CIS men's hockey Saturday roundup: Ravens hand No. 2 Redmen first regulation loss of regular season

This marks the Redmen's first loss in regulation this season and improves Carleton's record to 15-7-2.

The Ravens came out strong in the first, with consistent pressure on the Redmen defence, outshooting the visiting team 10-3 in the first half of the period. Their tenacity paid off when Linden Bahm (Kinburn, Ont.) found the back of the net with eight minutes to go before the first intermission.

The Ravens kept up that momentum in the second and on a powerplay opportunity eight minutes in, Andrew Self (Peterborough, Ont.) slapped the puck through the Redmen defence and past goalie Antoine Tardif (Daveluyville, Que.) to put the Ravens up 2-0.

With a little over four minutes to go, Joe Pleckaitis (Toronto) notched a goal of his own, ending the period with the home team up 3-0.

The Ravens would grab one more in the third when forward Joey Manley (Ottawa) scored his third goal in two games this weekend and put the Ravens up 4-0.

With the Redmen unable to get on the scoreboard, Ravens' netminder, Ryan Dube (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.), recorded his first shutout of the season.

Both teams were without some of their top athletes, who are representing Canada at the Winter Universiade in Turkey. Raven Brandon MacLean (Burlington, Ont.) scored in a 3-2 shootout loss to Belarus today in Canada's second of three preliminary round games, giving him four goals so far at the tournament.

The Ravens will head across town next week, taking on the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees Friday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m.

Source: Carleton Sports Info

The Golden Hawks would get on the board early with a goal from Ryan Bernardi (Etobicoke, Ont.) at 2:42 of the first period. Jordan Bonneville (St. Agatha. Ont.) added a power play marker for his second of the year. Thirteen seconds later, Mitchell Good of Wellesley, Ont. would pad Laurier's lead with his sixth.

The York Lions would claw their way back with a goal from Kitchener, Ont. native Matt Thompson in the second.

Chris Jones (Grafton, Ont.) would net his fifth of the year five minutes into the third period. The goal would cut the lead to one. Unable to score, the Lions would pull Travis Rolheiser (Edmonton) with a minute left in the game. He made 18 saves on 21 shots.

The strategy would not pay off as Zack Woolford (Rockwood, Ont.) would find the back of the empty net for a 4-2 Laurier victory. Ryan Daniels (Pickering, Ont.) had another solid outing blocking 26 of 28 shots. In all twenty-five Laurier games, Daniels has a 14-6-5 record with a .929 save percentage and a 2.52 goals against average. His .929 save percentage leads the CIS.

The Hawks have three games remaining in the regular season. Their next game is away on Saturday, February 5 against Guelph. The game begins at 7:30 p.m.

Source: Laurier Sports Info

After a scoreless first period, the Patriotes would score four unanswered goals in the second period alone. The Gee-Gees were unable to muster any offense in the frame and were outshot in the game 30-22.

"It was almost like a déjà-vu of last week," said head coach Dave Leger, "They were just as banged up and we made it a soft night for their team. They're a great team and if you let a team skate they're going to get their chances."

The Gee-Gees lone goal came in the third period from first-year forward Steve Blunden, Ottawa, Ont., on the power-play. Taking a nice cross-ice pass from third-year forward Sean Smyth, Clarence Creek, Ont., Blunden would bat in the puck on a wide open UQTR net. However there was no consolation in the goal for the rookie.

"I'd much prefer to have the two points as a team," said Blunden, "We want to finish strong."

Despite the four-goal second period, third-year goalie Aaron Barton, Carlisle, Ont., came up huge for the Gee-Gees on a number of occasions, including a sprawling save in the third period to prevent the Patriotes from scoring 5.

The Gee-Gees next game will see them take on cross-town rivals Carleton (15-7-2 OUA) in their last home game before the playoffs on February 4th at 7:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Rogers and webcast on SSN Canada.

Source: Ottawa Sports Info

While Pat Campbell got the glory for putting home the game-winner, Justin Gvora (Thunder Bay, Ont.) was the offensive star for the Gryphons this evening, netting the tying goal midway through the third and tallying assists on both of the other Gryphon goals. Andrew Merrett (Vernon, Ont.) also looked very solid tonight with a goal and an assist, while managing to keep up an aggressive front all game.

Lakehead's points were distributed evenly between three Thunderwolves. Victor Annilane (Gothenburg, Sweden) and Ryan Magill (Thunder Bay, Ont.) each picked up a goal and an assist, while Brennan Menard (Thunder Bay, Ont.) chipped in two helpers.

Andrew Loverock started for the Gryphons again this evening and showed his teammates he has what it takes to be the go-to guy, stopping 30 of 32 shots and coming away with the win.

At the opposite end of the ice, Alex Dupuis (Thunder Bay, Ont.) also got his second-straight start and performed well for the Thunderwolves, making 30 saves, but unfortunately suffering the loss.

With the win the Gryphons find themselves moving up the ranks in the OUA West, now sitting in 6th with a 12-10-2 record. Lakehead remains in 3rd in the OUA West, but their record slides to 14-8-2.

Both the Gryphons and Thunderwolves came out strong in the first period of action. Staying relatively even throughout twenty minutes, the Thunderwolves outshot the Gryphons 10-9, but it would be the Gryphons who would pot the first goal and take the 1-0 lead at 14:15.

