play and had a 44-38 edge in shots, including a 22-10 margin in the final period.

Concordia netminder Robin Billingham made 40 saves for the victory, while McGill's Jacob Gervais-Chouinard was beaten a season-high four times on 36 shots and took the loss.

McGill, which posted a division-leading 21-5 record during the regular-season, now faces a must-win game against the Stingers, who had an 8-17-1 record. Game 2 of the series is slated for 7:30 p.m. on Friday at the Ed Meagher Arena. Tickets at Concordia are $8 for adults, $5 for students and seniors. Children six and under get in free.

Should the Redmen force a rubber match, it will be at McConnell Arena on Sunday at 7 p.m.

REDMEN RAP: McGill is now 80-79 lifetime in post-season play dating back to their first playoff game way back in 1910, including a 75-52 record since joining the OUA in 1987 and a 13-11 mark against Concordia... Among McGill's pre-game lineup scratches were four injured players, including F David Rose (out for the 6th straight game), F Marc-Olivier Vachon, D Dominic Poulin and D Jean-Philippe Mathieu... Among the former Redmen to send best wishes to the team for the playoffs were two All-Canadians Marc-Andre Dorion (2008-12) and George Burnett (1982-85)... Dorion is currently in his second season of playing pro hockey in Linz, Austria... Burnett, who coached in the NHL with Edmonton and Anaheim, in his 11th season as coach and general manager with the OHL's Belleville Bulls... Sad to report that former McGill defenceman Doug Crossley (1968-71) passed away on Feb. 7 in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, after suffering a heart-attack.

Source: McGill Redmen

Western 3 @ Lakehead 4

The Lakehead Thunderwolves held on to take down the Western Ontario Mustangs 4-3 before a crowd of 1,781 in game #1 of the OUA West Division quarter-finals at the Fort William Gardens on Wednesday night.

The Wolves were all over the Mustangs in the first period and jumped out to an early lead when E.J. Faust scored on Western goalie Greg Dodds 8:49 into the game, with Matt Kaarela and Justin Sefton picking up the assists.Nathan Cull batted in a rebound from Mike Quesnele two minutes later, and then after being set up by Luke Maw and Ryan Magill, Cull scored again while crashing into the net at 15:33 to put the Wolves up 3-0.

Dodds was injured in the collision and had to be replaced in the Mustangs' goal by Marc Nother.

Lakehead extended its lead to 4-0 when Austin McDonald found Mike Hammond all alone in front of Nother at 7:50 of the second period.

Western Ontario's Trevor Warnaar got one past Wolves' netminder Justin McDonald at the 12:04 mark to narrow Lakehead's lead to 4-1 heading into the third.

Trent Ouellette narrowed the gap to 4-2 at 6:39 of the final frame, and then with the Mustangs on the power play, Jake Worrad's wrist shot found its way through traffic to cut Lakehead's lead to one goal with 6:29 remaining on the clock.

Lakehead tightened up defensively and Justin McDonald made some timely saves to preserve the victory for the Thunderwolves.

Total shots on goal were 42-36 in favor of the Mustangs.

The Molson Three Stars of the game were:
1. Nathan Cull, Lakehead
2. E.J. Faust, Lakehead
3. Justin McDonald, Lakehead

The Wolves will hit the road where they will look to finish of the Mustangs in game #2 of the best-of-three series on Saturday afternoon in London. If necessary, game #3 will be played in London on Sunday evening.

Source: Lakehead Thunderwolves

UQTR 6 @ Nipissing 3

If the Nipissing Lakers men's hockey team is going to advance to the second round of the OUA playoffs, they're going to have to do it the hard way and win on the road.

The Lakers opened up their 2015 first round series Wednesday night at home, hosting the UQTR Patriotes and despite two power play goals and building a 3-2 lead midway through the second, the Lakers fell by a final of 6-3 to go down 1-0 in the series.

The first period saw very few whistles and both teams had chances, but couldn't find the back of the net until the final five minutes.

Erik Robichaud scored his first of two goals to open the scoring as he ripped home a rebound to the top shelf to give the Lakers the lead.

Matt Paton, who registered two assists, drove the net and fired the shot that generated the rebound Robichaud put away.

Mitch McNeill made a nice pass up to Paton to start the play.

Less than a minute late the Patriotes tied the game, however, on the power play.

And just before the end of the period, with 35 seconds left, the Patriotes scored again to take the lead 2-1.

The Lakers came out strong in the second period and just under five minutes in, tied the game as Jacob McDowell picked up a loose puck and fired it home to make things 2-2.

Robichaud would give the Lakers the lead once again, as he scored on the power play, firing home a shot from the side of the net.

