AROUND OUA: Rams shut out No. 5 ranked Gaels
TORONTO - A two goal performance from Aaron Armstrong and a perfect outing from netminder Charlie Graham gifted the Ryerson Rams men’s hockey team a 4-0 win over the Queen's Gaels Friday night for a fifth consecutive victory.
SCOREBOARD
Queen's 0 @ Ryerson 4
Laurier 4 @ Carleton 2
Waterloo 3 @ RMC 2
Ottawa 5 @ Western 2
York 2 @ Lakehead 1
McGill 4 @ Guelph 2
Brock 4 @ Windsor 5
Rams shut out No. 5 ranked Gaels
TORONTO - A two goal performance from Aaron Armstrong and a perfect outing from netminder Charlie Graham gifted the Ryerson Rams men's hockey team a 4-0 win over the Queen's Gaels Friday night for a fifth consecutive victory.
BOXSCORE
After dropping back-to-back lopsided contests to the Concordia Stingers and UQTR Patriotes in their first games back from the break, the Rams have quickly moved on in sustaining yet another significant string of wins in the month of January.
The complete effort delivered against the Gaels in Friday night's 4-0 victory helped boost the Rams' OUA West leading record to 18-4-1. With 18 wins in the win column, the Rams have now surpassed what had been a program's previous best 17 wins in a season, and although five games remain in the regular season, the 2016-17 campaign has officially become the most successful in Ryerson Rams men's hockey regular season history with 18 wins.
The effort put forth by Rams' goaltender Graham was a huge factor when it was all said and done Friday night. His 27 save shutout performance gives him three on the season and his third in his last five games played.
"With Charlie, I think he has just been really focused and laser sharp every single game that he has been in," said Head Coach Johnny Duco following the win. "I thought he did a great job and the team executed our gameplan to a tee against them."
Graham was counted on a handful of times throughout the bout and rose to the occasion every time he was tested. He was the backbone to the Rams' success from start to finish and it might have ended differently if it wasn't for a plethora of timely saves.
With solid play between the pipes, the Rams needed just a single goal in hindsight for the victory, but we all know that's not how this team rolls. The Rams now have 34 goals over their last five games to give them an average of 6.80 GPG over that stretch. A big reason for such absurd offensive success has been the play of Rams' centreman Armstrong, who once again put the team on his back with a two goal performance Friday night.
Armstrong opened the scoring midway through the first period after he buried a loose puck in front past a startled Gaels' netminder in Jacob Brennan. Daniel Clairmont kicked off the play after blocking a shot that led to a contested breakaway chance. He failed to sneak the puck past Brennan's pad and an incoming Mitch Theoret failed to beat Brennan's desperate glove. After a miraculous save forced Brennan out of position, Armstrong pounced on the loose puck in front, and spun it through the gap for his 13th goal of the season and first of two on the night.
A glorious individual effort rewarded Armstrong with his second of the night late in the period. Armstrong put his shoulder down and drove down the nearside wall, before cutting to the net and potting it through the legs of Brennan. The goal came with just 36 seconds remaining in the first and sent the Rams to the locker room with a 2-0 lead.
The Gaels stormed out of the gate in the second and put the Rams on their heels with blazing speed. A relentless forecheck and defensive mindset created a number of opportunities off the rush, but with the absence of star forwards Slatter Doggett and Eric Ming, the Gaels simply didn't have the ability to finish and just couldn't crack the code to beat Graham. The Gaels finished the period with ten shots compared the Rams' eight, but failed to muster up a goal in the scoreless second frame.
The Rams turned the tables in the third and shut things down defensively by allowing the Gaels just four shots in the period. A Josh Sterk marker and Matt Mistele empty netter with less than three minutes in the third sealed the deal for the Rams as they cruised to a 4-0 win over the Gaels.
"We tried to have a heavy emphasis on defence. Get to our spots defensively and make sure we were getting to our spots first, so that we could counter their dump ins all game long," said Duco on the team's gameplan coming in. "I thought the boys did a great job in doing that. That may have been the best game we have gotten from our D core. We were sound and managed the puck well, and when you manage the puck well, you manage the game. It was a great gritty effort."
