OUA Men's Hockey Roundup (Feb. 5)
January 31, 2018
Waterloo 1 Western 2
LONDON, Ont. – Cordell James' second period goal proved to be the game winner, as the Western Mustangs defeated the Waterloo Warriors by a 2-1 score on Wednesday night at Thompson Arena.
Western's record improves to 12-9-3 on the year – with the team winning eight of their last nine contests. The Mustangs remain sixth in the West standings, with their upcoming weekend of action providing the opportunity for them to advance further.
"Without a doubt having Luke Peressini back in between the pipes has helped us a tremendous amount. But just the mindset and the attitude that the guys came in with for the second half was a 360 difference from the start of the year," noted Michell Fitzmorris about the team's recent hot streak.
With the loss, Waterloo remains in the bottom of the OUA West Division with a record of 8-13-3.
Fitzmorris and James each marked their name on the score sheet for the Mustangs, while Waterloo's lone goal came from Markson Bechtold.
Western opened the scoring early, with Fitzmorris finding the back of the net only eight minutes into the first period. His quick shot through the five-hole gave the Mustangs a one-goal advantage, which they held throughout the remainder of the period.
"I've been working on coming down the ice and trying to get shots off quickly," said Fitzmorris about the goal. "Good pass by [Mitchell Brooks] and a good draw [from Olynek] to start the play…I think the goalie misread it, it kind of hit off his stick and went off and in, so it's lucky to get one like that. But they don't ask how, they just ask how many."
James and Fitzmorris would both have solid chances later in the period to extend Western's lead, but Mike Morrison stood tall in the Warrior net despite Waterloo being frequently outnumbered.
The Warriors would kill off a total of five penalties throughout the entirety of the game, three of which came in the first period.
Luke Peressini kept the Mustangs competitive, fending off 11 shots from the Warriors in the first frame. Also making strong contributions on the defensive end were Trevor Warnaar and Rylan Bechtel, who both blocked a number of shots in the first period.
After narrowly being stopped by Morrison in the first period, James finally hit the mark to make it 2-0 for Western midway through the second frame.
Spenser Cobbold earned the primary assist on the goal, with James picking up the puck and sliding it in on the glove side after Cobbold's initial shot rebounded off Morrison's pad.
"[Rob Polesello] gave a nice pass to Cobbs in the slot and then I was able to get the rebound. The goalie was sliding the other way so I just put it in there," said James about his game-winning goal.
The game became increasingly aggressive as play wore on, with both teams continuing to rack up penalties. Despite having five power play chances and the best power play percentage in the league (25.3), the Mustangs were unable to capitalize on a relatively weak Waterloo penalty kill.
"We just had trouble getting in their zone after the breakout," noted James. "There were a couple times where we had it in their zone and worked it around – we just couldn't find the back of the net there."
"The first couple power plays, we didn't generate much," admitted assistant coach Patrick Ouellet. "The last two were good – we didn't score but the guys moved the puck really well, created chances for ourselves, the puck just didn't go in."
However, Mustangs special teams did find success with four killed penalties of their own.
Western's 2-0 lead would last until the final period, when Bechtold scored the only Warrior goal of the game and his third of the season. It came just one minute into the period, and was the result of a sharp pass across the net from Eric Diodati.
The score remained the same through the final 19 minutes of the game, although Cobbold nearly beat Morrison on several strong attempts, with Western taking a 2-1 win.
Source: westernmustangs.ca
McGilll 4 UQTR 3
TROIS-RIVIERES, Que. -- Jerome Verrier of Drummondville, Que., tallied twice, including the winner, as the No.4 ranked McGill University Redmen celebrated their 141st birthday with a 4-3 road victory over UQTR in OUA men's hockey at Le Colisee, Wednesday.
McGill, which played their first game way back on Jan. 31, 1877, now sits atop the OUA East with a 21-4-1 record and two games remaining on their schedule. More importantly, the Redmen have clinched a second straight OUA East pennant, their third in four seasons and fifth in eight years for head coach Kelly Nobes.
"It wasn't our best game but we were playing a desperate team that is fighting to make the playoffs and we found a way to win," said Nobes, who improved his record to 230-99-3 in 332 games overall behind the McGill bench and 370-267-14 in 651 contests, including stints at RMC and Laurier.
The Redmen, who outshot UQTR 40-29, led 2-1 after the opening period but found themselves knotted at 3-3 heading into the final stanza. The Patriotes, who tumbled to 8-17-1 with two games remaining -- and recently forfeited 19 points in the OUA East standings -- sit precariously perched in the eighth and final playoff berth. They are only one point ahead of RMC (6-14-4) and two ahead of Laurentian (7-16-1) but both of those teams have four contests remaining.
Verrier, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound centre, put McGill ahead 2-1 at 14:10 of the first period and snapped a 3-3 deadlock with the winning marker at 15:14 of the third period. The 23-year-old economics junior now has a dozen goals and 27 points in 26 contests to entrench his second-place standing in the OUA scoring race.
"Jerome had a solid game," Nobes noted. "He scored a nice one on a semi-breakaway, then stuffed one on a second-chance rebound."
The other McGill markers came from rookies Michael Cramarossa of Markham, Ont., and sophomore Antoine Dufort-Plante of Montreal. Both of them now have seven goals on the season.
Cramarossa put his side up 1-0 only 2:55 after the opening puck drop, while Dufour-Plante gave McGill a short-lived 3-2 lead at 8:52 of the middle stanza.
Marksmen for the Pats, who tied the game at 1-1, 2-2 and 3-3, were Mathieu Lemay (11th), Christophe Boivin (16th) and team captain Pierre-Maxime Poudrier (10th), respectively.
Goaltender Louis-Philippe Guindon, a kinesiology sophomore from St. Joseph du Lac, Que., registered 26 saves and improved his record to 18-5. He leads all U SPORTS goalies in wins and shares the lead in shutouts (3), to go along with a 2.19 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage.
Pats sophomore Alexandre Belanger was beaten four times on 40 shots and took the loss as his record fell to 6-4.
The Redmen went 0-for-4 on the power-play and killed off four of five penalties. McGill's PK unit continues to lead the league and rank second in the nation with a stingy 88.9 per cent success rate behind StFX (91.9).
