Coming off a loss against the Western Mustangs and ranked fifth in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) West standings, the Varsity Blues attempted to end their back-to-back games with a return to the win column against the York Lions. They faced off at Varsity Arena on January 17, looking to redeem themselves from their last meeting with the Lions on November 9, which culminated in a 4–3 overtime loss. This time, the Blues managed to secure a dominant 5–1 win with the home ice advantage.
What happened?
It was a less-than-ideal start for the Blues. With the team’s first shot on goal, York Lions forward Olivier Lamothe beat Toronto goalie Rayce Ramsey, and found the back of the net.
However, the Blues did not let that deter them and applied great pressure immediately after, but to no avail. Despite two good chances for forwards Ryan Watt and Owen Hollingsworth, there were no further goals scored in the period. After the opening 20 minutes, Toronto led in shots on goal, 8–5, but still faced a one-goal deficit.
The first 10 minutes of the second period brought no change in the score, although there were plenty of chances on both ends. At 9:10 minutes into the period, York’s Lamothe was assessed a two-minute minor for cross-checking. The Blues’ power-play gave them a great opportunity with a strong sequence by forward Rylee Hlusiak and defenseman Mark Cooper, although they could not capitalize on it.
However, the Blues continued to persevere on the power-play as forward Brandon Santa Juana beat York goalie Matt Tovell to even the score at 1–1. The Blues would find the back of the net soon after at even strength, but the goal would be called back for goalie interference. A late penalty call on York forward Hunter Brown had the Blues entering the third period with yet another power-play.
Although the Blues did not capitalize on their power-play to open the third, there were healthy back-and-forth chances for the first five minutes. York forward Nich McKee would take a slashing penalty, giving the hot Blues power-play another chance.
At 5:18 minutes into the period, forward Ryan Evenhuis scored on a pass from forward Dylan Wightman, giving Toronto the lead with another power-play goal and taking the score to 2–1. Just over three minutes later, Blues forward Eddie Yan took the puck into the offensive zone, passing to forward Christian Stevens alone in front of the net, who beat Tovell over the glove and extended their lead to 3–1.
The Blues continued to dominate the third. With about nine minutes left in the period, Ramsey would execute a pass to Evenhuis that led to an eventual breakaway for Watt, who would score on the rebound and put the Blues up 4–1. With the Blues up by three, York opted to play goalie Alex Chu, but would pull him shortly after for the extra player, in which Watt would score his second goal of the game on an empty net. The Blues took the game with a dominant 5–1 score and 42 shots on goal, and the victory catapulted them to fourth in the OUA West standings.
What’s next?
The Blues went back into action on January 23, and took a 2–3 loss against the Toronto Metropolitan (TMU) Bold on home ice. Their current 11-7-3 record moves them to sixth in the OUA West standings. With less than a third of the season to go, they look to finish their season strong to position themselves well in the OUA Playoffs.
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