OUA roundup: Ridgebacks stun No. 3 Mustangs, Western's win streak ends at 16

LONDON, Ont. - It was the UOIT Ridgebacks biggest win in the history of the men's hockey program Friday night as they upset the No. 3 nationally-ranked Western Mustangs 6-4 in London, Ont.

"The team battled hard tonight," said Marlin Muylaert, UOIT head coach. "The effort was there for us to pick up two big points in the standings as we continue fight for a playoff position. Even though it was a great win, there is no time to celebrate as we have to get ready for a tough game at home against Guelph in less than 24 hours."

The odds were stacked against a shorthanded Ridgebacks squad, who had only 15 skaters dressed while trying to snap a three game losing streak. Captain Derrick Bagshaw (Oshawa, Ont.) and team leading scoring Josh Vatri (Barrie, Ont.) were among the several key players sidelined in the game.

Western on the other hand, entered the match on a 16-game winning streak, with their last loss coming on Oct. 10, 2009 in their second conference game of the year. Mustangs head coach Clarke Singer was also one win shy of earning his 250th CIS victory.

The Mustangs opened up scoring in the game with an early goal, but UOIT would manage to bounce back with a pair of goals from Dustin Turner (Charlottetown) and Tony Rizzi (Kingston, Ont.) less than a minute apart to take a 2-1 lead. Western would respond with a goal of their own to knot things up at 2-2 heading into the break.

The teams would continue to trade goals throughout the second period, with both teams scoring two goals to remain tied after two. Nathan Spaling (Drayton, Ont.) and Brent Varty (Oshawa, Ont.) scored for UOIT.

In the third period, Pickering, Ont. native Kyle Wetering would break the 4-4 tie at the 8:35 minute mark, as he battled hard in front of the net, beating Western goalie Josh Unice to net the Ridgebacks fifth goal of the game. Wetering would add an insurance marker in the final seconds scoring an empty net goal to give UOIT the 6-4 victory.

"Kyle had a great game for us tonight," said Muylaert. "The score sheet proves it as he finished with two goals and an assist, but he also had a great defensive effort when we needed it."

After recording two goals in their prior three games, UOIT did a great job of regaining their scoring touch to knock off the Mustangs.

"Momentum seemed to be on our side tonight," said Muylaert. "When they (Western) would score to tie up the game, our guys responded with timely goals."

Jeff Dawson earned the win for the Ridgebacks, stopping 29 Western shots including all ten Mustang attempts in the third period. Keyvan Hunt, who had eight consecutive wins in net for Western, was pulled in the second period after letting in three goals on 11 shots. Josh Unice picked up the loss for Western allowing two goals on 10 shots. Western out shot UOIT 33-22.

Turner, Spaling and Jeff Barletta (Port Stanley, Ont.) would all end up with two points respectively.

Scoring for the Mustangs were Scott Aarssen, Kevin Baker, Chris Corbeil and Keaton Turkiewicz.

Both teams scored single goals on the power play, as UOIT went 1-for-3 with the man advantage while Western went 1-for-4.

UOIT (7-11-1) trails Brock (8-12-1) and Windsor (7-9-3) by two points for the final playoff positions in the western conference. The Badgers and Lancers both picked up losses on Friday night. Western (16-3-0) is tied with Laurier (14-4-2) for first place in the conference with 32 points apiece.

The Ridgebacks will be back in action Saturday night as they take on the Guelph Gryphons at the Campus Ice Centre. Puck drop for Scout's night is at 7:30 p.m.

MCGILL 2, UQTR 1

At McGill, the No. 5 Redmen (16-2-0) edged the No. 6 UQTR Patriotes 2-1 in a battle of OUA East heavyweights.

McGill opened the scoring as centre Alexandre Picard-Hooper scored his seventh of the season on assists by Francis Verreault-Paul and Andrew Wright.

It remained 1-0 until the third period when Jean-Sebastien Breton scored the equalizer for the Patriotes (14-3-1). Felix Petit and Etienne Bellavance-Martin earned helpers on Breton's 11th goal of the season.

Nearly two minutes later, left winger Marc-Andre Daneau netted the game-winning goal for the Redmen, on assists by Christophe Longpre-Poirier and Maxime Langelier-Parent.

Hubert Morin earned the win in net stopping 35 of 36 shots. Jean-Christophe Blanchard made 39 saves in a losing effort.

LAURIER 4, BROCK 2

At Wilfrid Laurier, the No. 9 Golden Hawks (14-4-2) scored four first-period goals and held on to a 4-2 win over the visiting Brock Badgers (8-12-0).

The Golden Hawks had a 2-0 lead before the 635 in attendance in the Sun Life Arena were comfortable in their seats. Mitchell Good and Nathan Peacock each scored their sixth goals of the season in the first 1:49.

The Badgers to their credit cut their deficit in half before the three-minute mark on a shot by defenceman Steve Pattison.

Midway through the opening period, Laurier struck again for two quick goals, taking a 4-1 lead. Centre Paul Bradley scored his 15th of the season, while teammate Craig Voakes netted his sixth.

That was all the scoring until midway through the third period, when Adam Schwark scored his first goal of the season for the Badgers.

LAKEHEAD 8, WINDSOR 6

At Lakehead, the Thunderwolves (12-5-0) won a barnburner 8-6 against the Windsor Lancers (7-9-2).

Three Thunderwolves scored two goals each, including left wingers Kris Hogg and Matt Caria and right winger Matt Dias. Right winger Andrew Wilkins and defenceman Pierre-Marc Guilbault contributed single goals for Lakehead.

Six different Lancers hit the back of the net for the Lancers, including defencemen Matt McCready and Kyle Lang, centres Kyle Tront, Kyle Nishizaki and Danny Anger, as well as right winger Mark Thorburn.

TORONTO 7, RYERSON 3

At Toronto, the Varsity Blues (9-7-1) jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead and cruised to a 7-3 victory over cross-town rival Ryerson Rams (7-11-0).

Toronto left winger Byron Elliott earned a hat trick for the Varsity Blues and now has 15 goals on the season. Adding single tallies for Toronto were Kyle Paige, Ed Snetsinger, Andrew Kizito and David Mooney.

Michael Paolo, Kevin Day and Matt Schmermund scored for the Rams.

QUEEN'S 5, NIPISSING 2

At Queen's, the Gaels (11-8-0) opened with five straight goals, defeating the visiting Nipissing Lakers 5-2.

Left winger Jordan Mirwaldt scored a natural hat trick in a winning cause and now has 13 goals on the season. Jeffrey Johnstone and Payton Liske both scored single goals, their ninth goals respectively.

Nipissing's Dan Watt ended Steele De Fazio's shutout bid 8:33 into the third period. Matt Lahey added another for the Lakers (7-11-0) before the end of regulation. De Fazio made 44 saves.

OTTAWA 4, CONCORDIA 3, SO

At Ottawa, the Gee-Gees (5-14-1) needed a shootout to defeat the Concordia Stingers 4-3.

Forwards Matthieu Methot, Simren Sandhu and Brandon McBride each scored regulation goals for the Gee-Gees.

Defenceman Michael Blundon and right wingers Peter James Corsi and Marc-André Element replied the Stingers (4-13-0).

The shootout lasted eight shooters each before Mikaël Morin put an end to the proceedings for Ottawa.

Source: UOIT Ridgebacks with files from OUA Communications