McGill won four of their five meetings with the Pats this season, including one via forfeit, and now owns a lifetime record of 85-158-17 in 260 meetings overall since this bitter rivalry began in 1969. If the season ended today, they would meet each other in the first-round of playoffs for the 21st post-season series against each other.
The Redmen close out their regular season schedule with road games at UOIT (14-9-1) in Oshawa (Feb. 3 at 7:30 pm), and at Concordia (15-6-3) in the annual Ronald Corey Cup encounter on Feb. 9 (at 7 pm).
Source: mcgillathletics.ca
February 1, 2018
Western 1 Laurier 0
WATERLOO, Ont. – Luke Peressini made 27 saves to register his first career OUA shutout, as the Mustangs downed the Laurier Golden Hawks 1-0 on the road Thursday night.
The win moves Western to a 13-9-3 record, tying them for fourth in the OUA West alongside the Golden Hawks and Brock Badgers.
Kolten Olynek netted the lone goal of the night, scoring in the third period to lead his team to their second straight win as the team remains undefeated in regulation in 2018.
Laurier goaltender Chris Festerini stopped 23 of 24 shots, while defender Kyle Jenkins played an impressive two-way game, clogging up the defensive zone and generating offense for his team.
The game provided a unique challenge to the Mustangs, as they competed on Olympic sized ice in Waterloo. Both teams lacked flow to start off, as the Mustangs attempted to adjust to the extra ice.
The back and forth nature of the game saw both teams struggle to maintain offensive pressure, and meant that neither goalie saw too much action in the first frame, with the shots being 7-6 in favour of the Mustangs by the end of the period.
Despite the challenge posed by the extra room on the ice, the purple and white set the tone to start off the period. Western did an excellent job breaking out of the defensive zone, blocking shots and deflecting passes, while keeping the pressure on the Golden Hawks.
Although he only face minimal shots, Peressini came up big for the Mustangs when called upon. He played a crucial role in keeping the game tied after the Mustangs took a penalty late in the first, contributing to an excellent Mustangs penalty kill.
The Mustangs best chance of the frame came in the dying seconds of the period, as Olynek deked out Festerini only for the puck to roll of his stick and just barely miss the net.
The second period saw the two teams find their footing, ramping up the pace as well as the physicality. The teams traded odd man rushes up and down the ice throughout the period, pushing the flow from the first period.
The back and forth nature of the game continued, with both teams struggling to maintain pressure in the offensive zone. Despite this, both the Mustangs and the Golden Hawks had significant chances.
The Mustangs could not capitalize on several 2-on-1s, while the Golden Hawks were stumped by Jonathan Laseron an attempted 3-on-1, as he slid to block a pass, and send the puck out of play.
Both goaltenders stole the show in the second period, as they dominated the defensive zones at both ends of the ice, keeping the game 0-0 heading into the third.
Olynek finally broke the deadlock, netting the game's only goal with just under ten minutes to go in the contest. The play started with a defensive zone break out, with Olynek receiving a stretch pass from Spenser Cobbold to cause an odd man rush, where Olynek's perfectly placed snapshot snuck under Festarini's glove.
The Mustangs locked it down defensively after the Olynek goal, trapping Laurier in the neutral zone, and winding down the clock to earn the win.
Source: westernmustangs.ca
Lakehead 4 Ryerson 5
TORONTO - It was victorious night for the Ryerson Rams as they came away with a nail-biter of a 5-4 win over the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Thursday night.
“I think this win meant a lot,” commented Rams forward Devon Paliani (LaSalle, Ont.), adding, “you want to head into the playoffs on a high and get all the little slumps out of the way.”
With key components of their offensive line-up out for the evening, the Rams struggled to produce chances in the Lakehead zone early on. As evident by the 18-3 shot deficit they faced throughout the first twenty minutes, the Rams were forced to contest with a Thunderwolves squad that was playing beyond what their previous six-game losing skid would suggest.
“I don’t think we had the start we were looking for,” stated Paliani on the Rams first period performance. “Give credit to them, they flew into this game and were fighting for their playoff spot, I think we were just a little flat.”
Through their ability to overwhelm Ryerson on offense, the Thunderwolves would be rewarded with the first goal of the contest. Thirteen minutes into the opening frame, Lakehead defenseman Tyler Anton (Thunder Bay, Ont.) would fire home his second goal of the season on a breakaway play to put his team up 1-0 midway through the first period.
Things would turn around for Ryerson, however, right from the beginning of the second period. Outshooting Lakehead throughout the second twenty minutes of action, the Rams had found a way to contest with the hungry Thunderwolves squad offensively, while containing them defensively.
For executing these fundamentals effectively, the Rams would be rewarded with an onslaught of scoring opportunities in the second frame. Eight minutes into the period, captain Alex Basso (Toronto, Ont.) would fire in his team's first goal of the game, and his twelfth of the season, to tie-up the scoreboard at 1-1. Basso would be followed by teammate Paliani who would give the Rams a 2-1 advantage with less than four minutes to play in the period.
With time winding down in the second period, the Rams had yet to conclude scoring as Basso would contribute his second goal of the match, on a short-handed play, to put Ryerson up 3-1 over Lakehead going into the last period of action.
“He is one of the better players I have seen live,” commented Steven Harland on Basso’s performance as of late. “He has so much skill, with such a good shot, he can pretty much score from anywhere on the ice, and he is really stepping it up.”
In an almost déjà vu moment for Ryerson however, the Lakehead Thunderwolves would come storming back in the third period to turn the game into a nail-biter.
“We needed to keep playing our game and keep playing hard,” stated Harland on the team’s strategy heading into the third, adding, “they [Lakehead] were also willing to playing hard, as evident by their come back.”
However, for a slight moment at the beginning of the period, it would appear as though the Rams would retain full control of the contest. Just a few minutes into the final frame of action, Rams freshman forward Tre Folkes (Toronto, Ont.) would tap home his first goal of the season to give Ryerson a 4-1 advantage.
From there the third period would be centered firmly around the Thunderwolves, as quick contributions from Scott Gall (Morden, Man.), Sam Schutt (Palmer Rapids, Ont.), and Daniel Del Paggio (Thunder Bay, Ont.) would tie up the game with three minutes left to play in regulation time.
