On January 19, the Varsity Blues men’s hockey team faced the York Lions for the second time this season. In their first game against York, the Blues came home with a 5–1 win. This time, the Blues weren’t as lucky as they fell to the Lions 4–3 in a nailbiter. 

What happened

The game started off strong, with the first goal scored by Blues defenseman Emmett Serensits at 1:31 in the first period. Forwards Nicholas Wong and Kyle Potts assisted on the goal. A goal this early on put the Blues in a good spot and brought up the energy in the arena to kick off the game on a high note.

Unfortunately for the Blues, York followed closely behind, with defenseman Brendan Browne scoring shortly after. The Blues had an opportunity to come back on the powerplay at 6:09, but York played well defensively despite having a player in the box, leaving the score tied at 1–1 at the end of the first period. 

The second period was a nailbiter as fans watched the Blues put up a few shots on goal that were unsuccessful. After lots of time in York’s end zone, Blues rookie Jacob King scored his first goal with the team in 12 games. “It was kind of a broken play, and then Big Reever [Peyton Reeves], you know, older brother, he kinda just got a shot off the panel, and I was in the right spot. It happened so fast you know, I just saw the puck and put it in… it was exciting,” said King. 

York followed closely behind King’s goal to come back and tie it up with a goal scored by forward Brock McLeod at 16:27, ending the second period at 2–2. 

After a tense first two periods, York was quick to put the puck in the net at 4:31 in the third, with the goal scored by forward Benjamin Evanish to put the game at 3–2 in favour of the Lions. The offensively gifted Blues naturally came back with a goal by forward Cole Purboo, assisted by defensemen Ryan Barbosa and Serensits, tying up the score once again. 

At 15:47, York defenseman Brendan Browne scored his second goal of the game, making the score 4–3 for the Lions. The energy in the arena was tense as the Blues had little time left to come back for a win. Blues coach called a time out with 1:33 left in the game and “drew up a pretty good play” according to King. “It just didn’t work out,” King said, and, sadly for Toronto, the team lost 4–3. The Blues now sit in the fifth spot in the OUA West.

What’s next 

After a 3–2 win against the Waterloo Warriors on January 21, The Varsity Blues will look to continue their stellar performance against Brock and Toronto Metropolitan University next weekend.