November 16, 2022
Takeaways | Ridgebacks are starting to get rolling
Ottawa, Ont. - Another week of OUA hockey fades into history as snow fell across much of Ontario and national champions were crowned in several other sports.
With the UQTR Patriotes having relinquished their No. 1 ranking in the U SPORTS men's hockey top-10, each conference has had a representative atop the ranks through the first half of this season.
And to go along with the excitement on the national level is a beautiful buzz in both of the OUA leagues as the rush through the first half reaches the back end.
MHKY: The Ontario Tech Ridgebacks are starting to get rolling
Don't look now, but with a pair of wins over visiting teams from Ottawa on the weekend, the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks are starting to pick up steam. It began on November 5, when a pair of goals from Sean Ross carried the Ridgebacks to a 5-2 win over UQTR, snapping the Patriotes' seven-game win streak. With a couple of games on home ice this past weekend, though, the Ridgebacks kept on rolling.
The Carleton Ravens were first into the Campus Ice Centre on Friday night. They were definitely looking for a repeat performance of their 6-1 victory over the Ridgebacks on October 14. Instead, the Ridgebacks got the jump on them early, outshooting the Ravens 15-8 in the first period and picking up a pair of goals from Jeremy Michaud and Sean Ross. The Ravens brought the game back even though, thanks to Garrett Wright and Alexandre Hogue, each picking up their first OUA goals.
Ultimately the game needed overtime, where Andrew Suriyuth played the hero for the Ridgebacks with the winner for his third of the season exactly halfway through the extra frame for the 3-2 win.
Saturday night saw the Ottawa Gee-Gees come into town, and this time, it was the Ridgebacks that were hoping for a repeat after they stunned the Gee-Gees 5-1 in Ottawa's home opener on Oct 13.
In one similarity, just as he opened the scoring on October 13 for the Ridgebacks, Nicholas Tardif broke a 0-0 deadlock midway through the second period on Saturday to give the Ridgebacks the 1-0 lead. A pair of early third period goals from James White and Tardif again put the game to 3-0 before Cullen Mclean iced it midway through the period to make it 4-0. Nicolas Ouellet added one late for Ottawa, but the Ridgebacks closed out a 4-1 win.
With the wins, Ontario Tech leapfrogs the Ravens and the Gee-Gees into fourth in the OUA East. The Ridgebacks now have a golden opportunity to take another step forward as they head up to North Bay to play the Nipissing Lakers, who sit at the bottom of the division, for two games on November 18 and 19.
WHKY: Windsor makes history and pushes win streak to five games
The Waterloo Warriors continue to own the OUA West Division - and they picked up two more wins on the weekend to move to 8-0-0 - but if there is a number two spot in the division, the Windsor Lancers are making a clear play for it.
The Lancers started the season 0-2-1, but since October 29, they've picked up five straight wins, including two more over the Guelph Gryphons and the Brock Badgers this past weekend.
Something wild about the Lancers squaring off against the Guelph Gryphons on November 11, 2022, would be that the last time the Lancers had beaten the Gryphons heading into Friday night was Nov 11, 2012. Eighteen games and a decade later, the Lancers finally got their revenge.
It started in the middle of the second period as Maggi DeWolf-Russ beat Martina Fedel and picked up her second goal of the season five minutes into the middle frame. Tori Verbeek got one back for Guelph ten minutes later, but just two minutes after that, DeWolf-Russ got her second of the night to restore the lead that the Lancers would not give up. Kristen Swiatsochik picked up 20 saves in the win, including stopping all seven of Guelph's chances in the third period.
Travelling on the road to Brock on Saturday night, it looked as though the Lancers had run out of gas, with the game at 0-0 through two periods thanks to Kristen Swiatsochik, who stopped all 30 Badger's shots through two periods as Brock outshot Windsor 30-10.
When Marin Green finally broke the deadlock halfway through the period, the Lancers looked down and out. That is until a rapid-fire three goals, two from Maggie Peterson and another from DeWolf-Russ in just three minutes and seventeen seconds, put the Lancers up 3-1. The Lancers added an empty netter, and Mikayla Flanagan got a garbage time goal to make it 4-2, but that's where it held for Windsor.
