Women’s Hockey>> by Nadeem Siddiqui
The women’s hockey team lost 5-4 in overtime against the Queen’s Golden Gaels in an exciting game played at Varsity Arena on Friday. It was a hotly contested match right down the stretch, and, even though the blues had a 4-1 edge after the first period, they were unable to hold on.
The first period began with physical play on the boards by both teams. There was a lot of play in the neutral zone with no real scoring chances until Queen’s took a penalty for too many skaters. The Blues controlled most of the powerplay and were able to muster three shots on net, all of them from the point. Kim Deveraux and Andrea Patry were able to keep the puck inside Queen’s territory with good play on the blue line.
Queen’s scored first with 6 minutes to go in the period, as a shot by Amanda Morra found the back of the net. The Blues responded quickly, however, as they scored just two minutes later. Janine Davies got the puck and buried the second rebound she got.
In the last minute of the period the Blues took the lead. Amy Caldwell took a stellar pass from Jennifer McMahon, who was near the sideboards, and put the puck behind Golden Gaels keeper Claire Hunt.
The second period had the same theme to it: aggressive play by the Blues. There were three penalties assessed to the Blues, but thanks to defense of Justine Todd and Sue Mccutcheon, Queens could not muster any goals, even though they had a brief two-man advantage.
Unlike the first period, however, Queen’s stepped up with their offensive zone play. Debby Abriel and Keri Baker played well in the Blues zone, and were able to create good chances. Queen’s didn’t get a goal, though, thanks to goalie Lisa Roberson.
At the 13:20 mark Justine Todd scored on a 2-on-1. She received a pass from Mary Modeste, and the Blues had a 3-1 advantage just like that.
Three minutes later the Blues added to their lead, off another odd man rush. Finally, late in the period Queen’s got an important goal. Elizabeth Chaisson banked home the puck after a huge scrap in front of the Blues net.
The third period was quite different than the first two. The Blues started the period shorthanded, but Lisa Robertson held the fort. Golden Gael Elizabeth Chaisson sparked the team’s offence, which soon responded with results.
Keri Baker put Queens within one goal of the Blues at the 11:35 mark, scoring on a rebound. The Blues continued to forecheck, but Queens kept applying pressure.
Queens pulled their goalie within the last two minutes, and with 21 seconds to go a deflected point shot tied the game at 4-4. Michelle Clark was given credit for the equalizer.
The game was decided by a last minute goal in overtime. The Blues turned the puck over in their own zone, creating a 2-on-0 for Queen’s with 40 seconds to go. This time Alison Barclay scored the winning goal for Queens.
On Saturday the Blues made up for the loss with a 5-1 thrashing of the York Lions. Jennifer McMahon scored twice for U of T in the decisive victory.
Men’s Hockey>> by Christophe Poirier
The Varsity Blues turned the heat up on the Ryerson Rams, while the city of Toronto spent a chilly Saturday evening under a blanket of snow. U of T defeated their cross-town rivals 8-5 at Varsity Arena.
The game was a rematch of Thursday’s 9-6 road victory for the boys in Blue, and with it the Blues swept the home-and-home series with Ryerson. The loss left the Rams, 0-16-0, still in search of their first point of the season.
Currently riding a four game winning streak, the men’s hockey team sits atop the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Mid-East division standings with a 9-6-1 record.
The Blues came out scorching in the first period, peppering 27 shots at Ram goalie Mark Furman. Ryerson’s athletic keeper kept the Blues at bay until Mike Lymer swept past the defenders and scored in the fifteenth minute on a backhanded flick that flew by Furman’s stick. Mike Nason would beat Furman at the same spot 40 seconds later, putting the Blues up 2-0.
Ryerson notched their first goal of the night with a minute left in the opening period. Matt Harris rifled a rebound shot over the glove of Blues goalie Ryan Grinnell.
The Blues kept up their torrid scoring pace in the second period, as Steve Devine had a goal in the third minute, followed by Adam Weinberg scoring after corralling a great Phil Turi pass in front of the net a minute later. Captain Ian Malcolm would cap the Blues’ scoring in the period with a shorthanded strike around the midway point of the match.
The Rams answered 16 seconds later, as Ross Marshall beat Grinnell’s stick side at the end of the Ryerson power play. Chris Pethick cut the Blue’s lead to two when he fired a shot through Grinnell’s five-hole in the eleventh minute.
Malcolm put the Blues ahead for good after roofing his second goal with a backhanded shot just 57 seconds into the third period. Eight minutes later, Ryerson’s Grant Buckley snapped a wrist shot over Grinnell’s outstretched stick.
Alex Nagribianko and Scott Malcolm would pace the Blues with goals in the sixteenth and eighteenth minute, sandwiching Pethick’s second score of the night with three minutes left.
Varsity Blues forward Jesse Rycroft led all scorers with four points, all of which were assists.