Fortunately for the Rams, forward Steven Harland (Toronto, Ont.) would provide his sixth goal of the season with less than a minute to play to give his team the 5-4 win.
“I got a lucky bounce, and the boys loved it,” stated Harland on his game-winning goal, adding, “everyone wants to be that guy, and thankfully that was me tonight.”
Source: ryersonrams.ca
RMC 5 Queen’s 6
KINGSTON, Ont. (February 1, 2018) - The No.9 Queen's Gaels defeated (17-5-3) the RMC Paladins (6-14-5) in front of a record crowd of 3,524 at the Rogers K-Rock Centre on Thursday night. In the 32nd installment of the Carr-Harris Cup, both teams treated the fans to an offensive explosion. Darcy Greenaway (Wilton, Ont.) ended the game with a beautiful end-to-end rush at 1:21 of overtime to send the Gaels home with their third Carr-Harris win in the last four years.
The Carr-Harris Challenge Cup trophy features the "Lennie" sculpture by Kingston native Joan Belch. It depicts Lennox Irving, the Queen's player who scored the lone goal in the inaugural game between RMC and Queen's on March 10, 1886.
GAME FLOW
The two teams skated out to a raucous crowd before the opening faceoff, as the fans chanted back and forth in support of their teams. Queen's got things started early in the frame, as Ryan Bloom (Calgary, Alta) ripped a wrist shot past Paladins netminder Austin Hannaford at 2:38 to open the scoring. RMC would answer right back as the OUA's leading goal scorer Riley Brandt notched his 18th of the season past Gaels goalie Kevin Bailie (Belleville, Ont.). A great rush up ice by Greenaway would culminate in a Luke Edwards (Kingston, Ont.) goal at 12:14 to give the Gaels a 2-1 lead. Slater Doggett (Oakville, Ont.) would extend the Queen's lead to 3-1 late in the period when he wristed his 14th goal of the season past Hannaford. Eric Ming (Williamstown, Ont.) recorded an assist on the play, which marked the 100th point of his career. The Gaels would skate into the first intermission leading the Paladins 3-1.
RMC gave the Gaels all they could handle to begin the second period, coming out with a frenzy of action in the Gaels end of the ice. The Paladins were given an early power play and would take advantage when David Savery walked in from the blue line and scored a five-hole goal past Bailie to cut the Gaels lead to 3-2. The Paladins domination of the period would continue with a power play midway through the frame. Brandt added his second of the game on a tipped shot that beat Bailie to even the game at 3. Queen's was able to salvage the period in the final moments when a mad scramble in front of the RMC net resulted in Alex Stothart (Ottawa, Ont.) banging home his second goal of the campaign at 18:59. The goal would allow the Gaels to enter the third period holding a slim 4-3 advantage despite being outshot 22-17.
It didn't take RMC long to answer back in the third period as their power play stayed red hot when Rhett Wilcox tied the game on another Paladins man advantage just 4:40 into the final frame. The back and forth battle would continue as Doggett recaptured the Gaels' lead with his second goal of the night. After Ming rang a shot off the post, a scramble ensued, and Doggett was able to wrist a shot to the top part of the net to put Queen's up 5-4. As was the story all night, RMC battled back and for the fourth time, tied the game when Dylan Giberson beat Bailie with a wrist shot glove side. Despite plenty of pressure by the Queen's attack in the final moments, the Paladins were able to hold the Gaels off and force an overtime period.
In a game that saw plenty of scoring chances, the overtime period did not disappoint as both teams were gunning for the game-winning goal. About a minute in, Greenaway took the puck behind his own net and darted up the ice. After skating past one Paladins defender and beating another with a nice move, he was able to score a spinning shot past Hannaford to send the Gaels home with their 20th Carr-Harris Cup.
Bailie earned the win in net for the Gaels, making 29 saves while Hannaford took the loss for the Paladins, recording 22 saves.
Doggett was named the Gaels MVP for his two-goal performance while Brandt earned the nod for the Paladins with his three-point effort.
Source: gogaelsgo.com
Carleton 4 UOIT 3
OSHAWA, Ont. – The UOIT men's hockey fell to the Carleton Ravens in front of over 300 fans at Blue & White Night on Thursday night at the Campus Ice Centre.
Despite the loud cheering from the first-ever UOIT student section, the Ridgebacks lost to the Ravens 4-3 in a shootout.
In the first period it looked to be anyone's game as both teams were very physical on the puck and had their fair share of chances on net. Malik Johnson (Montreal, Que.) was the one to give the Ridgebacks the opening lead when he deked the puck around Francois Brassard and scored on the forehand.
The second period got off to a quick start for the Ravens as Jared Steege tied the game just 36 seconds into the frame, with his 16th goal of his rookie campaign. That said, the Ridgebacks were able to quickly regain their lead when Kyle Locke (Aurora, Ont.) blasted a slapshot into the back of the net three minutes later for his first of the season.
In the final period, Josh Carrick (Stouffville, Ont.), who also recorded an assist on Johnson's goal, was able to capitalize on a Carleton turnover and jam home a wraparound to give the Ridgebacks what seemed like a safe two-goal lead.
As time wound down the Ravens began to apply the pressure in the offensive zone and were able to score two late period goals. Josh Burnside scored at the halfway mark in the period and Dakota Odgers banked one home just 1:30 later to tie the game.
An extra period of overtime went scoreless and the game was forced into a shootout, resulting in Adam Chapman's game winner for the Ravens – the only goal through eight shooters (four aside).
"Both teams battled hard out there tonight and when you go in to a shootout it really can go either way," said head coach Curtis Hodgins.
Despite the Ridgebacks loss, Brendan O'Neill (Ilderton, Ont.) had an outstanding performance making a total of 44 saves and his coach had great things to say about him afterwards.
"O'Neill played fantastic for us tonight, making a ton of key saves for us, we were hoping to win it for him, but things just didn't go our way," said Hodgins.
The Ridgebacks will remain at home for their next game on Saturday against the first-place McGill Redmen. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Campus Ice Centre.
Source: uoitridgebacks.ca
February 2, 2018
Brock 2 Waterloo 3
As a nanotechnology engineering student, Micthell Smith is used to dealing with things on a smaller scale. But on Friday night against the Brock Badgers, his performance was anything but microscopic.
