AROUND OUA : Warriors upset No. 10 nationally ranked Lions

SCOREBOARD

Waterloo 4 @ York 1

Concordia 2 @ Nipissing 3

UOIT 3 @ Western 2

McGill 3 @ Brock 0

Queen's 2 @ Guelph 4

Carleton 4 @ Ryerson 3

RMC 0 @ Toronto 5

Lakehead 0 @ Windsor 2

UQTR 3 @ Laurentian 1

Warriors upset No. 10 Lions

The No. 10 nationally-ranked York University Lions men's hockey team fell to the Waterloo Warriors by a score of 4-1 Friday night (Nov. 20) at Canlan Ice Sports.
 
The Lions came roaring out of the gates in the early part of the first period on Friday night as Tyler Mort (Keswick, Ont.) and Derek Sheppard (Ajax, Ont.) both hit the crossbar within the first two minutes of the frame.
 
Waterloo came back firing and the Warriors began to apply pressure on Lions goaltender Chris Perugini (King City, Ont.). Eventually they managed to sneak a puck by him, with Riley Sonnenburg crashing the net on a shot from the corner and poking the rebound across the crease at the 12:45 mark of the first period.
 
Later in the first period the Warriors were on the attack once again, this time with a cross ice tape-to-tape pass from Phillip Fife to Daniel Perigo that found the back of the net as Perugini couldn't get across in time to make the save, giving the Warriors a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
 
Moments into the second period the Warriors drew a penalty on the Lions and sent out their power play unit. With the man advantage the Warriors moved the puck around effectively and found the open man, Adam Bignell, at the point where Bignell wired a shot past Perugini to give the Warriors a commanding 3-0 lead.
 
The goaltending performance by Mike Morrison of the Warriors in the first two periods was top notch as Morrison turned aside all 23 shots he faced going into the third. 
 
The entire game up until late in the third period saw only two penalties called, but this trend would change as the Warriors took five penalties late which allowed the Lions to crawl back into the game. As a 5-on-3 advantage concluded for the Lions, and as the Warrior player jumped out of the box, Trevor Petersen (Thornhill, Ont.) redirected a point shot from Sheppard which cut the Warriors lead to 3-1.  But that was as close as the Lions would come, as the Warriors iced the game with an empty net goal to give the Lions their first regulation loss at home this season.

The Lions are now 7-2-3 on the year and remain in second place in the OUA West standings, while the Warriors improved to 5-8-0.
 
The Lions will be back on the ice on Saturday (Nov. 21) as they welcome the CIS top-ranked McGill Redmen to Canlan Ice Sports at 7pm.

Source: York Lions

Campbell's OT winner extends Lakers streak to five

It may not have been the prettiest win the Nipissing Lakers men's hockey team has picked up this year, but no matter how it happened, it's their fifth straight.

The Lakers needed double overtime to end their game Friday night against the Concordia Stingers, but after tying the game up in the third period, Colin Campbell rifled a shot to the top corner to give the Lakers the 3-2 win and the extra point over the Stingers.

Nipissing erased two one-goal deficits and backed by a very impressive goaltending effort by veteran Kirk Rafuse, picked up another win to improve their record to 7-3-3 and stay tied for third place with UOIT.

Thanks to a lot of time on the power play, the Stingers opened up the scoring and controlled much of the first part of the game.

Less than three minutes into the game, the Lakers found themselves down 1-0 and in some penalty trouble.

About five minutes later, Mitch Deacon finished off a nice passing play with Jacob Conrad to tie the game at one, but that lead didn't last long.

Less than a minute later, the Stingers took the lead once again and held the one goal advantage until the third period.

After putting on pressure for much of the first 10 minutes, the Lakers finally broke through to even the game up at two as Mackenzie Keirstead continued his strong season, scoring on the power play.

Dylan Staples chipped the puck back to the defenceman who fired a shot to the top corner of the net to knot things up.

The score would stay that way until halfway through the second overtime period when Campbell kept the puck on a partial 2-on-1 and snapped a shot to the back of the net to give Nipissing the victory.

The Lakers last loss came on Halloween to Western and since then, they have surrendered only 12 goals and have found their offensive stride, scoring 19 times.

Rafuse was very good in net, especially early in the game, and finished with 32 saves for the win.

