AROUND OUA: Steak pots OT winner as Rams defeat Redmen

SCOREBOARD

Ryerson 1 @ McGill 0

Nipissing 3 @ Windsor 4

Carleton 4 @ York 0

Laurier 4 @ Brock 1

Toronto 1 @ Ottawa 7

Concordia 5 @ UOIT 4

Laurentian 3 @ Queen's 6

Steak pots OT winner as Rams defeat Redmen

MONTREAL, Que. - A battle between two of the OUA's best did not disappoint Friday night with the Ryerson Rams men's hockey team edging the McGill Redmen 1-0 in overtime at the McConnell Arena in Montreal, Que. 

BOXSCORE

With the win the Rams picked up their seventh straight victory and improved to 12-2-1 on the year for sole possession of the No. 1 power ranking in the OUA. 

Rams' Josh Sterk reached legend status with his overtime winning goal.  His third goal of the season is undoubtedly the biggest goal of the Rams' season thus far and was the lone one scored after 60-plus minutes Friday night.       

The talk of the town leading up to Friday night's bout was the undeniable offensive abilities that lived within the forward units of both the Rams and the Redmen.  Both squads averaged over four goals-per-game coming into Friday, but as a result of the impressive play from the game's net-minders, the opening twenty minutes ended in a 0-0 draw. 

Rams' Charlie Graham and Redmen's Louis-Philip Guidon traded a number of gorgeous saves throughout the opening frame.  Graham was tested frequently in the first but steered aside 11 quality shots in order to keep the Redmen at bay.  Guidon experienced a fair share of shots as well from the Rams and managed to get a piece of all 17 of them, including three magnificent glove saves stretched over the course of the period.  

The world-class speed continued from the first into the second and led to a number of clutch-and-grab penalties.  Despite 12 special teams opportunities split between the two in the second, neither side could solve the code for what it took to score. 

Early in the period, the Redmen's Francis Lembert-Lemay and captain Patrick Delise-Houde took back-to-back infractions just seconds apart, and put the Rams up two-men.  After the Redmen's Jerome Verrier broke his stick on the kill, it seemed inevitable that the Rams would capitalize on the dream opportunity.  Verrier sprawled around the ice stick-less in desperate fashion for what seemed like an eternity, but proved he can still get things done without the use of his twig after he deflected a Basso shot out of play for a crucial whistle.

The best chance in the second came with five-minutes left in the period after Rams' Vince Figliomeni had a glorious opportunity on the breakaway.  Figliomeni looked to send the puck underneath the arm and over the pad of Guidon, but once again, Guidon remained unbeatable for a game-saving stop. 

The third period commenced with the feeling that whoever scored first would indeed reign victorious.   Head coaches Johnny Duco and Kelly Nobes shortened the benches in hope of finding the right combination to break the seal.  Verrier had the best Redmen chance in the period after he hammered a one-time shot off the iron with just four-minutes remaining. Matt Mistele of the Rams then did his best Verrier impression at the other end of the ice and belted a shot off the post in the game's final minute.  After three periods and 60 minutes of play, two of the OUA's top scoring teams remained scoreless and needed bonus hockey to determine the final outcome. 

Sterk made quick work in the fourth frame and capitalized on a horrendous Redmen giveaway.  With a quick forehand backhand deke, Sterk accomplished a feat that no other player could muster Friday night, and scored the OT winner to give the Rams' their biggest win of the 2016-17 season.

Guidon made 40 saves in the losing effort and is fitting of the Redman's hardhat for player of the game after his performance. 

Rams' Graham made 36 saves for his second consecutive shutout and improved to 8-2 on the year with a 2.35 GAA. 

The Rams will look to make it eight in a row in less than 24-hours as they head down highway 417 to take on the Ottawa Gee-Gees at the Minto Sports Complex in Ottawa.  Game is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start and can be streamed live via oua.tv.

Source: Ryerson Rams

Lancers defeat Lakers while promoting bullying prevention

The Lancer men's hockey team came home with a 4-3 win over the Nipissing Lakers on Friday afternoon at South Windsor Arena in their first game of a weekend doubleheader.
 
The win moves the Lancers to third place in the OUA west division with a 9-6-2 record, while the Lakers fall to 5-10-1 and sit in 9th in the east division.
 
The Lancers, in partnership with the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board and Cypher Systems Group, hosted the Lakers in front of local students from around the region who were bused in especially for the game. The event supported the team's "Lancers against Bullying" annual campaign geared towards Windsor-Essex students.
 
The Lancers got off to a quick start when Justice Dundas got a breakaway pass from Tyson Ness and slid the puck between the legs of Lakers goaltender Domenic Graham at 6:14 of the period.
 
Seven minutes later, Windsor doubled their lead when Scott Prier came flying into the offensive zone and ripped a shot into the back of the net behind Graham. Windsor led 2-0 heading into first intermission
 
Nipissing cut the Lancer lead in half just under five minutes into the second period with a goal by Danny Desrochers. Brett Jefferies was credited with the assist.
 
