Mens’ Hockey
WYATT CLOUGH/THE VARSITY
The Varsity Blues men’s hockey team was eliminated from the OUA playoffs with a double overtime 4–3 defeat against the Carleton Ravens in the series-deciding game three at the Varsity Arena. The Blues’ Byron Elliot opened the scoring on the first power play, just 30 seconds into the game, with a wrist shot to the back of the net. Toronto doubled its lead just a few minutes later with a Kyle Ventura goal, but Carleton soon rebounded to claim the game.
The best-of-three series was tied 1–1 heading into the series decider. Carleton was dominant in the first game, winning 6–2 in Ottawa. Toronto recovered from that initial loss with a stout 3–0 shutout victory at home to force a third game in the series, with rookie forward Tyler Liukkonen scoring two goals 34 seconds apart in game two.
Toronto and Carleton met twice in the regular season, and split the series. The Ravens shut out the Blues 3–0 in November, before the Blues rebounded with a 4–3 overtime victory later that same month.
The Blues ended the year in fourth place in the OUA East with a 16–9–3 record. The team won seven of their final nine games, ending the regular season on a high with a 3–1 victory over the RMS Paladins.
Elliot’s 19 goals from 28 games made him the Blues’ regular season top-scorer, with Ventura contributing a further 15 goals of his own. Goaltenders Garrett Sheehan and rookie Brett Willows also played key roles in the Blues campaign, making 402 and 398 saves respectively during the regular season.
Womens’ Hockey
WYATT CLOUGH/THE VARSITY
The Blues women’s hockey team saw its season draw to a close with a 3–2 overtime loss to the Western Mustangs in the OUA quarterfinals. Forward Brenley Jorgensen scored both of Toronto’s goals on power plays. The Blues briefly held the lead in the third when Jorgensen sent a rebound into the back of the net, but Western responded a few minutes later, carrying the game into overtime.
The loss came in the second game of the best-of-three quarterfinal series. The Blues fell to four power play goals from Western at home in game one, which finished 4–1. The loss made game two in London a must-win, and the Blues came agonizingly close to tying up the series. Though Toronto managed to score two power play goals in game two, in contrast to the team’s 0-for-8 special teams performance in the first game, the Blues ended their season in the first round of the playoffs.
Western and Toronto met three times during the regular season, with Toronto taking the series lead with 4–3 and 3–1 victories in November and February respectively, after Western won the first matchup 2–1 in October.
The Blues ended the season with 15–10–1 record and were seeded third in the OUA despite losing their final game of the regular season 3–0 to the Queen’s Gaels.
Though the team was eliminated at the first playoff hurdle, Jorgensen had a stellar year, recording her 100th point for Toronto. The forward became one of only a handful of Blues to reach the 100-point milestone, joining the likes of Olympian Lori Dupuis.
Mens’ Basketball
BERNARDA GOSPIC
A 80–74 defeat at the hands of the Laurentian Voyageurs in the OUA East quarterfinals ended the Varsity Blues men’s basketball team’s 2011–2012 season on Wednesday. The Blues fought hard in the second half, led by Alex Hill, who posted 23 points and went 6-for-7 from the line. Down by 19 points in the final quarter, Toronto went on a 24–10 run that drew the game to within four points with just over a minute remaining but was unable to make up the difference.
The Blues met Laurentian twice during the regular season. The teams split the series, with the Voyageurs defeating Toronto 83–77 in January before the Blues rebounded with a 104–88 victory in February.
Toronto finished the year with a record of 10–12. The men’s team concluded the regular season on a high note with a 92–85 victory over the Ottawa Gee-Gees. The victory cemented the Blues as the fifth seed in the OUA and ensured they’d face the Voyageurs in the quarterfinals in Sudbury.
The Blues were guided by Alex Hill, who led the team in scoring and was ranked tenth in the OUA with an average of 15.95 points over 22 regular season games. Arun Kumar tallied the most assists for Toronto, with 66 in 22 games in the regular season. Team captain Drazen Glisic made a vital contribution at the other end of the court, leading the OUA with 39 blocks in the regular season.
Womens’ Basketball
BERNARDA GOSPIC/THE VARSITY
The Varsity Blues women’s basketball team fell 64–84 to the Carleton Ravens in the OUA East semifinal in Ottawa on Saturday. Toronto defeated local rivals York 64–37 on Wednesday to set up the tie in Ottawa but fell short, despite taking a 9–4 lead in the first quarter. Captain Megan Stoncius led the team with 17 points against the Ravens, following her 13-point performance in the quarterfinal against York.
Carleton has proven to be something of a bogey team for the Blues this season; the Blues lost both their games to the Ravens in regular season play, 67–71 at home in January and 45–66 in Ottawa a month later. The loss also tied the team’s head-to-head playoff record, which now stands at 3–3.
Toronto ended the regular season with a 14–8 record, which saw the team seeded third in the OUA East. The Blues were in good form coming out of the Christmas break and posted an impressive 7–2 record in January, before hitting a 2–3 slump in their final five games of the year.
The team ended the regular season with a 58–74 loss to the Ottawa Gee-Gees, a game in which point guard Sherri Pierce came away with a career-high 27 points. Jill Stratton was the Blues regular season top-scorer, with 321 points at 14.59 points a game. Joanna Medri led the team in steals, with 69 in her 21 games.
