The Varsity Blues men’s hockey team finished their season on February 19 in game 3 of the OUA East quarter-finals against the Carleton Ravens.
The Ravens won the best-of-three series 2–1 to advance to the OUA East semi-final round.
According to captain, Andrew Kizito, the team “came into the playoffs as the underdog with few people around the league expecting [them] to win.”
Having lost key veterans, Joe Rand, Eddie Snetsinger, and Brendan Sherrard last season, the Blues faced the difficult task of rebuilding a winning squad.
“When a team loses star caliber veterans, it’s always going to have an impact on the next season. Players of that quality are always difficult to replace,” said Kizito.
Faced with a tough task, the team got off to a slow start and didn’t earn their first regular season win until the end of October.
Kizito credited the slump to the team’s inability to keep composure during clutch moments of a game.
“This season we struggled to play a complete 60 minute effort night in and night out,” he said.
The remainder of the season fared better for the squad, who figured out their team identity going into the second half following Christmas break.
In an exhibition game played over the holidays, the team beat the St. Mary’s University Huskies, the defending national champions, in a shootout.
“This victory provided a young team with a great deal of confidence as it proved that they could play with and beat anyone,” said Kizito.
Kizito thinks that it was a successful rebuilding as the team was able to make the playoffs.
“The good thing is that we showed improvement over time. No matter how bad or good a team is at the start of a season, the key to judging the success of a season rests upon whether or not the team improves or not.
“We made progress in the right direction, which I believe will carry into the next season,” he said.
Kizito is looking forward to getting back on the ice as he feels that the future is bright.
“This upcoming season I expect to see a maturing nucleus that has learned from this [rebuilding] experience. I expect to see a team that plays every game like it’s their last.”