Armstrong's two goal night was his fourth multi-goal game on the season and extended his point streak to five consecutive games, in which he has five goals and seven assists for 12 points. He now sits tied with Rams' captain Michael Fine atop the team lead in goals with 14 and second in team scoring with 30 points in 22 games. On most nights, it often looks as if he is a man amongst boys on the ice. He excels in every aspect of the game and is a gigantic contributor to the overall success of what is now an historic Rams season.
"He is amazing...the guy gets better every single game. He works at his game endlessly and is always the first and last guy on the ice," said Duco regarding another big night for Armstrong. "He is such a pleasure to be around and such a great kid. He leads in such a positive manner for us and it's great to have him."
Armstrong wasn't the only player to push their streak further to five games after Friday night. The line of Fine, Sterk, and Mistele all entered Friday with points in their last four, and although they cut it close, late third period goals from Sterk and Mistele kept the streak alive.
Fine's assist in the first added to five goals and eight assists for 13 points in his last five, as well as a grand total of 32 points on the year. Mistele's late marker boosted his totals to five goals and five assists for 10 points over the stretch. Sterk's three point night with a goal and two assists gives him four goals and six assists for 10 points in his last five.
The Rams will look to continue their winning ways Saturday afternoon in a matinee event with the UOIT Ridgebacks as they gun for their 19th win of the season and their sixth in a row. The game is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. puck drop and is available live via OUA.tv.
Source: Ryerson Rams
Furlong stands tall in win over Carleton
OTTAWA (January 27, 2017)- Thanks to another great performance from netminder Colin Furlong, the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawk men's hockey team began their three game road trip on a high note with a 4-2 win over the No. 9 Carleton Ravens at the Carleton Ice House on Friday night.
Furlong was outstanding against the nationally-ranked Ravens as he turned aside 40 shots to pick up his ninth win of the season.
The purple and gold claimed the visitors ice as though it was their own straight off of the opening whistle. Laurier capitalized on a 5-on-3 man-advantage in the opening frame, scoring twice. First it was Mac Clutsam (Flamborough, Ont.) and Derek Schoenmakers (Kitchener, Ont.) setting up Andrew Fritsch (Brantford, Ont.), who easily found the back of Carleton's net.
Schoenmakers then followed up with a goal of his own just over a minute later, this time assisted by Clutsam and Fritsh to not only earn the men a multi-point game but also led the Hawks to an early 2-0 lead.
The Golden Hawks kept their game in high gear moving into the second period as Christian Mroczkowski of Kitchener, Ont., increasing the lead to 3-0 thanks to his seventh goal of the season.
The Ravens' responded to the deficit off some strong play from Adam Chapman of Barrie, Ont., who fired back at Laurier with two power play goals, to close the Hawks lead to 3-2.
However, in the dying seconds of the second period, Will Cook of Port Stanley, Ont., restored Laurier's two-goal advantage.
Schoenmakers picked up an assist on the goal to give him his first three point game of the season and moving him into a tie with Fritsch for the team lead with 23 points on the campaign
The Ravens were unable to catch up from behind, thanks to Furlong who turned aside all 15 shots in the final period to secure a 4-2 victory.
The win helps Laurier keep pace with the Windsor Lancers in the OUA West division standings. Both teams are tied with 26 points, one back of Guelph Gryphons for third in the division, who lost on Friday night.
As well, thanks to a Western Mustangs loss, the purple and gold are just one point away from securing their second consecutive playoff berth.
Laurier will be looking to lock up a postseason spot when they head to Kingston to play the RMC Paladins on Saturday, January 28. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at Constantine Arena and the game can be seen live on OUA.tv.
Source: Laurier Golden Hawks
Gee-Gees earn critical 5-2 win at Western
The University of Ottawa men's hockey team pushed its winning streak to seven games with a 5-2 victory in London against the Western Mustangs.
Jacob Harris (Georgetown, Ont.) scored a pair of beautiful goals in the win for uOttawa (14-7-3), which found a way to win despite a number of turnovers and a dip in form.
"It's a good sign when you don't play your best game and come away with a 5-2 win," said uOttawa head coach Patrick Grandmaitre. "We had turnovers, weren't good on the cycle game, but we managed to capitalized on the few chances we had."
Mitch Gibson (Cobourg, Ont.) put the Gee-Gees in front just 3:31 into Friday's contest, rapping a Jake Harris pass beyond Western goaltender Greg Dodds while on the powerplay.