Smith scored twice, including the eventual game winner late in the second, as the Waterloo Warriors toppled the Badgers 3-2 at the Columbia Icefield Arena in Waterloo.
Markson Bechtold (Strathmore/) and Keigan Goetz (New Hamburg/) had a pair of helpers apiece, playing on a newly-formed line with Smith. Daniel Perigo (Truro/)added a goal for the Warriors, who have now won four of their last six games to climb back into the playoff race at 9-13-3.
The win, coupled with Windsor's 3-1 loss against the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Friday night, propels the Warriors into a three-way tie for the eighth and final playoff spot in the OUA West division. The Toronto Varsity Blues also joined that group on Friday, with a 1-0 victory over Laurier.
Meanwhile, the Badgers missed an opportunity to improve their position in the middle of the OUA West pack, falling to 12-8-5 on the season. Mack Lemmon and Dexter Weber scored for Brock, who sit in a three-way tie of their own for fourth place in the West division.
Mike Morrison (Hamilton/) was excellent in the Waterloo net, turning aside 32 shots in the victory. Meanwhile, Brock goaltender Clint Windsor, the OUA leader in minutes played, made 26 saves in defeat.
While the game turned into a defensive affair late, the opening period certainly wasn't indicative of the tight-checking finish. The Badgers drew first blood when Lemmon picked the top corner for a 4-on-4 goal just over five minutes into the game, but Smith and the Warriors responded later in the frame: On a breakout play started by Eric Diodati(Niagara Falls/), Bechtold hit a streaking Smith with a bomb pass through the middle of the ice, sending Smith in on a partial break. The former Kitchener Dutchmen star made a move to the forehand and beat the outstretched leg of Windsor, evening the score at 1-1.
The tie was short-lived though, as Weber's blast through traffic eluded Morrison just over three minutes later to give the Badgers a 2-1 advantage. But before the end of the period, and with the Warriors on a power play, Perigo broke in on the right wing and snuck a wrister through the arm and body of Windsor to tie the score at 2-2 after 20 minutes.
The second period featured chances at both ends early, but shot blocking and defensive zone play became the orders of the day on both sides. However, just when it looked like the game would head into the third period knotted up, Smith skated his way in and fired a wrister towards Windsor. The off-speed puck fooled the Brock keeper – it may have been deflected as Smith let it go – and it beat Windsor to the blocker short-side to give Waterloo a 3-2 lead with just over a minute left in the second.
The third period was a nailbiting affair, marred by a scary injury – with under 8 minutes to play, Brock's Patrick Volpe and Waterloo's Michael Morgan (Scarborough/) clipped skates, sending Volpe to the ice in a harmless-looking slide. But Volpe's upper body crashed into the end boards hard, and he lay motionless on the ice for several moments before slowly getting to his feet and skating off.
The Badgers were forced to regroup emotionally and put together a late push. While their efforts pushed the Warriors in the game's closing seconds, Joey Champigny (East Angus/) won a key defensive zone draw in the closing seconds to help salt the game away for Waterloo.
Source: athletics.uwaterloo.ca
Guelph 3 York 2
TORONTO, Ont. – Friday night at York University, the No. 6-ranked Guelph Gryphons men's hockey team clinched first-place in the OUA West division. And they did it in dramatic fashion.
With the Gryphons and York Lions all tied at 2-2 in the dying seconds of the third period, Gryphons' rookie defenceman Patrick Kudla intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and led a three-on-one break which ended with Manny Gialedakis banging home a rebound from point blank with just :02 seconds remaining in regulation. The buzzer-beating goal gave the Gryphons an important 3-2 road win in a game that featured the top two teams in the OUA West division standings. With three games still remaining on their regular season schedule, the Gryphons (19-5-1) now sit six points clear of both York and Ryerson. Only the Ryerson Rams still have the ability to match the Gryphons' point total for the season. However, Guelph would hold the tiebreaker over Ryerson based on the most number of league wins on the season. The Gryphons face Ryerson twice and York once again over the course of their final three games of the regular season.
"Tonight was a playoff-type game, for sure," said Gryphons head coach Shawn Camp. "It was a typical York-Guelph game: a physical affair with good chances at both ends. We battled hard throughout the game and our guys stuck with it to get the finish they so badly wanted."
Friday night's game marked the second meeting of the season between the Gryphons and the defending OUA-champion York Lions, with Guelph winning 4-1 at the Canlan Ice Sports Arena at York University back on November 5. The Gryphons opened the scoring at the 7:07 mark of the opening period when fourth year forward Andres Kopstals potted a rebound for his 2nd goal of the season to put the Gryphons ahead 1-0 early.
After the Lions scored in the opening moments of the 2nd period, the Gryphons would re-take the lead on a power play tally from first-year defenceman Mathieu Henderson. The highly-skilled blueliner, who enjoyed a successful OHL career with the Flint Firebirds prior to joining the Gryphons, would join the rush and roof a backhander past York's All-Canadian goalie Mack Shields to give the Gryphons a 2-1 lead. It was Henderson's 4th goal of the season and his second in as many games after having also scored this past Saturday (Jan. 27) at Laurier.
Source: gryphons.ca
Toronto 1 Laurier 0
Fifth-year goalie Andrew Hunt made 23 saves and Aidan Wallace scored the lone goal as the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's hockey team defeated the Laurier Golden Hawks 1-0 on Friday, February 2 in Waterloo, Ont.
With the win, the Blues improve to 10-14-1 and move into a three-way tie for eighth place, the last playoff spot, in the OUA East division.
After two scoreless periods, Wallace, a third-year forward from Toronto, broke the stalemate, scoring his eighth goal of the season 4:36 into the third period.
The Hawks then pressured hard, as Hunt posted 13 saves in the third period alone, to secure his first shut-out of the season.
Source: varsityblues.ca
Lakehead 4 Windsor 1
Billy Jenkins and Sam Schutt each scored twice as the Lakehead Thunderwolves toppled the Windsor Lancers 4-1 with a solid performance from start to finish at the South Windsor Arena on Friday night.