Jim McDowell and Brock Morrison picked up assists on the game-tying goal, while Paton and Chad Thibodeau drew the helpers on the go-ahead goal that came just past the midway point of the middle frame.

UQTR would respond just over two minutes later to once again eve up the game, and less than two minutes after that, they would take the lead – one they wouldn't relinquish.

The Patriotes would add two goals in the third period, including an empty-netter to seal the victory and grab a 1-0 lead in the series.

Kirk Rafuse got the start in goal, but was lifted after surrendering four goals. Jeremy Pominville replace him and allowed just one.

Game 2 is set for Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. in Quebec and Game 3, if necessary, would be Sunday at 4 p.m., also in Quebec.

Source: Nipissing Lakers

Carleton 5 @ UOIT 2

OSHAWA, Ont. – The UOIT men's hockey team could not complete a comeback attempt as they suffered a 5-2 loss to the No. 9 ranked Carleton Ravens in game one of the OUA eastern conference quarterfinal round.
 
Leading 3-2 in the third period, Carleton would manage to catch a break shorthanded when Damian Cross buried a cross-ice pass from Corey Ducocher following a Ridgeback miscue in the defensive end. The Ravens would tack on one more goal to escape the Campus Ice Centre with the three-goal victory.
 
"I think it was a fairly winnable game for us – we had it at 3-2 – again our margin of error is so small," said UOIT head coach Craig Fisher. "When you look at the video; on their third goal our guy is there, doesn't cover, so it's the mental mistakes (that led to the goal). We have to force Carleton to beat us, we can't beat ourselves at all."
 
Carleton would come out if the gates flying with fourth year veteran Nick Duhn scoring in the opening minutes of the game. However, UOIT would quickly respond as Brendan Wise (Stouffville, Ont.) scored a highlight reel breakaway goal while being hauled down by the Ravens' defender. Wise was fed by Mitch Bennett (Fenelon Falls, Ont.), who was moved back to the blueline filling in for Jake Logan (Napanee, Ont.) who was out of the line-up with an illness.
 
Just as it looked as if the teams were heading into the break all tied up, UOIT's Colt Kennedy (Ajax, Ont.) was called for cross-checking, sending Carleton to the power play. With the man advantage, Joey West would show tremendous patience in the slot, manoeuvring around the Ridgeback defence and roofing one past goaltender Brendan O'Neill.
 
Midway through the second, O'Neill would make a couple of big stops but was bumped off his mark in front of the net. The Ravens would take full advantage as Joe Pleckaitis got his stick on the rebound and give them a two-goal lead.
 
In the third, UOIT's Kevin George (Uxbridge, Ont.) would get the crowd on their feet as he scored a breakaway goal of his own, cutting the Ravens lead to just one. George, who scored his second career OUA playoff goal, was sprung loose by a stretch pass from Kennedy.
 
With the crowd rallying for the game-tying goal with the Ridgebacks on the power play, Cross would score shorthanded to deflate the energy in the building. With time winding time, defender David Weckworth would bank one off a Ridgeback player to give the Ravens five goals on the night.
 
"There is nobody in Canada that picked us to beat them, so we knew it wasn't going to be easy," he said. "Every game we play we're going to have to battle for everything."
 
In his OUA playoff debut, O'Neill finished with 34 saves, which included 14 in the opening frame.
 
"I thought he battled hard and especially early he had a ton of shots against," Fisher said. "The fifth goal, a seeing-eye goal, he didn't see it all, so I have no problems with him, he always battles hard."
 
Final shots finished 39-26 in favour of the Ravens, with Patrick Killeen earning the win in between the pipes for Carleton.
 
Special teams proved to play a big factor in the game with Carleton going 1-for-3 on the power play to go along with a shorthanded goal. UOIT was 0-for-2 with the man advantage.
 
Despite the snowy weather conditions, it was a great turnout at the rink with the UOIT student body coming up to support the Ridgebacks.
 
Game two will take place on Friday night at Carleton. If the Ridgebacks force game three, it will take place the following night in Ottawa. Fans can watch both games live on oua.tv.

Source: UOIT Ridgebacks

Guelph 0 @ Waterloo 5

The Waterloo Warriors may have put forth a full 60-minute effort in their playoff opener Wednesday night, but they only needed 10 minutes to do all their damage.

Colin Behenna (Waterloo) scored twice during a five-goal outburst in the second period, and Mike Morrison (Hamilton) made 34 saves for the shutout as the Warriors topped the Guelph Gryphons 5-0 in game 1 of the best-of-three OUA West division quarterfinal at the Columbia Icefield Arena in Waterloo.

