Cobbold delivers overtime winner against Ryerson
TORONTO – Ryerson's Michael Fine tied it up late in the third but Spenser Cobbold played the hero in overtime, firing the winner off of a Rams defender to give Western a 2-1 victory at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Tuesday night.
TORONTO – Ryerson's Michael Fine tied it up late in the third but Spenser Cobbold played the hero in overtime, firing the winner off of a Rams defender to give Western a 2-1 victory at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Tuesday night.
Cobbold's goal, his seventh of the season, put an end to what had turned into a goaltending duel between Peter Delmas and Troy Passingham. The two goalies combined for 74 saves on Tuesday, putting on a show for Ryerson's Fan Appreciation night.
"You don't come in here expecting only to give up one goal with the offence Ryerson has," said Mustangs head coach Clarke Singer. "You knew they were probably going to get one somewhere along the line but our guys did a good job bouncing back and I thought we did a great job in overtime."
The victory puts Western in a temporary tie for first place in the OUA with York, although the Lions have a game in hand on the Mustangs. Meanwhile, Fine's late goal meant an extra point in the standings for Ryerson, who have a week off before playoffs and are currently tied for fourth in the West with Waterloo and Windsor.
Depending on the results of the final week of play, it's possible that Western could meet Ryerson in the first round of the OUA playoffs. In other words, Tuesday's game could turn out to be a preview for an exciting round one.
"It was a great week to play them," said third-year forward Noah Schwartz. "There were a lot of fans, it was Fan Appreciation Night and it was Senior Night, so it's going to be a playoff atmosphere every time we play here and we might play them in the playoffs. Every game's a one goal game—we've got to find a way to win those and we found a way today."
For much of the third period, it looked like Schwartz would have the game-winner. The junior forward has developed a knack for clutch goals this season, scoring the game-winner in three of Western's eight wins since his return from injury in December. While it wasn't to be on Tuesday, he still recognized the importance of his contribution.
"Those two points are huge, especially with only one game left and teams fighting for a playoff spot," said Schwartz. "The standing are really close so I thought that goal was big."
Delmas turned in an excellent performance, making 30 saves to help spoil the final regular season game of his counterpart's OUA career. Passingham was one of five Rams recognized before the game as part of Senior Day and celebrated the occasion with a solid 34-save performance. But Delmas managed to one-up him for the victory.
"Peter and [Greg Dodds] have kept us in many games," said Schwartz. "They're finding ways to get us wins. They're making the big stops at the right times so that's very important to us. it gets the bench going, it gives momentum to us, and like I said they've both been playing great.
The first-year backstop made a number of nice saves on the night, highlighted by a save of the year candidate in the first and another excellent glove save in the second on Fine. The first period save come off a point-blank shot by Rams forward Aaron Armstrong, who thought he had an open net before Delmas dove across to make an excellent desperation save.
Western's defence as a whole performed well on the night, limiting Ryerson's extended pressure at five-on-five and shutting out the Rams on four power play opportunities. There were more end-to-end rushes than either coach would have liked, but the Rams never seemed able to keep the Mustangs on the run for long.
One of the best defencemen for Western on Tuesday was rookie Sean Callaghan, who had one of his best games of the season. He had an assist on Schwartz's goal, spoiled a Ryerson breakaway with a nice defensive play midway through the third, and added two big hits—one in the first and one in the third—to the disdain of the pro-Rams crowd.
Captain David Corrente also made his mark on the scoresheet, picking up an assist on both of Western's goals. He was the top point-getter for Western on a night when points were hard to come by, and now has a career-high 14 points in just 23 games this season.
Playoffs are approaching quickly for the Mustangs but first they'll have to take on the Waterloo Warriors at home on Saturday when the purple and white host their own Senior Day. Western will have to pick up a win to give themselves a chance at first place over the Lions, who hold all the cards with two games left on their schedule.
Source: Western Mustangs