Jenkins put Lakehead up 1-0 on the first shift of the game, burying the puck behind Windsor goalkeeper Jonathan Reinhart at the 31-second mark, with Daniel Del Paggio assisting.
Sam Schutt added to the Wolves’ lead at 4:20 of the second with a seeing-eye shot that beat Reinhart on the glove side, with the helpers going to Patrick Murphy and Jake Ringuette.
Jenkins got his second goal of the night by going five-hole from the high slot at 10:06, with Murphy and Ringuette assisting once again.
Blake Blondeel got Windsor on the board by taking advantage of a bouncing puck to put one past Wolves’ goalie Devin Green at 14:29 and narrow Lakehead’s lead to 3-1 after 40 minutes of play.
Green’s rebound control was rock solid during the first two periods, and he kept that going in the third.
Still down a pair with just under three minutes to go, Windsor pulled Reinhart for an extra attacker. Schutt killed any hopes of a Lancers’ comeback had when he raced down the ice and slapped the puck into the empty cage at 17:51, with the helpers going to Del Paggio and Dillon Donnelly.
In a game in which no penalties were called until the third period, Lakehead went 0-for-2 on the power play and Windsor was 0-for-1.
Total shots on goal for the night were 30-25 for Windsor.
The win snaps the Wolves’ seven-game losing skid and gives them some breathing room in their bid to secure a spot in the OUA playoffs.
Source: thunderwolveshockey.ca
Nipissing 2 Laurentian 4
On Friday night, the Voyageurs continued their push for the post season as they earned a 4-2 victory over their northern rival, Nipissing Lakers.
The Lakers jumped out to an early lead as Dylan Staples scored just 56 seconds in as he was left unguarded on the Voyageurs blue line for an easy breakaway to beat Savard. The Lakers added to their lead as Matt Donnelly scored at 17:31, giving Nipissing a 2-0 lead.
The Vees began the comeback in the second period as Blake Forslund got things going at 6:42 when he found the back of the net. Caleb Apperson picked up the lone assist on the goal. The end of the second resulted in nothing more than a few penalties and Blake Forslunds goal, sending the Vees into the third down by one goal.
The Vees then took over in the third period coming hot out of the blocks as Xavier Couture scored just thirteen seconds into the period, tying the game at 2-2. Brent Pedersen and Nicolas Dionne assisted on the goal.
Then, just 22 seconds later, the same line added one more point to the column as Pedersen scored a goal of his own giving the Vees their first lead of the game. Couture and Dionne picked up the helpers.
Dionne would score at 18:47, with help from Pedersen and Tyler Shaw, capping off a three point night and another victory for the Voyageurs.
Source: luvoyageurs.com
Other Scores:
Ottawa 3 Concordia 2
February 3, 2018
Waterloo 0 Toronto 2
Andrew Hunt and the Varsity Blues men's hockey team kept their playoff hopes alive with a 2-0 victory over the Waterloo Warriors on Saturday night (Feb. 3) at Varsity Arena.
On senior's night and in possibly his last career home game, Hunt was perfect between the pipes. He made 23 saves for his second consecutive shutout to hand U of T their third straight victory. The economics major hasn't allowed a goal in the last 148 minutes in 57 seconds. He's accumulated 58 saves during that span.
Matt Campagna continued his impressive play lately. He picked up a critical two points, assisting on the Blues opening goal and sealed the victory with an empty-netter. The third-year forward has recorded 12 points in the last six games. Max Lindsay scored the gamer winner just four minutes into the third period.
U of T is 7-3 since the new calendar year, which translates to an overall record of 11-14-1. They are still tied with Windsor for the final playoff spot in the OUA West division, but hold the tie breaker. The Warriors drop to 9-14-3 on the season.
Toronto slowly gained momentum after the opening faceoff. Their best chance came at 10:41 when Hunter Atchison was behind the net and found Scott Kirton alone in the slot for the one timer. Hunt made a couple nice saves to keep the score at zeros heading into the first intermission.
Hunt was at it again in the second. Down in the butterfly position at 10:18, the puck bounced over to Warrior Keigan Goetz with an open net and Hunt stretched out behind him to make the impressive save.
U of T continued to press late in the second frame. Aidan Wallace missed the top corner off a rebound with less than 17 seconds left and the game remained scoreless after 40 minutes.
With some extra room on the ice because of a four-on-four situation, Matt Campagna carried the puck from end-to-end diverting numerous Warriors before setting up Max Lindsay for the opening goal just 3:53 into the third period.
Late in the frame, the Warriors and Goetz thought they tied the game, but the referees called a high-stick to negate the tying the goal. Campagna sealed the victory with an empty netter with 36 seconds left.
Source: varsityblues.ca
Lakehead 2 Western 3
LONDON, Ont. – The inaugural Snowy Saddle game saw the Mustangs treat their fans to a particularly thrilling contest, going to overtime to top the Lakehead Thunderwolves 3-2 at Thompson Arena.
The win means that the Mustangs now have points in their last 11 games, stretching their current win streak to three consecutive games.
"It's definitely a lot better than the start of the year," said Cordell James. "We had our ups and downs but right now we've been playing great, sticking together as a unit and it's been working out for us."
Western is now 14-9-3, and sit in fourth in the OUA West, two points back of the York Lions for third, with two games left on the schedule.
Ray Huether, Mitchell Fitzmorris, and Cordell James provided the offense for the Mustangs, while both of Lakehead's goals were scored by Callum Fryer.
James netted the eventual game winner in overtime, while the Mustangs penalty kill continued to improve, going two for two for the night.
Both teams were scoreless in the first period, despite back and forth play that saw both teams generate solid offensive opportunities.
However, Western would dictate the pace of play, outshooting the Thunderwolves 15-12 throughout the first 20 minutes. The Mustangs had several great scoring chances, but couldn't finish the play. Their puck movement was good, with the defenders showing strong passing, and the offence cycling the puck well.
Several small defensive mistakes allowed the Thunderwolves a few chances of their own, but overall the defense did a good job supporting Peressini in their own zone. The defenders executed well on the breakout, giving the offense a couple odd man rushes and scoring opportunities of their own.
Jonathan Laser had a strong period, managing to shutdown a three on one opportunity for the Thunderwolves, and keep the puck moving in the neutral zone while holding the offensive line.