Nipissing will look to keep their hot streak going Saturday night when they face the always tough UQTR Patriotes, who sit in second place in the East Division, just behind fellow Quebec based McGill.

Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Memorial Gardens.

Source: Nipissing Lakers

Delmas dominant but Ridgebacks squeeze out a win over Western

LONDON, Ont. – The team that entered this season with two of the most highly-touted goaltenders in the CIS finally got the game-stealing performance they were waiting for.
 
Unfortunately, Western just couldn't get away with robbery.
 
Peter Delmas made an incredible 50 saves and Alex Micallef tied the game late in the second period, but a goal from Ryan Doucette late in the third gave the UOIT Ridgebacks a 3-2 victory in front of a rowdy crowd at Thompson Arena Friday night.
 
"I always like getting more shots, it keeps you in the game" said Delmas. "I just felt really good tonight, just tried to stick with my game plan during the whole game and I did. We were pretty tired—we only had four d—so it was really hard to play last night and then tonight for those defence. I think our four d played awesome and they did a great job in front of [me]."
 
"He played his best game we've seen and that's the AHL Delmas we've seen and what we brought him here for," said Micallef of his backstop, a former pro in the Colorado and Montreal organizations. "If it wasn't for him… he did a great job and kept us in there."
 
Western has put up with injuries and small rosters all season, but Friday night was the first time that the team truly looked out of gas. It showed most in the second period, which saw the Ridgebacks outshoot the Mustangs 27-3. Western didn't even manage a shot until Connor Chartier was hauled down on a breakaway with 2:33 remaining in the frame.
 
Chartier didn't score on the ensuing penalty shot but Micallef would a minute later, jamming in a rebound past UOIT's Brendan O'Neill to tie the game at 2-2. The goal gave a huge boost to Western's crowd, who had just witnessed an entirely Ridgeback-dominated period.
 
"I think we definitely felt the effects [of the back-to-back] tonight," said Western head coach #Clarke Singer. "We've seen it earlier in the year when we've played back-to-back against a rested team but tonight UOIT definitely had more juice than us, a lot more energy. They had a lot more contact, they played harder than us, and I think they deserved the win."
 
There's no question that the Ridgebacks looked like the better team on Friday. Already a squad with tons of speed to spare, they consistently took advantage of tired plays by the Mustangs and created a number of odd-man rushes. Mark Petaccio led the way on offence, scoring UOIT's first two goals before registering an assist on Doucette's winner in the third.
 
Petaccio opened the scoring just over five minutes into the first period, but veteran Luke Karaim got Western on the board just over 30 seconds later. Western's leading scorer Matt Marantz earned a helper on the Mustangs opening goal and added another on Micallef's marker late in the second, helping his team head into the third with an improbable 2-2 tie.
 
When Western hit the ice on the third, they looked like a completely different team. It didn't hurt that they were handed their first power play of the game 21 seconds in, but regardless the Mustangs were able to control the play and appeared to be motivated with the end in sight.
 
"It was just great because we had a chance to win," Delmas said of his team's mood heading into the third. "We were right in it, win the period win the game type of thing, so we were positive and I thought we started off the period really well too so that's all you can do is try and give your team a chance to win."
 
Delmas' brilliant performance, which saw him turn aside the largest onslaught of shots that UOIT has thrown on a team in program history, helped to overshadow an impressive performance from UOIT's O'Neill, who had a couple of really nice scramble saves in a 14-save third period. He finished with 24 saves, stats that don't do his performance justice.
 
Both goaltenders were strong in the final frame, which saw them trade excellent butterfly saves on scramble plays, some of which saw at least three shots be fired their way. O'Neill absolutely robbed David Corrente at the end of a solid series of saves in the third, just minutes after Delmas made the save of the season with his toe during a busy penalty kill.
 
In the end, it would take one final scramble play for UOIT to pull out the win. The game-winning marker came at the end of a series of excellent saves by Delmas, who could do nothing but sit as Doucette found the only space available between the goalie and two defencemen.
 
Overall, Singer wasn't in bad spirits after the game despite having suffered two straight losses, stressing the quality of the opponents that Western had to face. He also couldn't say enough about the performance of his four-man defensive core through both games.
 
"Great job by those guys," said Singer of his defence. "To have two very, very close games two quality opponents the last couple nights with on four d back there. They did a great job."
 