Antoine Pouliot (Lévis, Que.) doubled the uOttawa lead at 3:47 of the second period, when he wired a wrist shot past Dodds short-side for his fifth goal of the season.
Cody Drover (Grand Falls-Windsor, Nfld.) made it 3-0 uOttawa at the 11:19 mark, finishing off a pass from Kevin Domingue (Laval, Que.) after being stopped initially by Dodds on a breakaway chance.
An absolute snipe from Harris on the powerplay just two minutes later essentially iced the game.
Braedan Salverda's first career goal drew the hosts back within three at 7:43 of the third period, but a quick response from Harris — who picked another corner on Dodds, this time from the slot — restored the four-goal uOttawa lead.
Connor Chartier scored a consolation goal at 14:02 of the third for Western.
"All around, it's positive to come out with the win, but there are a lot of things that we need to improve for tomorrow," said Coach Grandmaitre, whose team will regroup for a crucial game against the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday night (7:30 p.m.).
Gee-Gees goaltender Graham Hunt (Concord, Mass.) made 39 stops on 41 shots in picking up the win, while Dodds stopped 31 of 36 shots in taking the loss.
Source: Ottawa Gee-Gees
Bricker scores in 2OT as Lions defeat Thunderwolves
The No. 10 nationally-ranked York University Lions men's hockey team allowed an early goal to the Lakehead Thunderwolves but then settled in and came back to win in double overtime by a score of 2-1 at Memorial Gardens in Thunder Bay, Ont.
The winning tally came off the stick of Dexter Bricker (Saskatoon, Sask.), who scored at 2:07 of the second extra frame to secure the important second point in the OUA West standings. The Lions are comfortably in second place in the division with a record of 16-6-2 for 34 points, while the Thunderwolves remain in seventh place at 10-10-2.
After being held to just a single point through the first two thirds of the season, Bricker is now riding a three-game points streak and has four points in that stretch, including a pair of goals.
Just over eight minutes into the game, Billy Jenkins scored to give the Thunderwolves a quick 1-0 lead. The Lions outshot Lakehead 18-11 but could not beat goaltender Devin Green.
The Lions continued to dominate the game and fired 14 shots at Green compared to just eight on York goaltender Mack Shields (Saskatoon, Sask.) in the second period, but both goalies stood tall.
It only took 42 seconds into the third period for the Lions to finally solve Green, as team leading scorer Trevor Petersen (Thornhill, Ont.) found the back of the net on the power play to level the game at 1-1. Once again the Lions dominated play, but Green continued his strong play between the pipes and the game went to overtime.
After the first extra frame solved nothing, the Lions were finally rewarded for all of their shots with Bricker's goal.
Green finished the game with 46 saves on 48 shots faced, while Shields stopped 33 shots and allowed just the one goal. The Lions have allowed just one goal per game in four of their last five outings.
The Lions and Thunderwolves will renew their rivalry again on Saturday night when the two teams return to the ice for another match-up beginning at 7pm.
Source: York Lions
Gryphons grounded gratuitously as hockey Redmen extend win streak to four
GUELPH, Ont – Rookie Guillaume Gauthier scored the game-winner as No.3-ranked McGill exploded for three goals in the middle frame en route to a 4-2 road victory over Guelph in OUA men's hockey action Friday night at the Gryphon Centre.
It was McGill's fourth straight victory and their fifth consecutive win over Guelph, improving their lifetime record to 30-13-5 against the Gryphons. McGill was without their leading scorer (Mathieu Pompei) and two of their top defencemen (Nathan Chiarlitti and Etienne Boutet), each of whom are representing Canada at the FISU Winter Games in in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
"We played just well enough to lose tonight, unfortunately," said Gryphs head coach Shawn Camp. "They pushed us around in our own rink in the second period and won way more battles. They played like a team that's one of the top teams in our league."
After a scoreless opening period, Jerome Verrier of Drummondville, Que., finally broke the ice at the 2:30 mark of the second period. The second-year forward, who had a tryout with the Detroit Red Wings last season, skated down the right wing and snapping a laser over the left shoulder of Gryphons netminder Keith Hamilton of Kelowna, B.C.
