The Varsity Blues men’s hockey team bounced back from a rough weekend of Ontario University Athletics (OUA) play to defeat the University of Waterloo Warriors 4-1 last Friday night at Varsity Arena.
The Blues came flying out of the gate, dominating possession in the opening minutes of the game and forcing Waterloo netminder Chris Hurry to make several great saves. The Blues had to kill off several dubious penalties at the midpoint of the period, but held their composure and pushed hard in the second half of the frame.
Though the Blues didn’t manage to find a weak spot in Hurry, it was their best period of the season and comforting for the Blues’ faithful who watched their 10-3 drubbing at the hands of the University of Windsor Lancers last Saturday.
The second period saw the momentum shift to Waterloo, with the Warriors peppering veteran University of Toronto goaltender Brett Willows with 21 shots. As he has so many times before, Willows rose to the challenge and was stellar in goal for U of T, making 20 saves and giving the Blues a fighting chance.
The Blues rewarded their goaltender’s heroics 11 minutes into the frame, with sophomore defenseman Corey Jackson firing a wrist shot from the point right under the crossbar. Just two minutes later, grinding forward Patrick Marsh doubled the Blues’ lead.
Marsh, an off-season transfer from Upstate New York’s Clarkson University, jumped on a rebound in front of the Waterloo goal and blasted a shot over Hurry’s outstretched glove for his first OUA goal.
The Blues nearly escaped the frame up 2-0, but the Warriors were persistent and managed to solve Willows on a mad scramble in front of the U of T goal with three seconds left in the period. Willows injured his shoulder on the play, and with veteran netminder Garrett Sheehan already out with a groin issue, third-string goaltender Michael Nishi was called upon to play the final period.
The Blues exhibited textbook team defense in the final frame, with the likes of Marsh, Dean Klomp and Casey Knight racking up the shotblocks, while Nishi was solid in goal, making 16 saves and standing tall on a late five-on-three penalty kill.
U of T sniper Jeff Brown added an insurance marker two minutes into the period, putting home a rebound on an early power play and star forward Michael Markovic added an empty netter in the dying seconds of the game to seal the victory.
The importance of Friday evening’s game cannot be understated. Sitting three games below .500 and coming off a weekend in which the club was outscored 17-8, the Waterloo tilt was a must-win for the Blues and they did just that.
Following the match, Willows had nothing but praise for his squad: “Everyone came out tonight and put it all on the line… in every essence of the word, it was a team win.”