As for his thoughts on Delmas' play, he saw nothing but positives.
 
"All year our goalies have played very, very well; even some games we've given up some big numbers we just had some mental mistakes," said Singer. "But certainly nice to see Peter have a game like that. He's been working hard in practice and nice to see him get back to the form I think he expects of himself."
 
NOTES: With his two assists on Friday, Marantz is now first in the OUA with 15 helpers… Not surprisingly, Friday was the first time that Western had allowed over 50 shots all season. Neither goaltender had made more than 40 saves in a game so far this year… 

Source: Western Mustangs

Badgers drop 3-0 decision to No. 1 ranked Redmen

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - The Brock University men's hockey team (5-5-3 OUA) dropped a 3-0 decision to the No. 1 ranked McGill Redmen (12-1-0) Friday night at the Seymour-Hannah Centre. 

McGill opened the scoring 7:50 into the opening period as Simon Tardif-Richard and Mathieu Pompei setup Dominic Talbot-Tassi for his fifth goal of the season. 

With the Badgers two men down at 12:15 of the first period, the Redmen would capitalize, as Samuel Labrecque buried a shot past Brock starter Clint Windsor (Hamilton, Ont.) to take a 2-0 lead. Late in the period, Brock's Mitch Nardi (Hamilton, Ont.) would take a cross ice pass, but it was McGill starter Jacob Gervais-Chouinard coming up with a big save. 

Late in the third period, McGill's Liam Heelis would add a short-handed marker to secure the road victory. 

Windsor recorded 39 saves in the loss, while Gervais-Chouinard turned aside all 32 shots he faced for the shutout victory. 

In the OUA West Division, just six points separates first through sixth place. The Badgers return to action Saturday night as they take on the Laurier Golden Hawks on the road.

Source: Brock Badgers

Gryphons Win 4-2 Over Queen's

Guelph, ON- Friday night at the Gryphon Centre, the Gryphons Men's Hockey team defeated the visiting Queens Gaels 4-2-0. With the win, the Gryphons improve to 7-5 while the Gaels fall to 8-3-0.
 
Coming into this game, both squads were riding high on the momentum of three game win streaks, winning seven of their past ten matchups. This interdivision battle between two of the hottest teams in the OUA started quick. Within 30 seconds of the opening face off, a dump-in turned into a lightning speed break out and a Gryphon goal. Carlos Amestoy netted his first of the season, assisted by Rpb De Fulviis and Scott Simmonds. Unfortunately, the Gryphons got into penalty trouble. After successfully killing off the first with ease, a consecutive penalty allowed the Gaels to tie the game with 4:41 left in the first period. Queens' leading goal scorer, McGillis, scored his seventh of the season with a wide-open shot from the slot, assisted by Abraham and Downe.
 
Five minutes into the second period, the Gryphons forced an interference penalty by driving hard to the net on a short three-on-one. Just over a minute into the powerplay, with smart, rapid passing, the Gryphs found Seth Swenson in the slot. Dylan Gilbert to Robert Lepine to Swenson, tic-tac-toe the puck is in the net and the Gryphons take the lead back. Seconds later, Stephen Hiff feeds Nick Trecapelli at the point. Trecapelli takes aim, fires, goal. Just like that, Guelph is in possession of a two-goal lead. To go along with the two-goal lead were two failed clearing attempts made by the Gryphons in the last minute of the second period, they were on their heels and under unneeded pressure until a tipped pass meant for the blueline lead to a Gryphon two-on-one. The cross-crease saucer pass over the sliding defender skipped over the attackers stick and the Gryphons took the lead into the second intermission.
 
In the third period, Gryphons netminder Andrew D'Agostini made crucial saves to maintain the lead but he could only do so much. Halfway through the third, after a scramble in front of the net and countless deflected shots, Abraham squeezed a wraparound between the post and the D'agostini's pads to cut the lead in half. The lead was nearly restored by a stretch pass from the defensive zone to send Simmonds on a breakaway but he was just inches offside as he waited to receive the pass. There was back-and-forth play the rest of the way but nothing the Gryphons couldn't handle. With under a minute left to play in the third period and the Gaels' goalie pulled, Cody Thompson capped the Gryphons fourth straight win with an empty-net goal. The Gryphons are back in action Saturday afternoon when they host UOIT (8-3-1) at 3pm.

Source: Guelph Gryphons