Reading Week was a time of promise for most students at U of T. Some went on well-deserved vacations to tropical paradises, others took advantage of the time to catch up on their schoolwork, and various athletes had opportunities to advance to medal rounds in Ontario University Athletics (OUA) playoff competition.
Two teams had to succumb to bitter disappointment, though, as their post-season runs ended much sooner than they would have liked. The men’s hockey team was knocked out of medal contention on Saturday, and just one day later the women’s basketball team was ousted from the playoffs.
On the ice, the Blues-who finished second in the OUA mid east division with an 8-13-2-1 record-were swept in the best-of-three OUA quarter-final series by the relentless Université du Québec à Trois-rivières (UQTR) Patriotes, the second-best team in the OUA far east division. Both matches were hard-fought, one-goal games, and the win propels UQTR into the provincial semi-final.
The first game was played at Trois-rivières and was a tight-checking, defensive struggle. Jonathan Boutin scored in the first and Mathieu Gravel scored on the power play in the second to give the Patriotes a 2-1 edge. Joe Rand mustered the only Toronto goal, but it was not enough to keep up with UQTR.
The second game was another nerve-wrecking affair. The Patriotes built a 3-1 lead after one period-thanks to a hat trick by Blues-killer Jon Boutin-but Toronto clawed its way back into the game, keeping the gathered faithful at Varsity Arena entertained.
Toronto’s Anthony Pallotta brought the Blues within one late in the second, as all five men rushed the UQTR goal. That was as close as the Blues came, though, as the stifling defence of the Patriotes didn’t let Toronto near their goal in the third period.
This is the second straight year that UQTR has knocked Toronto out of the men’s hockey playoffs. The Patriotes will now take on Quebec rival McGill in the OUA semifinals starting on March 1.
Switching to the hardwood, the women’s basketball team were in tough against the top-ranked York Lions in their OUA semi-final match on Saturday night. The Lions led the OUA east with a 19-3 record in the regular season, and showed no signs of slowing down against the Blues.
York’s Kim Gibbs-a native of Ajax, Ontario-scored 21 points to propel the Lions past Toronto with a 67-60 victory at the Athletic Centre. Gibbs also had four rebounds and four steals in the contest, and was a forced to be reckoned with when in defensive mode.
Rookie Alaine Hutton was the brightest light for the Blues in the semi-final game, scoring 17 points against the Lions. She also had three steals on Saturday.
York built up a 41-32 lead at halftime, and held on in the second half for a seven-point victory. They were able to stifle and frustrate Toronto’s offence, and held top Blues scorer Christine Cho to just two points after the break.
Cho finished the game with 14 points and seven rebounds.
That the Lions won this contest is not much of a surprise, as they beat Toronto with ease in the two regular season games between these cross-town rivals. York was also ranked tenth in the nation this year, making them a serious contender for the national title.
So, the year is over for U of T’s men’s hockey and women’s basketball teams. They were beaten by superior foes this year, but will have a chance to make Reading Week that much sweeter next year when the 2007 playoff season rolls around.
