M-Hockey Roundup: York's five-game streak ends, Nipissing picks up first win
October 26
Queen’s 6 at Laurentian 3
The Laurentian Voyageurs were unable to earn a victory on home ice on Saturday night falling 6-3 to the visiting Queen’s Gaels.
The Gaels had other ideas as they opened the scoring early on with a goal from Kelly Johnson on the power play. Not too long after, Queen’s forward Taylor Clements potted his first of four on the night to make it 2-0 Gaels. The rest of the period was filled with back and forth action with the shot count merely in favor of Queen’s at 10-8.
Heading to the second period the Voyageurs looked to their leading scorer Nick Esposto (Sheguiandah, Ont.) to get the team on the scoreboard. Esposto did just that by setting up linemate Marc Alain-Begin (Hearst, Ont.) with less than two minutes left in the second period. Voyageurs goalie Charlie Millen, who got the start for the second time this weekend, turned away all 10 shots faced in the period.
The Voyageurs moved into the third period with the momentum needed to get back into the hockey game. Captain Vincent Llorca (Le Mont-Dore, France) capitalized on shot that beat Queen’s goalie Chris Clarke with under a minute in. Llorca’s unassisted goal equalized the game at two goals apiece.
Laurentian would then ultimately open the floodgates as Esposto notched the go ahead goal and his team-leading sixth goal of the campaign. Queens’s forward Jordan Soquila evened the score with a goal of his own shortly after Esposto’s efforts. Queen’s forward Taylor Clements would then steal the show and help his team pull away with the win. Clements scored three consecutive goals in the third including an empty-netter with four seconds remaining to seal a Queen’s road victory.
The buzzer sounded with a final score of 6-3 in favor of Queen’s. The Voyageurs dropped both home games this weekend falling to an even 3-3 record on the season.
The Voyageurs look to regroup, as they travel to Sault Ste Marie, Michigan to take on the Lake Superior State Lakers in exhibition action Tuesday October 29th at 7:30. Continue to follow your Voyageurs at www.luvoyageurs.com for all up-to-date news and results.
Source: Laurentian Sports Info
Guelph 2 at Windsor 4
The Lancer men's hockey team earned their fourth straight victory with a 4-2 win over the visiting Guelph Gryphons on Saturday night at South Windsor Arena.
Rookie forward MacAuley MacDonnell led all scorers with his first OUA hat trick, while Lancer goaltender Parker Van Buskirk was solid in net with 19 saves.
Windsor is now 4-1-0 on the season and is tied for third place in the OUA West division with the Ryerson Rams, while the Gryphons drop to 3-3-0 on the year.
After having their first goal of the game called off, the Lancers scored two quick goals in the first period to take a 2-0 lead after the first period. MacDonnell opened the scoring at 14:22 of the opening period on a pass from Eric Noel and Jadran Beljo. Beljo then added his second point of the night just 11 seconds later to put the Blue & Gold up by two.
The Gryphons opened the scoring in the middle frame with Leonard Fabbri's first goal of the season to make it a one goal game.
That was as close as the Lancers would let the Gryphons get as MacDonnell scored two more un-answered goals over the remainder of second and at the start the third to build Windsor's lead to three.
Guelph's Robert De Fulviis scored his first of the year mid-way through the third period to close out the scoring.
Beljo also finished the game with three points (1G, 2A), as Van Buskirk earned his fourth win of the year between the pipes. Guelph's Keith Hamilton made 29 saves in net for the Gryphons.
The Lancers will once again be back at home next weekend as they host the Brock Badgers and York Lions at South Windsor Arena. Puck is scheduled to drop at 7:30pm on both Friday and Saturday night.
Source: Windsor Sports Info
Laurier 2 at Lakehead 4
The Lakehead Thunderwolves beat the Laurier Golden Hawks 4-2 on Saturday night in front of 2309 fans at the Fort William Gardens in the second game of their weekend series in Thunder Bay, Ont.