The game would not remain scoreless for long, with the Mustangs jumping out to a 1-0 lead a mere four minutes into the second period. The goal came from Ray Huether, who unloaded a wrist shot top shelf to give his team the lead.
The initial pass came from Matt Watson, while Laser picked up an assist to continue his stellar play from the first period.
"Watty made a nice pass there across the seam, and I just let it go," said Huether. "It worked out that it went in the net."
The Thunderwolves couldn't contain the Mustangs offence, who managed to outshoot Lakehead 12-6 in the second frame, and 27-18 through 40 minutes of play.
"The guys are buying into the game plan," said Mustangs assistant coach Patrick Ouellet. "I know it sounds cliché but even before the break when we were losing games, it was one goal games all the time."
Emotions were flying high, with the physicality to result in a Lakehead power play in the last three minutes of the period.
The purple and white penalty kill came out flying however, keeping the Thunderwolves hemmed into the offensive zone, and almost notching a short-handed goal.
Compared to the earlier two, the third period was a high scoring affair.
The Mustangs struck six minutes into the frame, when Fitzmorris blasted home a one-timer, on a pass from Huether. Huether danced around his defender along the boards, before feeding Fitzmorris in the slot to give the Mustangs a 2-0 lead.
Lakehead was not to be counted out, scoring two goals in two minutes to tie the game up.
"Lakehead was stretching a guy the whole third period, and we talked about it," said Ouellet. "It was just guys missing assignments, just focusing on the puck too much and not having their head on a swivel."
Both of the Thunderwolves goals came from Fryer, who first burned his defender, creating a one on none, before deking out Peressini and burying it backhand. For his second goal, Fryer snuck behind his defender to cut across the crease, sending the puck top shelf off another backhand shot.
"I think we just got a little lackadaisical out there we thought we had the game in the bag," said James. the boys stuck together and we were able to pull it out."
After a back and forth five minutes to close out the game, overtime was needed to decide a winner.
"They gave up the lead with seven minutes left in the game, they could have just given up but they were resilient," said Ouellet. "They came back and had a hell of an OT, it was crazy."
Overtime was a goaltending duel, with the puck going end to end, as Peressini and Lakehead netminder Devin Green made show-stopping saves to keep the game going. With seconds left on the clock, a Lakehead turnover was optimized by Laser, sending the puck to James who netted the game winner.
"Going into the OT both teams I think were pretty tired, with a lot of chances back and forth," said James. "Luke made a bunch of great saves there and we were able to close it out."
Source: westernmustangs.ca
Queen’s 4 Carleton 3
OTTAWA (February 3, 2018) – The No. 9 Queen's Gaels (18-5-3) continued their wild week with a crazy come from behind 4-3 overtime victory over the Carleton Ravens (16-6-4) on Saturday night. Just two days after winning a barn burner against RMC in the Carr-Harris Cup, the Gaels were able to tie the game late against the Ravens and pull out the victory in the extra frame. Slater Doggett(Oakville, Ont.) played the role of hero by not only tying the game with one second left in regulation time but also scoring the game winning goal in overtime to send the Gaels home with their sixth straight victory.
GAME FLOW
Queen's started the first period off on the right foot when Luke Edwards (Kingston, Ont.) scored his seventh goal of the season on the power play at 3:59. Darcy Greenaway (Wilton, Ont.) later added his 14th goal of the campaign to send the Gaels into the first period intermission leading 2-0.
Carleton would answer back near the midway point of the second period when forward Adam Chapman beat Gaels netminder Kevin Bailie (Belleville, Ont.) for the Ravens first goal of the night. No more goals were scored in the second period and Queen's would head into the third frame leading 2-1.
The third period saw the Ravens tie the game just over six minutes in, when CJ Garcia scored a power play marker to make the score 2-2. Just before the halfway point of the period, Alexandre Boivin put the Ravens ahead for the first time in the game with his 9th goal of the season.
In a game that seemed all but over in the dying seconds of the third period, Doggett dug deep and was able to beat a defender to the net and get a shot off to beat Ravens goalie Francois Brassard with one second remaining on the clock to secure a much-needed point for the Gaels.
Just over a minute into the overtime period, Doggett would once again come up big when he ripped a wrist shot past Brassard and into the back of the net, his second of the night and 17th on the season. The goal not only gave Queen's the victory, but it also puts them into the driver's seat for the second seed in the OUA East standings, sitting three points ahead of Carleton after tonight's game.
Bailie picked up the win in net for the Gaels, making 31 saves while Brassard took the loss for the Ravens making 30 saves of his own.
Source: gogaelsgo.com
Ryerson 5 Guelph 4
TORONTO – It was another victorious evening for the Ryerson Rams, as they took down the No. 6 Guelph Gryphons 5-4 at the Gryphon Centre Arena on Saturday night, as they continue their roll into the playoffs.
While the final statistics would indicate Guelph domination throughout the contest, with the Gryphons positioning 46 shots on net compared to the Rams 21, the match was very much back-and-forth throughout all three periods of play.
However, it was Ryerson that opened up the scoring on the night, in spite of a consistent Gryphons presence in their zone throughout the first period. Thirteen minutes into the opening frame, Rams forward Aaron Armstrong (Teeswater, Ont.), the hero of Ryerson’s last game against the Gryphons, would get the scoring started and put the Rams up 1-0 early on.
Unlike the relatively normal pace of the first period, the second frame would prove to be a scoring frenzy with seven goals being scored across twenty minutes of action. Guelph forward J.P. Villeneuve (Georgetown, Ont.) would kick off the scoring, tying up the scoreboard just one minute into the second frame.
The Rams would have quick response, as freshman forward Steven Harland (Toronto, Ont.) would give Ryerson another one goal edge, just fifty-seconds after the goal by Villeneuve.
Unfortunately, the Rams were given only forty-seconds of breathing room before the Gryphons would tie up the scoreboard once more, this time thanks to third-year defenseman Zach McFadden (Guelph, Ont.).
The Rams, however, were not prepared to give this one away, as forward John Carpino (Maple, Ont.) would once again provide the Rams with a one goal lead, four minutes into the second frame.
As if four goals in a single period simple wasn’t enough, Gryphons forward Manny Gialedakis (Woodbridge, Ont.) would once again tie up the scoreboard, eleven minutes into the period.
