Gallant's OT winner gives Rams sweep of Waterloo

TORONTO - Ryerson Rams fifth year Mitch Gallant showed off his seniority Friday night, with the series clinching overtime winner in a 5-4 victory over the Waterloo Warriors. 

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Gallant turned a rather fluke play into the perfect play with his thinking.  Mitch Theoret sent a desperate shot wide of the net, which then deflected in front to a wide-eyed Gallant, who then sent it home for the series win.   

"You kind of just go blank for a second," said Gallant when describing his thoughts following the goal.  "Cutter just got in my face and started screaming so I just started screaming to."

Gallant was an absolute hero for the Rams Friday night. He set the tone with the games opening goal and eventually won it in overtime and by doing so, scored without a doubt, the two most important goals one can get in a hockey game.   

The opening Gallant goal came just 4:30 into the first and set the Rams up nicely with a 1-0 lead through twenty.   

The scoring then continued for the Rams in the second.  Jamie Lewis returned with vengeance after leaving the game momentarily to repair a wound.  The first year Ram cradled a softly passed puck from Michael Fine and sent a perfect placed wrist shot past Warriors starter Mike Morrison.  Lewis' second of the post-season gave the Rams a two goal lead mid-way through the second. 

What they call the worst lead in hockey didn't last long however.  The Warriors Phillip Fife beat Rams starting net minder Troy Passingham for the first time on the evening.  The Fife marker was his first of three on the night and cut the Rams lead in half.

The Rams decided they would take back the two-goal lead with a Keevin Cutting point shot.  Cutting sent a prayer towards the Warriors net, which then deflected off a defender and in for the marker.  The Cutting goal was his first career OUA post-season tally and restored the Rams two-goal lead with only 4:16 remaining in the period.

The Warriors battled back again thanks to Fife, who found himself alone on the doorstep once again.  His second of the game was a breath of fresh air for the Warriors and gave them life late in the period.  

The third period continued the trend of an opening Rams goal.  Lewis sent a perfectly placed shot up and over the glove of Morrison for his second of the night, to give the Rams a 4-2 lead over the Warriors. 

Fife then countered again with a garbage goal in front.  His third of the game cut the lead to one and set the table for last minute heroics. 

Warriors defenseman Mike Moffat sneaked in from the blue line like he so often does and dangled Passingham to tie it.  The Moffat goal was his second of the post-season and sent the game to a decisive overtime period. 

We all know the ending to this one, as Gallant sent home the winner to give the sixth placed Rams a 5-4 victory over the third place Warriors. 

Gallant's OT heroics gives the Rams a 2-0 sweep in the best of three series and gives the Rams a one-way ticket to the OUA West semi-finals for the first time since the 2013-14 season.   

"It feels good and it's a step but we still have lots of work to do," said head coach Graham Wise following the win.  "We can enjoy this moment but then we have to come back and get ready for practice and prepare for whoever we face in the next round like we prepared against Waterloo."  

Friday night's bout was a high scoring affair, but it could have been much higher if not for the stellar play from both net minders.  Morrison finished off the night with 37 saves in the loss, while Passingham stood on his head again at times on way to a 47 save performance in the win.

"He's been great all year and he's been our rock on the back end," said Gallant when asked about his goaltenders performance. "Were confident playing in front of him and he makes big saves at big times and that's huge for us."

Confidence is a word that has been brought up time and time again this season by the Rams.  Whether the word surfaced at times of joy or struggle, the team stuck to it, and now the word confidence couldn't ring more true. 

"We had a roller coaster year.  I mean we would smoke a team and then we would come out with a brain fart and loose," said Gallant.  "The last month of the season we refocused and we started putting together 60 minute hockey games and we brought that into this series and I think that definitely helped us with our confidence."   

The Rams can now sit back and relish in their recent accomplishment but only for a night or two, as the first game of the OUA West semi-finals kicks off next week once an opponent is determined.  

Source: Ryerson Rams