Despite their five-game winning streak, the Lancers only have a hold on second in the OUA West division by a single point. The Lancers now prep for a home-and-home series with the Western Mustangs that sees them host the London squad at Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex on November 18 before heading to Thompson Arena the following day.
MHKY: Colin Campbell helps carry Laurier up the OUA West
On November 4, the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks lost 6-2 to the Waterloo Warriors at Columbia Ice Field to fall to 1-5-1; since that game, though, the Golden Hawks have picked up three straight wins and appear to be poised to soar up the OUA West Division.
The biggest indicator for the Hawks is not just that they're winning again; it's how they're winning. It started all the way back on November 5, when Laurier took on Western. The Golden Hawks fell behind three separate times - 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2 - but tied it up each time before Colin Campbell won it in 4-3 in overtime.
That sent the Golden Hawks to a Friday night matchup with the Guelph Gryphons, and it was more of the same. Laurier fell behind, going down 2-1 off of a Jacob Winterton goal late in the second period. Just 75 seconds later, though, Patrick Brown tied it for Laurier. In the third, for the second straight night, it was Colin Campbell coming through with his third goal of the season for back-to-back game-winning goals.
Finally, on a Saturday night matchup in Toronto against the TMU Bold, for the third straight game, the Golden Hawks trailed early, but for the third straight game, they fought back. A goal from Zachary Shankar put TMU up 1-0 halfway through the first, but Matt McJannet brought the Golden Hawks back even just five minutes later.
In the second period, it was an early goal from Conor Ali that gave Laurier a lead they would not relinquish, with Evan Benwell then sealing it with an empty-netter for the 3-1 win.
The weekend ahead sees Wilfrid Laurier head to Brock to play the Badgers, who they lost 4-2 against on Oct. 27, before they head back home to host TMU for the second straight Saturday night. It will not be an easy weekend for the soaring Hawks, but if the past week showed anything, they are finally starting to find their rhythm.
With the UQTR Patriotes having relinquished their No. 1 ranking in the U SPORTS men's hockey top-10, each conference has had a representative atop the ranks through the first half of this season.
And to go along with the excitement on the national level is a beautiful buzz in both of the OUA leagues as the rush through the first half reaches the back end.
MHKY: The Ontario Tech Ridgebacks are starting to get rolling
Don't look now, but with a pair of wins over visiting teams from Ottawa on the weekend, the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks are starting to pick up steam. It began on November 5, when a pair of goals from Sean Ross carried the Ridgebacks to a 5-2 win over UQTR, snapping the Patriotes' seven-game win streak. With a couple of games on home ice this past weekend, though, the Ridgebacks kept on rolling.
The Carleton Ravens were first into the Campus Ice Centre on Friday night. They were definitely looking for a repeat performance of their 6-1 victory over the Ridgebacks on October 14. Instead, the Ridgebacks got the jump on them early, outshooting the Ravens 15-8 in the first period and picking up a pair of goals from Jeremy Michaud and Sean Ross. The Ravens brought the game back even though, thanks to Garrett Wright and Alexandre Hogue, each picking up their first OUA goals.
Ultimately the game needed overtime, where Andrew Suriyuth played the hero for the Ridgebacks with the winner for his third of the season exactly halfway through the extra frame for the 3-2 win.
Saturday night saw the Ottawa Gee-Gees come into town, and this time, it was the Ridgebacks that were hoping for a repeat after they stunned the Gee-Gees 5-1 in Ottawa's home opener on Oct 13.
In one similarity, just as he opened the scoring on October 13 for the Ridgebacks, Nicholas Tardif broke a 0-0 deadlock midway through the second period on Saturday to give the Ridgebacks the 1-0 lead. A pair of early third period goals from James White and Tardif again put the game to 3-0 before Cullen Mclean iced it midway through the period to make it 4-0. Nicolas Ouellet added one late for Ottawa, but the Ridgebacks closed out a 4-1 win.