Laurier was in control of the play to start the game, at least as far as shot on goal went, outshooting Lakehead 13-5 in the first period.
Both teams came out in the second period with a lot more jump to their game. The Golden Hawks got on the board at 1:38 of when a streaking Derek Schoenmakers fired a hard wrist shot past Justin McDonald, who was making his sixth consecutive start in the Lakehead goal.
Jake Carrick evened things up for the Wolves at 6:29 of the second, batting in a rebound from a
Nathan Bruyere shot from the point. The other assist on the power-play goal went to Andrew Wilkins.
Laurier goaltender Vinny Merante kept the game tied up with a big save on a shorthanded breakaway from Trevor Gamache.
The physical play picked up in the middle frame with several big hits doled out from both sides.
In the third period, freshman defenseman Nathan Bruyere scored his first goal in a Lakehead uniform on a rocket one-timer from Andrew Wilkins at 2:06.
Ryan Magill increased the Lakehead lead to 3-1 at 6:01 of the final stanza with a shorthanded marker. The lone assist went to Kelin Ainsworth.
Not long after, Laurier Captain Tyler Stothers pulled the Golden Hawks to within one as he banged home a loose puck during a goal mouth scramble at 6:35.
Mike Quesnele added an empty-netter at the end of the game to seal the 4-2 win and the weekend sweep.
The Molson 3 Stars of the game were:
1st Star – Nathan Bruyere, Lakehead
2nd Star – Justin McDonald, Lakehead
3rd Star – Kelin Ainsworth, Lakehead
The Thunderwolves are in action next weekend at home against the Alberta Golden Bears, who are currently ranked first in the CIS Hockey Top Ten Poll.
Source: Lakehead Sports Info
Carleton 4 at Ottawa 2
The Gee-Gees men's hockey team, in front of the biggest crowd this season, dropped round one of the crosstown rivalry by a score of 4-2 versus the visiting Carleton Ravens.
The game was a rock'em, sock’em type of game, as both teams came out hitting and playing very aggressively that gave way for a little bit of extracurricular activities after whistles.
Both teams showed great levels of emotion, sometimes a little too much, leading to bad penalties that in the long run cost the Gee-Gees a possible two points. “In the end, we badly managed our emotions, and it ultimately did cost us,” added Gee-Gees head coach Real Paiement.
The Gee-Gees found themselves a man short early in the game, as Nicolas Larocque-Marcoux was ejected with a match and game misconduct after hitting a Carleton defender from behind. Although the team has 11 other forwards, it changed the strategy of coach Paiement. “It was a dangerous play, he did out of emotion and frustration and it’s not what we’re looking for in our players,” added coach Paiement.
The Gee-Gees were not able to capitalize on one out of eight power plays and only killed three out of five penalty kills. “We need to work harder, make simple plays and keep throwing the puck to the net if we want to improve on our special teams,” added Gee-Gees captain Guillaume Donovan.
In the first period, both teams opened up with very aggressive fore-checking as well as very physical play. For the early part of the period it was a very eventful game, with both teams trading power play opportunities as well as scoring chances. The opening goal was scored by the Carleton power play unit on a tipped shot that beat Warren Shymko to make it 1-0.
The Gee-Gees fought back, scoring at the 19:03 mark when Alexandre Touchette put the puck in following a nice passing play from Mathieu Tanguay-Theriault and Stephen Blunden to make it 1-1. Carleton then answered following a questionable missed call when Shymko was knocked down by a Carleton player and was forced to get up and make the first save but could not corral the rebound.
In the second period, after trading scoring chances once again and playing pretty even hockey, the Ravens struck again on the power play. Once again Shymko made the first save but Carleton put in the rebound to make it a score of 3-1.
Towards the end of the period, Carleton's transition game started giving the Gee-Gees a bit of trouble as the Ravens showed their superb passing plays.
The third period was one which Ottawa started on the power play, and although it was killed it gave them momentum as the Gee-Gees made a game of it, keeping up with the top ten ranked Ravens.
