The U of T men’s hockey team saw some holiday action at the Bell Canada Varsity Cup last week. Despite a strong finish, the team was unable to make the medal rounds, going 1-2 in the tourney. After dropping their first game, the Blues came out strong against Lakehead, only to lose 7-5 in a hard-fought contest.
Toronto was up 2-0 in the early going of the first period, but the Thunderwolves battled right back. Lakehead was sparked by two goals from captain Joel Scherban, Jeff Richards’ three assists, and Chris Shaffer, who added a goal and some fierce bodychecks.
The Blues were led by hard-skating Ian Malcolm, who scored a goal and an assist. Special teams became the main factor as both teams capitalized on power plays. Lakehead scored three of their seven and Toronto two of their five with the man advantage.
The Thunderwolves took control of play in the middle of the first period. Scherban made the score 2-1 at 7:18 on a power-play goal from the slot, set up by Mike Jacobsen and Jeff Richards. Toronto’s goalkeeper, Tim Knight, was sharp for the rest of the period, making two great saves off Lakehead’s Richards and Scherban.
Lakehead scored quickly at the 22-second mark of the second on a power-play goal by Mike Jacobsen, set up by some nice passing from Scherban and Richards. Knight faced nine shots in the first five minutes of the period and made some quality stops. However, Lakehead’s Chris Shaffer made it 3-2 when he streaked down the right side and ripped a bullet snapshot over Knight’s shoulder at 5:28. Toronto replied quickly when Tyler Middlebrook came from behind the net and beat Lakehead’s McEachran high on the short side at 5:55.
The home team scored again on the power play at 10:57 when Scherban one-timed a blast past Knight, set up by great passing from Bryan Duce and Richards. Toronto again replied on the power play at 12:29, when Scott Johnson beat a screened McEachran with a shot from the point, with assists going to Mike Nason and Malcolm. Lakehead’s Leon Cooper scored the final goal of the second period when he banged in a rebound at 16:16.
Lakehead took control in the third period, forcing Knight to come up with save after save. Thunderwolves forward Wyatt Tunnicliffe made it 6-4 when he knocked in his own rebound after being set up nicely by Tyler Williamson.
Toronto got back to within one at 15:37 when George Trifon beat McEachran with a low shot. Toronto pulled their goalie and Ian Malcolm almost tied the game with 33 seconds left when he came in on McEachran all alone. The goaltender made a great sliding pad save to preserve the win. Lakehead’s Bryan Duce slotted an empty net goal to make the final 7-5. Lakehead outshot Toronto 43-17 in the game.
U of T did not rest on their laurels and came out firing against Saint Francis Xavier, winning 4-2 the next day. Toronto played a hard-skating, tenacious game from start to finish. St. F.X. looked a little tired after three games in three days, and couldn’t seem to match the Blues’ energy on the ice.
The X-Men still had some great scoring opportunities, but were stymied by Toronto goalkeeper Jamie Bruno. Toronto was led again by star forward Malcolm, who scored two goals and an assist. X-Men defencemen Mike Martone and Troy Smith both played excellent all-around games for St. F.X., with Smith recording a goal and an assist and Martone notching two assists.
The first period was marked by fast, flowing, two-way hockey. Francis Xavier opened the scoring at 4:19 when Troy Smith blasted a hard shot from the left circle past Blues keeper Jamie Bruno. Toronto’s Ian Malcolm tied the score at 8:11, firing the puck in from the side of the crease. Bruno was solid in net during a late-period St. F.X. power play, making three good saves to keep the score at one apiece.
Toronto took a 2-1 lead on the power play at 10:01 when Mark Hynes’ blast from the point trickled through Bateman’s legs. Patrick Grandmaitre evened the score for St. F.X. at 12:03 when he notched a shorthanded goal assisted by Mike Martone and Troy Smith. Toronto’s Bruno made a great stabbing pad save to rob Ryan Armstrong at 15:05.
Toronto took control in the third period and seemed to have the fresher legs at crunch time. They smothered the talented X-Men with tough defence, not allowing them to develop many dangerous scoring chances. Bruno made another great sliding pad save off St. F.X.’s Armstrong at 5:50 to keep the score tied.
The Blues turned it on at this point, and at 10:17 Ian Malcolm nailed his second of the game over Bateman’s glove, set up by nice passes from Mike Pallota. U of T’s George Trifon made it 4-2 at 11:13 when he intercepted an errant X-Men pass and blasted a shot through Bateman’s legs from the left circle. Toronto took three minor penalties near the end of the game, giving St. F.X. some hope for a comeback. But Bruno denied the X-Men repeatedly and earned the win for U of T. St. F.X. outshot Toronto 37-32 in the game.
U of T now looks forward to the rest of the regular season, in which they have a division-leading 8-3 record. The Blues have high hopes for the OUA playoffs if they continue their strong play.