Windsor then took full advantage of a 5-minute power play midway through the period. Dundas scored his second of the game before Julian Luciani notched his fourth of the year to put the Lancers up 4-1 heading into the third period.
 
Nipissing scored two quick goals to open the third and make it a one goal game with 14 minutes left to play. Dylan Staples opened the scoring at 1:58 of the period and was followed by Taylor Davis' second of the season five minutes later.
 
Kris Joyce was solid in net for the Blue & Gold stopping a number of key saves in the final minutes when the Lakers pulled Graham in favour of an extra attacker to solidify the win. The first year goaltender finished the game with 15 saves to earn the win, while Graham closed out the day with 22.
 
These two teams will face off again tomorrow afternoon at South Windsor Arena. The puck drops at 4:00pm and can be seen live at www.oua.tv.

Source: Windsor Lancers

Ravens dominant in shutout victory versus Lions

TORONTO, ON — In their only trip to Canlan Ice Sports this season, the Ravens men's hockey team blanked the York Lions with a 4-0 victory. The Ravens' Friday-night effort evidently carried over from their past weekend's dominant defensive showing, which included a 4-0 win over the Concordia Stingers.

BOX SCORE

"The guys played a well-structured game," says Marty Johnston, head coach of the Ravens. "We haven't had the most success playing on Olympic-sized rinks this year so coming out with the win tonight was definitely a step in the right direction."

The visiting Ravens struck first, finding the back of the net nine minutes into through the opening period. With assists from Brett Welychka (London, ON) and Ryan Van Stralen (Prescott, ON), captain Michael McNamee (Perth, ON) netted the opening tally with his ninth goal of the season, snapping a four-game goalless drought and reclaiming his lead in OUA scoring.

The Ravens wouldn't wait long for that lead to grow as less than two minutes later Corey Durocher (Ottawa, ON) beat Lions goaltender Mack Shields to stretch his team's lead to two. Durocher's goal comes as his fifth in four games, tying him with McNamee for a team-leading nine goals.

At the other end of the rink, the Lions struggled to find the back of the net as their ten first-period shots were all denied by netminder Francois Brassard (Gatineau, QC). With the win, Brassard earns his second career shutout in just three games, tying Ryerson's Charlie Graham for second in the OUA. Aided by his indomitable defensive core, Brassard would see fewer shots as the game developed, leading to his 23-save performance.

"That's three solid performances in a row defensively, but it's not something we can get comfortable with," admits Johnston. "It needs to continue and tomorrow night [against Brock] will be a good test for it."

From there, the Ravens and their 28-total shots continued to work away at the retreating Lions, who now narrowly hang on to having the lowest goals-against (37) in the OUA. Generating and recovering efforts from Brent Norris (Ottawa, ON), Tyler Akeson (Ottawa, ON) and Sean Bamford (Ottawa, ON) were vital in the team's constant pressure against a group that they only see once a season.

Late in the second frame, a Curtis Meighan (Ottawa, ON) pass found Adam Chapman (Barrie, ON) for the Ravens' third goal of the night and the eighth goal of his freshman campaign. With the goal, Chapman moves into a tie for second in rookie goals.

Staring down a three-goal deficit, the unrelenting Lions would continue to challenge the controlling Ravens, who now own a 5-2 record against OUA West competition. But with nine minutes left in regulation, Meighan, with an assist from Connor McLaren (Metcalfe, ON), delivered the final blow on his second goal of the season.

The 4-0 victory brings the Ravens to a 10-7 record. In their last game of 2016, the Ravens will faceoff against the Brock Badgers Saturday night with hopes of ending the calendar year on a high note.

Source: Carleton Ravens

Badgers fall to Golden Hawks 4-1

ST. CATHARINES, ON - The Brock University men's hockey team fell to the Laurier Golden Hawks Friday night at the Seymour-Hannah Centre.

Tonight was Community Care night, as local minor hockey teams and various Brock University teams brought in non-perishable donations for Community Care of St. Catharines and Thorold.

Laurier got on the board first scoring at 4:33 to go up 1-0. Brock had a chance to tie the game but was unable to convert on a 5-on-3 power play. The Badgers took a late penalty with 40 seconds left in the first period. The Golden Hawks just beat the buzzer with Christian Mroczkowski scoring his second goal of the game to go up 2-0 after the first period.

In the second, the Badgers had another power play opportunity, but Laurier was able to get behind the Badgers defense and score shorthanded to make it 3-0. Brock would cut into the lead by a goal from Brody Silk (Iroquois Falls, ON) assisted by Mitch Nardi (Hamilton, ON) and Dexter Weber (New Dundee, ON) making the score 3-1.

In the third period both teams exchanged several chances but Laurier would add an empty net goal to take the game 4-1. Overall Brock struggled with special teams going 0-for-11 on the power play.

Brock starting goalie Adam Beukeboom (Sundre, AB) made 27 saves, allowing three goals in the loss. Laurier starter Colin Furlong made 31 saves allowing one goal for the win. The Badgers next play at home tomorrow against the Carleton Ravens at 7:15pm.

Source: Brock Badgers

Gee-Gees dismantle visiting Varsity Blues