At the 7:02 mark, the Ravens got into penalty trouble giving the Gee-Gees a five on three. Coach Paiement took a time out and it worked, as Matt White scored off a shot from a few feet inside the blue line that beat the Carleton keeper five hole, with assists going to Touchette and Régimbald. That was as close as they got, as the Carleton Ravens added an empty net with three seconds left to solidify the win.
In the loss, first-year Gee-Gees goalie Warren Shymko turned in another impressive performance, game keeping his team in the game with his 24 saves on 27 shots.
Source: Ottawa Sports Info
UOIT 5 at Nipissing 8
?For the second night in a row, the line of Grant Toulmin, Conor O’Donnell and Dorian Peca led the way offensively, this time earning the Nipissing Lakers men’s hockey team their first win of the season.
The Lakers scored early and often and walked out of Memorial Gardens with an 8-5 win over the UOIT Ridgebacks in front a loud and boisterous crowd, celebrating Nipissing University’s Homecoming Weekend.
Toulmin led the way with a hat-trick, while Peca found the back of the net again and O’Donnell picked up four assists.
Overall, the line combined for nine more points Saturday night.
But they weren’t the only ones scoring. Lucas McKinley Brodie Barren, Dane Horvat and Matt Paton all rippled the twine helping the Lakers earn the win – their first of many, hopefully.
Kirk Rafuse was once again in between the pipes and earned the win thanks to a number of key saves early, and another handful later in the game with UOIT on the power play trying to make a comeback.
Next action for the Lakers comes in a week’s time when they host the Laurentian Voyageurs in the first meeting of the season of the two northern rivals.
The Lakers will host the Voyageurs Friday night at Memorial Gardens, before they hit the road to take on Carleton Saturday evening.
Source: Nipissing Sports Info
Toronto 4 at York 2
The impressive five-game undefeated streak to begin the York University Lions men's hockey team's season ended Saturday (Oct. 26), as the squad dropped its first game of the year to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues by a score of 4-2 at Canlan Ice Sports.
The loss puts an end to a stellar five-game winning streak to start the year that catapulted the Lions to the top of the OUA West standings and a No. 8 ranking in the CIS.
Varsity Blues forward Jeff Brown (Toronto) scored two goals in the contest to lift U of T over the Lions, with goaltender Garret Sheehan (Cremona, Alta.) making 26 saves on 28 shots. For the Lions, captain Jesse Messier (Keswick, Ont.) would also tally two goals in the game, giving him a season total of five.
The first period began with the teams looking over-anxious, as sloppy passing on both sides led to several turnovers in the early going. York would regroup a few minutes in when defenceman John de Gray (Markham, Ont.) stripped a Toronto player in the neutral zone to create a solo opportunity on net. His shot would go just wide.
The surge would be all the Lions needed to settle down, allowing them to impose their physical style of play. But a little over aggressiveness on York's part opened a window for Brown to pickpocket a Lions defender, creating a breakaway. Brown would convert, beating Andrew Perugini (King City, Ont.) to gain a 1-0 lead.
But York would bounce back, sticking to its game plan and keeping a fast tempo. This time, the aggressiveness produced an opportunity in front of the Blues' net when Troy Barss (Barrie, Ont.) found Messier for the goal. It would remain 1-1 after one.
Despite opening the period strong, the Varsity Blues would score two quick goals on the Lions in the first half of the second to jump out to a 3-1 advantage. On the first, Tyler Luikkonen (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) would score unassisted just moments after the Lions killed a penalty. On the second, the Blues burst into the Lions' zone with a man advantage. Displaying nice passing, Brown notched his second score of the game off of a Paul Van De Velde (Mariapolis, Man.) set-up.
Near the end of the frame, the Lions would rally and sneak a goal in of their own, but it was waved off due to Sheehan's helmet becoming dislodged during the play. It would remain 3-1 going into the third period.