Sam Caldwell (Cape Breton), Riley Sonnenburg (Cambridge), and Brett Mackie (Whitby) also contributed to the explosion, which saw the Warriors score all five of the game's goals in the first 10:13 of the second period. Behenna also notched an assist for a three-point night, while Justin Larson (Buckhorn) added a pair of helpers.

Andrew D'Agostini made 27 saves in the loss for the Gryphons, who find themselves facing elimination in game 2 on Thursday night in Guelph. Meanwhile, Morrison made it a memorable CIS playoff debut, recording the 34-save clean sheet.

Despite facing off twice in the final 15 days of the regular season, the first period showed all the signs of two teams feeling each other out. The best chance for either club to open the scoring was on a partial break by Behenna, but D'Agostini stretched to his right and stoned Waterloo's top scorer with a gorgeous pad save. Morrison answered shortly thereafter with a solid blocker save on a point-blank opportunity to keep the game scoreless after the first.

The Warriors ignited the home crowd just a minute into the second period, as Behenna roofed a rebound off a Larson deflection to make it 1-0. Just over five minutes later, the Warriors truly broke the game open when they struck twice in a 26-second span. First, Caldwell streaked down the right wing and wrsited a shot inside the far post, over D'Agostini's blocker hand. Then, Mackie took a Larson feed in front and went upstairs off the water bottle to make it 3-0 for the hosts.

Guelph head coach Shawn Camp had seen enough, calling a timeout to try to rally his troops. The Warriors had other plans, though, and they quelled any uprising that Guelph might have been mounting with a highlight-reel goal. It started when Andrew Smith (Kitchener) cranked up a rush through center ice, gained the Guelph line, and cut across the slot, pulling D'Agostini with him. Then, he flicked a no-look backhand feed to the goal mouth, where Sonnenburg slammed it home to give Waterloo a 4-0 lead.

Behenna rounded out the scoring with the evening's strangest goal, coming just past the mid-way point of the game. With the puck in his own zone, Jordan Mock's bank pass ricocheted off the side boards, the side of the net, and D'Agostini's skate, coming to rest in the crease. Behenna jumped all over it and jammed it home on a second attempt to put Waterloo in front 5-0 after 40 minutes.

The third period was relatively uneventful, save for some tempers boiling over with less than 8 minutes to play. But the benches were placated, Morrison made a few more stops to maintain the shutout, and the Warriors cemented the game one victory.

The Warriors will now look to move on to round 2, while the Gryphons look to extend the series to a third and deciding game. Game 2 of the series will go Thursday night at 7:30 in Guelph, and the game will be streamed live on OUA.tv.

Notes: Both clubs went 0-for-3 on the power play…The Warriors were without captain Joe Underwood (Canton), forwards Chris Chappell (Pickering) and Matt Kennedy (Oro Medonte), and backup goaltender Chris Hurry (Summerland)…Third-string netminder and Video Coach Thomas Black (Flesherton) backed up Morrison.

Source: Waterloo Warriors

Laurentian 2 @ Queen's 1

KINGSTON, Ont. (February 11, 2015) - The fifth seeded Queen's men's hockey team dropped the first game of their OUA East playoff series against the fourth seeded Laurentian Voyageurs 2-1 Wednesday night at the Memorial Centre.

The Gaels struck first capitalizing on their second powerplay opportunity of the opening frame. Darcy Greenaway (Wilton, Ont.) completed the tic-tac-toe passing play in front of the net as Andrew Wiebe (Thunder Bay, Ont.) and Spencer Abraham (Campbellville, Ont.) collected the assists. 

The second period was a scoreless affair as goaltenders Kevin Bailie (Belleville, Ont.) of the Gaels and Alain Valiquette of the Voyageurs stood their ground and turned aside all shots fired on net. 

The Voyageurs converted on the man-advantage for a powerplay tally of their own at the 2:03 mark of the final frame to knot the score 1-1. Both sides continued to battle hard, generating numerous scoring opportunities as regulation neared its end. Laurentian eventually broke through and found the back for the go-ahead goal in the final minutes of the game. The Gaels pulled Bailie in the last minute of the match but could not find the equalizer. 

Final shots for the night totalled 26 to 25 in favour of Queen's. Bailie was charged with the 23 save loss while Valiquette earned the 25 save victory.  

The Gaels will travel to Sudbury, Ontario Saturday night as they look to even the series and force a decisive third game. Game two will start at 8:30pm in Sudbury with Sunday's game scheduled for 7:45pm if necessary.

Source: Queen's Gaels

Toronto 2 @ Ryerson 1