With the wins, Ontario Tech leapfrogs the Ravens and the Gee-Gees into fourth in the OUA East. The Ridgebacks now have a golden opportunity to take another step forward as they head up to North Bay to play the Nipissing Lakers, who sit at the bottom of the division, for two games on November 18 and 19.
WHKY: Windsor makes history and pushes win streak to five games
The Waterloo Warriors continue to own the OUA West Division - and they picked up two more wins on the weekend to move to 8-0-0 - but if there is a number two spot in the division, the Windsor Lancers are making a clear play for it.
The Lancers started the season 0-2-1, but since October 29, they've picked up five straight wins, including two more over the Guelph Gryphons and the Brock Badgers this past weekend.
Something wild about the Lancers squaring off against the Guelph Gryphons on November 11, 2022, would be that the last time the Lancers had beaten the Gryphons heading into Friday night was Nov 11, 2012. Eighteen games and a decade later, the Lancers finally got their revenge.
It started in the middle of the second period as Maggi DeWolf-Russ beat Martina Fedel and picked up her second goal of the season five minutes into the middle frame. Tori Verbeek got one back for Guelph ten minutes later, but just two minutes after that, DeWolf-Russ got her second of the night to restore the lead that the Lancers would not give up. Kristen Swiatsochik picked up 20 saves in the win, including stopping all seven of Guelph's chances in the third period.
Travelling on the road to Brock on Saturday night, it looked as though the Lancers had run out of gas, with the game at 0-0 through two periods thanks to Kristen Swiatsochik, who stopped all 30 Badger's shots through two periods as Brock outshot Windsor 30-10.
When Marin Green finally broke the deadlock halfway through the period, the Lancers looked down and out. That is until a rapid-fire three goals, two from Maggie Peterson and another from DeWolf-Russ in just three minutes and seventeen seconds, put the Lancers up 3-1. The Lancers added an empty netter, and Mikayla Flanagan got a garbage time goal to make it 4-2, but that's where it held for Windsor.
Despite their five-game winning streak, the Lancers only have a hold on second in the OUA West division by a single point. The Lancers now prep for a home-and-home series with the Western Mustangs that sees them host the London squad at Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex on November 18 before heading to Thompson Arena the following day.
MHKY: Colin Campbell helps carry Laurier up the OUA West
On November 4, the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks lost 6-2 to the Waterloo Warriors at Columbia Ice Field to fall to 1-5-1; since that game, though, the Golden Hawks have picked up three straight wins and appear to be poised to soar up the OUA West Division.
The biggest indicator for the Hawks is not just that they're winning again; it's how they're winning. It started all the way back on November 5, when Laurier took on Western. The Golden Hawks fell behind three separate times - 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2 - but tied it up each time before Colin Campbell won it in 4-3 in overtime.
That sent the Golden Hawks to a Friday night matchup with the Guelph Gryphons, and it was more of the same. Laurier fell behind, going down 2-1 off of a Jacob Winterton goal late in the second period. Just 75 seconds later, though, Patrick Brown tied it for Laurier. In the third, for the second straight night, it was Colin Campbell coming through with his third goal of the season for back-to-back game-winning goals.
Finally, on a Saturday night matchup in Toronto against the TMU Bold, for the third straight game, the Golden Hawks trailed early, but for the third straight game, they fought back. A goal from Zachary Shankar put TMU up 1-0 halfway through the first, but Matt McJannet brought the Golden Hawks back even just five minutes later.
In the second period, it was an early goal from Conor Ali that gave Laurier a lead they would not relinquish, with Evan Benwell then sealing it with an empty-netter for the 3-1 win.
The weekend ahead sees Wilfrid Laurier head to Brock to play the Badgers, who they lost 4-2 against on Oct. 27, before they head back home to host TMU for the second straight Saturday night. It will not be an easy weekend for the soaring Hawks, but if the past week showed anything, they are finally starting to find their rhythm.