The Lions came out firing on all cylinders in the third as they were looking to get back into it. Messier capitalized early burying his second goal of the game just twelve seconds into the period via a Michael Lombardi (Richmond Hill, Ont.) feed from behind the net. Fighting to find the equalizer as time ran down, York switched to a full-out attack but the Varsity Blues would once again take advantage of the Lions aggressiveness, and recorded an insurance goal near the end of the period to cap the victory.
The Lions will look to get back into the win column when they return to Canlan Ice Sports on Thursday (Oct. 31) to host the Ryerson Rams at 7pm.
Source: York Sports Info
Waterloo 4 at Western 5
LONDON, Ont. – Josh Unice made 35 saves and the Mustangs held off a furious third-period comeback from the Waterloo Warriors on Saturday to walk away with a 5-4 victory at Thompson Arena.
"I thought we did some real good things in the third but unfortunately they kept coming back and when you have a good team you can never back off," said Mustangs head coach Clarke Singer after the game. "I think if there's one thing maybe we just backed off the gas pedal a little bit on them and allowed them to get the little bit extra on us in the third."
Western entered the final frame up 4-2 and looked to put the game out of reach with an early goal from Matt Clarke but the Warriors were intent on fighting until the end. Tallies from Colin Behenna and Chris Chappell in the second half of the third put Waterloo within two and made for a thrilling final minute but in the end the Mustangs were able to hold on for the win.
Behenna and Chappell provided a large share of the offence for the Warriors on the night as the two combined for seven points. Behenna brought his season point total up to six while Chappell's third period goal gave the rookie forward his first career OUA hat trick and his eighth point of the young season.
Despite allowing the Warriors to climb back into the game in the third, Singer was mostly optimistic about what he saw from his team on Saturday night.
"It was a big two points for us and we played with a pulse tonight," Singer said. "I thought the other night in Toronto we didn't have a lot of giddy-up, not a lot of jump in our step, but I thought tonight we played with some intensity."
The game started out as good as the Mustangs could have hoped for with Daniel Erlich notching his second goal of the season ten minutes in and Stefan Salituro adding Western's second with 41 seconds left in the frame.
Their fortune seemed doom to change in the second as they entered the second frame down two men and appeared to give up a goal only 29 seconds in. But the goal was called off due to a dislodged net and, energized by their lucky break, the Mustangs managed to kill of the rest of the five-on-three.
The kill turned out to be huge for the Mustangs as five minutes later they added their third goal of the game off the stick of Kyle De Coste followed quickly by a goal from Adam Stoykewych. The two goals came 21 seconds a part and gave the Mustangs some breathing room in what had been a back-and-forth affair, breathing room that came in handy when the Warriors scored two goals in the second half of the period to cut the lead in half.
The Mustangs will take the two points and look ahead to their next game, a Halloween night tilt against Laurier this Thursday at Sun Life Financial Arena in Waterloo. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Source: Western Sports Info
RMC 3 at UQTR 7
October 25
UOIT 5 at Laurentian 4
The Laurentian Voyageurs Men’s hockey team touched the ice at Countryside Arena Friday night in OUA action for the first time in 13 years. The Voyageurs were looking to earn a victory in their first home game of the season, however a very late goal for the OUIT Ridgebacks would put them down by one with less than a minute in the game, and give the Ridgebacks their first victory by a 5-4 margin.
In the first period Laurentian came out firing on all cylinders accumulating 13 shots on the Ridgebacks goaltender. Nick Esposto (Sheguiandah, ON) capitalized on a feed from Marc Alain-Begin (Hearst, ON) posting his third goal of the season. Late in the first frame UOIT forward Luke VanMoerkerke evened the score on a shot that beat Charlie Millen (Bridgenorth, ON) who got the start in the crease tonight for the home team. Both squads were disciplined in the first period resulting in twenty minutes of even strength play.
