Extending their winning streak to three, Men’s Hockey (14-6-0-0) showed why they are atop the OUA Mid East Division with a 6-1 victory over the Ryerson Rams (1-18-1-0) Saturday. The Blues pummeled the Ryerson net with 38 shots, keeping up the trend this season, as the Blues have outscored Ryerson 23-5 for the year.
U of T hosts RMC (6-12-2-0) this Friday, before Queen’s (4-10-5-1) visits Saturday night at the Athletic Centre.
The Blues opened the scoring against the Rams at the 10:39 mark with a great individual effort by Blues leading scorer Anthony Pallotta, who capped an effective breakout started by captain Simon Barg and Brendan Sherrard. Towards the end of the first, the Blues succeeded in chipping away at the Ryerson defense and potted another goal on a tap on the right side by Chris Gray .
The only falter by the Blues came immediately after their second goal, as Ryerson countered with a quick one-timer score, cutting U of T’s lead to one at the end of the first.
“We were looking for the same results from Thursday, but tonight was totally different,” Blues’ defenseman Andre Robichaud said. “We started last game up 6-0 in the first. Tonight we only had a 2-1 lead and needed to step up.”
The Blues got their act together and responded with four unanswered goals in the second and third periods, outplaying a frustrated Ryerson squad.
“We had a slow start in the first and the second. Coach Lowe got us motivated, and the leaders were tough and did not take this game for granted,” goalie Ryan Grinnell said. Grinnell stopped 25 of 26 Ryerson shots, improving on his CIS-best 2.15 goals-against average before Saturday’s game.
The win came after the Blues posted a huge 9-2 victory over Ryerson on Thursday. The Rams came in to Varsity Arena with an aggressive, physical game that led to many undisciplined penalties, which eventually cost Ryerson in the long run.
Unlike Ryerson, the Blues showed superb discipline, taking only eight penalties. The Blues matched Ryerson’s physicality smartly and avoided any unnecessary penalties that would have let Ryerson back into the game. When the Blues did get into penalty trouble, they kept their cool, with calm puck-clearances and strong pressure on the Ryerson attackers.
“The four guys in front of me did a good job of letting me make the easy saves on the penalty kill,” Grinnell said. “If I can see it, I can stop it. There was also the question of frustration, and it’s true they took some difficult penalties.”
Blues’ defenseman Andre Robichaud agreed. “They played well, though. We thought they weren’t going to show up but they gave us a good go.”
The one down note for the Blues was the continued sub-par showing of the power play, as U of T wasted three five-on-three opportunities. The Blues struggled most of the night setting up their advantage, and did not pose too much of a threat with errant passes and a lack of shots. Though the Blues did convert four of ten power play opportunities, two of those goals came during a five-minute major.