Michael Stevens of Turkey Point, Ont., immediately responded for Guelph, beating Redmen goalie Jacob Gervais-Chouinard only 31 seconds later to tie the score at 1-1.
But McGill slowly took control after that, spending more and more time in the Gryphons zone and creating plenty of havoc around the net. Rookie blueliner Nathanael Halbert of Richmond Hill, Ont., made it 2-1 for the visitors off a scramble at 11:03, and then Gauthier, a native of Ste. Marthe sur le Lac, Que., tallied his winning marker, on the power-play, at 12:46.
"You just can't take a shift off, because they're so quick in transition and they have a killer instinct that's put them at the top of the league," Camp said of the Redmen, who are in first place in the OUA East Division with an 18-4-2 record. "You can't play with fire, getting into chance for chance with them."
Especially when the Gryphs couldn't make the most of their chances. They started the third period with a five-minute man advantage after a scrum that nearly turned into a line brawl at the end of the second, but couldn't score.
They did score later in the frame, with Seth Swenson of Parker, Colorado, trimming the deficit to 3-2 on another power play, but veteran Rock Regimbald of Gatineau, Que., restored McGill's two-goal advantage only 24 seconds later.
"We gave it right back after we scored," said a disappointed Camp. "We gave the momentum right back."
The Gryphs couldn't generate any luck as they tried again to come back. At one point, while shorthanded, they had a three-on-one in the Redmen zone, but couldn't beat Gervais-Chouinard. They also couldn't capitalize on a six-on-four situation for two full minutes late in the game.
Gervais-Chouinard made 31 saves to earn the win, improving his record to 9-2. The economics senior from Sherbrooke, Que., lowered his goals-against average to 2.37 and his save percentage improved to .911. Hamilton stopped 28 shots in a losing cause and dropped to 5-4.
McGill was 1-for-5 on the power-play and erased six of seven shorthanded situations.
"We executed well at times, but not for enough of the game to beat a team of that quality," Camp said. "Clearly we have to find it in us to be good for 60 minutes against the best teams that we'll now face right through the end of the season."
The Gryphs fell to 13-9-1 and remain in third place in an increasingly tight OUA West Division. They've now dropped two straight games after winning eight of nine. They don't have much time to reflect about their fortunes, though. They're right back at it on Saturday night with another home game against the Ottawa Gee-Gees.
With four games remaining before playoffs, the OUA East division-leading Redmen will play at Western (7-14-2) in London on Saturday at 7 p.m. A McGill victory would clinch at least third place (ahead of Carleton, Ottawa and UQTR) and home-ice advantage in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
REDMEN RAP: With Pompei, Chiarlitti and Boutet overseas, three other players served as alternate captains for the Redmen, namely defenceman Francis Lambert-Lemay, along with forwards Jan Kaminsky and Redgie Bois... Chiarlitti, a two-time AUS all-star with StFX before transfering to McGill this season, was named earlier in the week as an alternate captain with the Canadian team in Kazakhstan... Nine of the top 11 scoring leaders in the OUA are at the FISU Winter Games... Dominic Talbot-Tassi leads all OUA rearguards in scoring with a 4-24-28 record in 24 games...
Source: McGill Redmen
Lancers storm back to defeat Badgers
It was a high scoring game at South Windsor Arena as the Lancer men's hockey team came from behind to defeat the Brock Badgers 5-4 on Friday night in their final regular season home game.
The win keeps Windsor (12-12-2) in a tie for fourth place in the west division with the Laurier Golden Hawks, while the Badgers fall to 11-12-1 and sit in sixth.
After the Badgers built a three goal lead in the first 13 minutes of the game, the Lancers came storming back to lead 4-3 heading into the final period.
The Badgers tied the game up just 1:48 in the third but the Lancers didn't back down and four minutes later Chris Scott fired in the game winner to lift the hosts over Brock.
Prior to the game the Lancers honoured their graduating seniors Julian Luciani, Sebastien Beauregard, Mike Christou, and Steve Anthony.
Windsor will now break until the final week of the regular season when they take to the road and head to Waterloo. The Lancers will face the Waterloo Warriors on Friday February 10th at 7:00pm, followed by a 7:30pm contest on Saturday February 11th at Laurier. Both games can be seen live at www.oua.tv.
Source: Windsor Lancers