Midway through the second the second period with the game tied at 1-1, UOIT struck first on a shot from forward James Woodcroft that beat Millen. After strong efforts from Laurentian, Brandon Howes (Lakefield, ON) found the back of the net with a beam that equalized the score at two goals apiece headed into the third.
Once again, the Ridgebacks opened the scoring with Mitch Bennett’s first of three on the night with just under five minutes into the third period. Nick Esposto would retaliate with two powerplay tallies separated by Bennett’s second goal of the night.
The Ridgebacks and Voyageurs found themselves tied at four goals apiece with only minutes to spare in the third frame. Laurentian goalie Charlie Millen made two huge saves to keep the game even, but Bennett, who completed his hat trick with only 19 seconds left, put UOIT ahead 5-4.
The final score would end up being 5-4 in favor of UOIT, who handed Laurentian only their second loss of the season.
The men will face the Queen’s Gaels who travel to town Saturday for a 7:30pm puck drop at Countryside Arena. Continue to follow your Voyageurs at www.luvoyageurs.com for all up-to-date news and results.
Source: Laurentian Sports Info
Laurier 4 at Lakehead 5
Led by freshman forward Cody Alcock’s four-goal outburst, the Lakehead Thunderwolves beat the Laurier Golden Hawks 5-4 in an exciting game on Friday night at the Fort William Gardens in front of a crowd of 2,609.
Lakehead opened the scoring when Alcock out-waited Laurier goalie Shayne Campbell and gave the Wolves an early 1-0 lead. Assists on the goal went to Mike Quesnele and Trevor Gamache.
The Wolves had the better of the scoring chances early on, but Laurier tied it up at 13:11 of the opening frame as Derek Schoenmakers found the loose puck in a goal-mouth scramble, putting it past Lakehead netminder Justin McDonald.
Lakehead restored their lead with only 53 seconds left in the period as Alcock got on the board again, ripping a wrist-shot past Campbell to give the Wolves a 2-1 lead heading into the second. The assists were credited to Gamache and Nathan Bruyere.
Justin McDonald stood strong in the Lakehead net in the second period, stopping Laurier forward Mackenzie Braid on a short-handed breakaway.
Not long after, junior forward Mike Hammond scored a beauty, walking out of the corner and firing it top corner, giving Lakehead the 3-1 lead.
Laurier got back to within one as forward Ryan Lopes put one past McDonald on another goal-mouth scramble, making it 3-2.
In the third period, Cody Alcock completed the hat-trick on a great one-time pass from Andrew Wilkins, increasing Lakehead’s lead to 4-2. The other assist went to Mike Quesnele.
Peter McInstosh got it right back for Laurier putting a nice wrister past McDonald to bring them to within a goal once again.
Cody Alcock continued his onslaught at 15:07 of the third as he put a seeing-eye shot past Campbell to give Lakehead the 5-3 lead.
Laurier made it interesting with under a minute left as Laurier’s Luke Hietkamp fired it past McDonald, but Lakehead was able to hold on for the 5-4 win.
The Molson 3 Stars of the game were:
1. Cody Alcock, Lakehead
2. Mike Hammond, Lakehead
3. Andrew Wilkins, Lakehead
Both teams are back at it on Saturday night at the Fort William Gardens. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m.
Source: Lakehead Sports Info
Queen’s 6 at Nipissing 4
Despite a great push in the second half of the game, the Nipissing Lakers men’s hockey team’s comeback bid fell short against the Queen’s Gaels.
The Gaels led 2-0 after the first and were up 4-1 in the second period before the Lakers turned it on, getting within one late in the game, only to fall 6-4, after a Gaels empty-netter sealed the game.
It was a rocky start for the Lakers, who surrendered a goal just 51 seconds into the contest.
Queen’s would add two more goals before the line of Grant Toulmin, Dorian Peca and Conor O’Donnell pulled their team back into the game.
That trio combined for nine points and all four of the team’s goals, with O’Donnell leading the way piling up four points.
