Marquee Matchup: Harland nets winner to give Rams comeback win in high-scoring homecoming

Toronto (via Ryerson Rams; Joe Mastromatteo) - The Ryerson Rams scored three unanswered in the third to pull off a 6-5 comeback win over the York Lions in their Winter Homecoming on Friday night.

After trailing 4-2 following the second period, the Rams rallied back with a four-goal third period, including Steven Harland's (Toronto) game-winner. Devon Paliani (LaSalle, Ont.) quietly led the way with four assists, and a handful of fellow Rams lit the lamp. York's Alex Mowbray also picked up a hat-trick. Meanwhile, Ryerson nearly doubled up York's 25 shots with 48 of their own.

Almost right off the opening draw, a costly giveaway in the slot by York's Justin Bean allowed Mathew Santos (Toronto) to walk in and bury his 13th of the season, putting the Rams up one.

Despite maintaining plenty of possession in the York end, the Lions were able to keep even with the Rams' shot totals, and forced a Tyler Lentz (Calgary, Alta.) slashing call halfway through the period. York wasted no time with the man-advantage, when Mowbray's attempt found its way past Taylor Dupuis (New Liskeard, Ont.), knotting things up at one.

With under five to go, a Lions clearing attempt was knocked down by Lentz at the point, who fed it to an open David Miller (Burlington, Ont.) in the faceoff circle. The winger's wrister left no chance for York's Cole Ceci as it flew into the top corner, leaving the Rams with a 2-1 lead after 20.

The Rams unraveled later in the second, sacrificing three unanswered goals. York first found their equalizer thanks to Sal Filice's point shot sneaking in through Dupuis' five-hole. Five minutes later, Mowbray notched his second of the game on a power play snipe, before completing his hat-trick to make it 4-2 in the dying seconds of the period. 

Early in the third, a hooking call against York's Jack Goranson put the Rams back on the man-advantage. After pouring on chances, Matt Mistele (Whitby, Ont.) batted in a rebound out of mid-air in the crease to put Ryerson back within one.

York seemed to answer immediately, but the play was ruled offside and the score stayed 4-3 for the Lions. The one-goal game did not last long, as Morgan Messenger's sixth of the season brought York up 5-3 just two minutes after Mistele's marker.

An even bigger loss came for the Rams a few plays later, when Dupuis was forced to leave the game after a minor injury. Otherwise, it was Dupuis' first regular season game of the 2019-20 campaign after returning from another injury. Usual Rams starter Garrett Forrest (Ashburn, Va.) came in for relief.

Almost halfway through the period, the Rams had their fourth chance on the power play. York was able to kill it off, but Ryerson kept possession in the zone and Jesse Barwell (Oakville, Ont.) demonstrated tremendous patience for his fifth of the season.

Barwell's goal came on the Rams' 37th shot of the game, leaving Ryerson down just one goal with 11 minutes to go. Almost seven minutes of painstaking Rams chances, Matt Nosella (Etobicoke, Ont.) netted his first of the season, tying the game with just under five minutes to go.

With less than two minutes left in regulation, Harland pounced on a rebound, finishing the Rams' storybook homecoming story.

"It was a special night," said a beaming Harland after the game. "You only get two (homecoming games) a year, so it's obviously pretty special and you want to win all those."

Rams head coach Johnny Duco added, "We knew it was going to be a tough game. This York team, (while) they've lost eleven in a row, seven or eight of those games have been one-goal games. I'm really proud of the way the guys played there in the third."

The Rams are back in action Saturday night against the Windsor Lancers, with puck drop at 7:15 p.m.