However, the Rams were determined to put this one away before the Gryphons could even recuperate. With less than three minutes to play in this hectic second period, John Carpino and captain Alex Basso (Toronto, Ont.), would fire home a pair of goals less than thirty-seconds apart from one another to give the Rams a commanding 5-3 lead heading into the final period of action.
This lead would eventually prove to be enough to hold off Guelph, as a late contribution from Gryphons centre Michael Stevens (Turkey Point, Ont.) simply wasn’t enough, as the Rams came away with a 5-4 victory to take their second encounter with Guelph this season.
Source: ryersonrams.ca
McGill 4 UOIT 3
OSHAWA, ONT – It was a night of quick starts for the McGill men's hockey team, in just about every period of a 4-3 road victory over the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Saturday, at the Campus Ice Centre.
Defenceman Nikolas Brouillard scored the game-winner on the power-play at just 17 seconds of overtime as the No.4 ranked Redmen improved to 22-4-1 to clinch first overall in the 20-team OUA, ensuring that they will have "home-ice" advantage throughout the playoffs. Although OUA regulations do not allow McGill to host the Queen's Cup championship game, the Redmen would still get the last line change in the OUA final.
It was the first marker of the season for Brouillard, a 22-year-old native of St. Hilaire, Que., who became eligible to play earlier in the week after playing pro in the ECHL last year. The offensive-minded rearguard, who twice led all QMJHL defencemen in scoring, now has two points in two games and becomes the 19th player on the Redmen roster to score during the OUA campaign. The single-season team record is 22 players who reached that plateau, which was first accomplished in 2011-12 and matched last season.
McGill led 2-1 after the opening period and 3-2 after two but the Ridgebacks battled back to force overtime when Jack Patterson netted the equalizer with just 94 seconds remaining in the third.
Redmen rearguard Dominic Talbot-Tassi of Mascouche, Que., scored once and added a pair of assists. His tally from the blueline at just 14 seconds after the opening faceoff set a school record for fastest goal from the start of a game. It broke the previous mark of 16 seconds set by Patrick Delisle-Houde in a 5-2 home-ice win over Waterloo, Nov. 3, 2012. But it fell shy of the McGill record for the fastest goal from the start of a period, set by Martin Raymond(currently an assistant coach with the NHL's Ottawa Senators), who connected at the seven-second mark of the third period in a 5-2 win over Brock, Oct. 14, 1990.
"Urq (Redmen assistant coach David Urquhart) always tells me to shoot the puck as quick as I can," said Talbot-Tassi, who ranks second among OUA blueliners in goals and fourth in points, with an 8-15-23-record in 27 games. "So when I got the puck, I only thought about getting it on net quickly and it went in. We couldn't have had a better start than that."
Freshman Keanu Yamamoto of Spokane, Wash., netted his ninth of the season to make it 2-0 at 6:19 of the first period. The Ridgebacks narrowed the gap to 2-1 less than seven minutes later when defenceman Josh Carrick scored his third of the season.
The Redmen got off to a quick jump-start again in the second period when Frederic Gamelin, a junior from St. Polycarpe, Que., struck pay-dirt with his sixth of the year just 24 seconds into the stanza, which put McGill ahead 3-1.
But the pesky Ridgebacks battled back, when Alex Yuill converted on a power-play at 6:03 to make it 3-2, which set the stage for Patterson's tying goal late in the third.
"I like our start, we were ready to go right away," said McGill head coach Kelly Nobes, a native of West Hill, Ont., who had some family members in attendance at the game. "We got the early goal which gave us momentum, then had another good start in the second."
Jacob Gervais-Chouinard made 31 saves to register the victory in his first start of the season between the pipes for McGill. The fifth-year economics senior recently returned to the Redmen lineup after graduating last year. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound goaltender improved his career record to 73-34 in 117 appearances overall with McGill, including a 53-13 record in 71 regular season games. The McGill goalie record for most career wins is 84 overall and 54 in the regular season. His next victory in league play would tie the standard set by Mathieu Poitras, who posted a 54-19-6 record in 79 regular season contests between 2004 and 2008.
"For a guy who hadn't played a competitive game in a year, 'Chewey' had a great game tonight," said Nobes. "He had lots of shots, played the puck well and was real composed in a tight game in a small rink. He's a veteran who has been in there before and a part of our nucleus. He played a role in getting us the win and gave us an opportunity in giving 'LP' (regular starter Louis-Philip Guindon) a (rare) night off."
Ridgeback netminder Tyson Teichmann, a sophomore from Belleville, Ont., was beaten four times on 40 shots and took the loss as his record dropped to 7-6.
McGill was 1-for-5 on the power-play and erased three of four shorthanded scenarios. The Redmen PK unit continues to lead the OUA and rank second in the nation with an 88.5 per cent kill rate. StFX leads all schools at 92.6.
Elsewhere around the OUA, Laurentian edged Nipissing 4-3 in overtime, which moved the Thunderwolves into the eighth and final playoff berth in the OUA East with a 9-16-1 record, two points ahead of UQTR (8-17-1) and RMC (6-15-5). If the season ended today, McGill would have to open their best-of-three semifinal series at Laurentian in Sudbury, likely on Valentine's Day, with Games 2 and 3 slated for McConnell Arena on the following weekend.
Laurentian has two games remaining on their schedule, at UOIT (Feb. 9) and at home to RMC (Feb. 10). UQTR, which forfeited 19 points in the standings last month, is in serious danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in decades. The Patriotes close out the season with road games at Ottawa (Feb. 4) and Carleton (Feb. 9). RMC plays at Nipissing (Feb. 9) and at Laurentian (Feb. 10).
McGill will close out their regular season schedule at Concordia (16-7-3) on Friday, Feb. 9 in the 31st annual Ronald Corey Cup contest. All three games this season between the cross-town rivals have been decided by one goal, with the Stingers winning the opener 3-2 at McConnell Arena, followed by a 2-1 home-ice conquest for the Redmen and a 3-2 overtime win for McGill at Concordia.
McGill owns a 17-8-3 record in the Corey Cup, an annual game which has been presented since 1988 for college hockey supremacy in Quebec. The Stingers are 9-18-3 in Cup play, while UQTR is 1-1. Faceoff is slated for 7:30 pm at the Ed Meagher Arena.