Peca had two goals and Toulmin finished with a goal and two assists, and was likely the Lakers best player from start to finish.
The Lakers outshot the Gaels by one, but the slow start came back to haunt Nipissing and kept them winless through the early part of the season.
The Lakers penalty kill was a strong point in the game, as they only surrendered one power play goal against and killed off a five minute major which was assessed late in the second period.
The last 1:41 of the period was played before the start of the third period, but after an intermission due to an injury which saw a Gaels player leave the ice on a stretcher.
He was moving his hands in the hallway, but there is no update on his condition at the time of this story.
The Lakers will try to get into the win column tomorrow when they host the UOIT Ridgebacks.
Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Memorial Gardens.
Source: Nipissing Sports Info
Ryerson 5 at Brock 1
ST CATHARINES, Ont. – The Brock University men's hockey team (3-3-0 OUA West) fell to the Ryerson Rams (4-1-0 OUA West) by the score of 5-1 on Friday evening at the Seymour-Hannah Centre.
Brock's lone goal came in the first minute of the game as Josh Schram netted his second of the season to take an early 1-0 lead over the Rams. Anthony Geldart and Dylan MacEachern contributed with assists on the goal.
Ryerson would tie the score at one early in the second period on a goal from Michael Fine. Jamie Wise and Dominic Alberga would each pick up their first of two assists in the game.
The score remained tied in the third period until Matthew Andreacchi came through for the Rams scoring the eventual game winner with Dustin Alcock and Peter Hermenegildo drawing the assists.
Hermenegildo added an insurance marker to put Ryerson up by two with four minutes remaining. Wise and Alberga drew the assists on the goal.
With the Brock net empty, Wise and Tyler McCarthy cashed in with empty net goals to make the final 5-1 in favour of the Rams.
Dalton McGrath gave up three goals while registering 38 saves in the loss. Adam Courchain surrendered one goal on 25 shots to improve his record to 2-0 this season.
The Badgers next action will come at home when they take on the Guelph Gryphons (3-2-0 OUA West) October 25th with the puck scheduled to be dropped at 7:15pm.
Source: Brock Sports Info
Ottawa 1 at UQTR 4
The Gee-Gees men’s hockey team remains winless on the road to start the 2013 OUA season after falling 4-1 to the UQTR Patriotes on Friday night. After five games, Ottawa’s record stands at 1-4-0, with all of the losses coming on the road. The Gee-Gees will begin a five-game homestand on Saturday night by hosting the Carleton Ravens at 7 p.m.
In Trois-Rivieres, two early goals for the defending Queen’s Cup champions proved too much as the Gee-Gees were outshot 47-27 on the evening. The Patriotes converted two of their seven power plays, and scored the game winner with the man advantage just 3:55 into the game.
On the power play, UQTR worked the puck around to defenceman Olivier Dallaire, whose quick wrist shot from the top of the circle beat Harrison May, established a 2-0 lead, and forced Ottawa to make a goaltending change.
The Gee-Gees came back with a power play goal of their own before heading into the dressing room. Third-year forward Craig Moore scored his second goal of the season from inside the blue ice at the 11:43 mark.
Ottawa survived scramble in front of net with multiple rebound chances for the Patriotes just before the first intermission, but the home squad extended their lead midway through the second period on a goal by third-year centreman Billy Lacasse.
A lengthy two-man advantage in the waning minutes of the third period resulted in the final UQTR goal by Marc-Olivier Mimar.
Ottawa goaltender Warren Shymko finished the game with 40 saves after entering at the 3:55 mark of the first period. The Calder, Sask. native may have saved his best for last as his quick glove robbed the Patriotes of a fifth goal on a breakaway in the final minute.
The Gee-Gees will travel back to Ottawa for a Saturday night home date with the Carleton Ravens who are ranked no. 9 in the CIS Top Ten and defeated McGill 6-4 on Friday night to improve their record to 3-1-0.
Source: Ottawa Sports Info
RMC 3 at Concordia 10