Source: mcgillathletics.ca
Laurentian 4 Nipissing 3
On Saturday night, the Voyageurs beat the Nipissing Lakers 4-3 in overtime for their second win in as many nights and placing them into sole possession of the eigth and final playoff spot.
The Lakers jumped out to an early lead at Steven Deeg beat Mackenzie Savard at 5:35 giving Nipissing a 1-0 lead. The Lakers followed that up a few minutes later when Dylan Staples scored at 11:12 to put the Vees down by a pair.
The second period only saw one goal scored. However, it was the Voyageurs who cut the Lakers' lead in half at 18:39 as Brent Pedersen scored with assists from Xavier Couture and Nicolas Dionne.
The action picked up in the final 20 minutes of regulation. Sam Gleason connected on the powerplay for Nipissing at 6:31 giving the Lakers a 3-1 lead
The Voyageurs responded shortly after as Richard Therrien clawed the Vees back to within one. Tyler Shaw and Tyler Cooper assisted on Therrien's goal.
Pedersen then followed that up with his second of the game just over a minute later at 10:12 to tie the game at 3-3. Couture and Dionne assisted on the goal yet again. Pedersen's second would be the final goal of regulation time and both teams headed to overtime.
It was in overtime that Dylan Fitze sealed the deal for the Vees just before the buzzer. With twelve seconds to spare, Fitze beat Brent Moran on a 2-on-1 with Jacob Smith, while Caleb Apperson picked up the second assist on the winning goal.
With the win, the Voyageurs now sit in sole possession of the eigth and final playoff spot with 19 points on the season. The Vees will conclude the regular season with two big games, in Oshawa on Friday and at home against RMC on Saturday, as they look to return to the post-season.
Source: luvoyageurs.com
Brock 2 Windsor 5
The Lancer men's hockey team split two very important games homes over the weekend at South Windsor Arena. Windsor fell 4-1 to the Lakehead Thunderwolves Friday night before turning around and beating the Brock Badgers 5-2 on Saturday.
The split keeps the Lancers in a tie for the eighth and final playoff spot heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
SATURDAY vs Brock
The Badgers got things started things four minutes into the game when Cosimo Fontana was able to get one past Jonathan Reinhart with help from Connor Brown and Adam Lloyd. The Lancers however were able to fight back quickly, netting a tying goal by Kody Gagnon to pull the Lancers even. Unfortunately, the Badgers would take a lead with goal at the 19:51 mark of the first period and go into the break up 2-1.
Luckily the second period was all blue and gold as the Lancers not only evened things up but took the lead late in the period. Brennen Feasey got things going six and half minutes in on a power play opportunity with some help from Ryan Shaw. Five minutes later it was Shaw who was doing the scoring and Feasey doing the assisting as the Lancers took the lead on another power play. The Lancers then managed to kill of 1:43 of 5-on-3 hockey to take their lead into the intermission.
In the third period the Lancers were defending their lead when Alex Friesen took a high stick penalty at the 7:26 mark of the third period. Playing a man down, trying to protect a one goal lead isn't the best time to try and score an insurance goal but that's exactly what the Lancers did when Blondeel scored at the 7:57 mark of the third period. Ian Parker iced the game away with an empty net goal late in the period to keep the Lancers playoff hopes alive with a 5-2 victory.
The Lancers killed off an astounding seven penalties playing more than whole period down a man as they served 26 minutes. The Badgers on the other hand gave up goals on two of their three penalty kills.
Badgers goal tender Clint Windsor made 33 saves on 37 shots on the night in a losing effort. Jonathan Reinhart made 31 saves on 33 shots to give his team the win.
Brennen Feasey had an impressive night, recording four points with one goal and three assists.
Source: golancers.ca
Other Scores:
Concordia 3 RMC 1
February 4, 2018
UQTR 0 Ottawa 4
Following two tightly contested period, the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees men’s hockey team broke open the game in the third period, scoring four uncontested goals to take the win over the UQTR Patriotes. The 4-0 victory helped extend the Gee-Gees’ recent win streak to three games. “We stuck to the way we were playing through the first forty minutes. We reminded the guys if you play the right way you’ll get rewarded,” assistant coach Brent Sullivan said following the game. “I think it shows how the guys have bought in. At the end, Quinn [O’Brien] gets an empty net goal in a 3-0 game where he blocks a shot. Some guys would have sold out for that shot, but we’ve got a good group of character guys and we’re happy they’re getting rewarded,” he said.
The first forty minutes of the game were reminiscent of a chess match, with both teams looking to generate chances on the breakaway, but neither able to get past an air-tight defence. Anthony Brodeur was stellar in goal for the Gee-Gees, making 25 of his 33 saves in the first two frames.
With UQTR beginning to show signs of fatigue in the early portions of the third, Ottawa looked to capitalize. Mitchell Gibsonopened the scoring seven minutes into the frame, picking up a loose puck and burying it. From the following puck drop, the Gee-Gees continues their relentless attack and nearly scored another one seconds later.
Ottawa’s tenacity would soon be rewarded, as Kevin Domingue scored his 18th of the season minutes later to extend the lead. With four minutes remaining in regulation, Quinn O’Brien would add an insurance marker to create a comfortable lead. The goal also marked his third in as many games.
UQTR would respond by pulling their goaltender in hopes of getting back in the game, but O’Brien’s would tally on the empty net to clinch the win.
Earlier in the weekend, the Gee-Gees overcame an early two goal deficit to take down the Concordia Stingers by a score of 3-2 on the road. O’Brien was the hero, scoring a shorthanded breakaway goal with three minutes to go to clinch the victory. Graham Hunt made 22 saves in the game. Heading into the final weekend of the season, the Gee-Gees will host a pair of home games against Queen’s and UOIT on Feb. 9-10. There’ll still be plenty of playoff implications on the line, with Ottawa able to rise as high as fourth in the standings with a pair of wins.
“We want to ensure we finish off strong here,” Sullivan said. “With our last two games against Queen’s and UOIT, we want to obviously finish with momentum. So we’re going to put the pedal to the floor and see what happens."
Source: geegees.ca