Facing off in the Lakehead zone, Matt Lyall won the draw cleanly back and the puck was scooped up by Gvora. Dancing around the edge of the faceoff circle to find an open lane, Gvora broke to the net then dished the puck to Merrett, who was straddling the goal line. Merrett made a quick deke in front of Dupuis and, smoothly transferring to his backhand, buried the puck, five-hole, on the Lakhead netminder.

Lakehead worked themselves into a great opportunity to even the score with just under a minute left in the frame, but Loverock came up big for the Gryphons, sprawling across the crease and covering up the puck outstretched on his back.

Lakehead came out refreshed in the second period, looking to even the score and managed to accomplish that and more. Lakehead would catch a lucky break on their first goal, as Gvora, on his way to pick up the puck deep in the zone, tripped and slid into the endboards, leaving the puck free for the taking. The Thunderwolves gained possession and the puck was sent to Magill, who took advantage of an open opportunity and snapped the puck behind Loverock before he could adjust.

With the score now even at one, both teams battled to gain the lead and Lakehead would jump on top after a miscommunication by the Gryphons resulted in a turnover in their own zone. Menard would get a quick chance in alone on Loverock, who made the initial save, but Annilane was sitting on the doorstep and banged the loose puck into the back of the net. The Thunderwolves would enjoy a 2-1 lead heading to their dressing room after forty minutes.

The Gryphons were reignited in the third period and let Lakehead know early in the frame that they weren't going down easy, getting a number of good opportunities while on back-to-back penalty kills. Eventually the Gryphons' efforts would pay off and they would knot the game at two on a goal by Gvora at 12:49 in the period.

Gvora would end the play in style, but it was the aggressive play of Merrett along the boards that provided Gvora with an open chance on Dupuis. Engaging and challenging a Lakehead defender just inside the Thunderwolves' blue line, Merrett poked the puck to teammate Gvora, who was left to take on Dupuis head-on. Pulling out an arsenal of moves to confuse the Lakehead goalie, Gvora approached the top of the crease and neatly tucked the puck under the pad of Dupuis.

With the score tied 2-2 both squads moved the puck quickly and kept the tempo high in the hope of squeezing ahead of their opponent. However, regulation wouldn't be enough to decide the game and overtime followed soon after the buzzer for the end of the third.

It would only take half of the overtime period to find a winner in this one. Making another solid effort to find an open lane, Gvora worked the puck to the faceoff circle to the left of Dupuis and wired a shot off the goaltender's mask. Seemingly shaken up on play, Dupuis was slow to adjust and Campbell, racing down from the point, fired the rebound on net and rung the puck loudly off the post and into the meshing.

Sealing the 3-2 victory, the goal light ignited and the Gryphon bench emptied, as the team swarmed the owner of the game-winner along the boards.

The Gryphons will be back in action on Thursday, when they will host the visiting Waterloo Warriors. The puck will drop at 7:30pm at the Gryphon Centre.

Source: Guelph Sports Info

Veteran forwards Nathan Spaling (Drayton, Ont.) and Josh Vatri (Barrie, Ont.) each scored a pair of goals in the playoff clinching victory.

Vatri's power play goal at the 8:37 mark of the third period was the difference maker in Saturday's game, as the Barrie native put one past Waterloo goalie Keaton Hartigan to break the 3-3 stalemate.

Vatri leads the Ridgebacks in goals this season with eleven on the year. The third year sniper has been on a hot streak as of late as he has scored five goals in his last four games.

For Spaling, the two goal performance lifted his point total to 21 on the season. The 2009/10 UOIT athlete of the year has seven goals and 14 assists, ranking him in the top 20 in the OUA western conference scoring charts.

Along with the Ridgeback goal scorers, Scott Baker (Mactier, Ont.) also had a multi-point game with two assists on the night.

Jason Guy (Oshawa, Ont.) had a bounce back game in goal for UOIT as he made 22 saves for his eighth win of the year. Hartigan would stop 33 of 37 Ridgeback shots in the loss. Both teams went 2-for-6 with the man advantage.

Saturday marked the third time in January the teams faced off against one another, which resulted in the home team coming out on top in every game.

UOIT improves to 10-11-4 on the year and trail Windsor (11-11-3) and Guelph (12-10-2) by one and two points respectively. Waterloo picked up their third straight loss and fall to 14-10-1 (fourth place).

Saturday was the Ridgebacks final regular season home game of the regular season and TJ Legge (Chapleau, Ont.), Derrick Bagshaw (Oshawa, Ont.) and Spaling, all members of the inaugural team, were all honoured prior to the game.

The Ridgebacks will close out their regular season with three road games, beginning in Brock on Friday night (Feb. 4).

Source: UOIT Sports Info

With the season series now tied at one, the Lancers are 11-11-3 on the season and sit in 7th place in the OUA West division.

In a tight checking, penalty filled affair the Mustangs capitalized on their opportunities, scoring all three of their goals with the man advantage.

Western hoped out to an early lead as Josh McQuade scored 9 minutes in, with assists going to Julien Cimadamore and Steve Reese

The second period was much of the same as Matt Paltridge scored 2:26 in to give the Mustangs a 2-0 lead.

As the second period came to a close, Brett Oliphant scored the Lancers lone goal on Western goaltender Josh Unice, on a pass from Steve Ferry and Danny Anger.

Western would answer back after another penalty was taken by the Lancers. Kyle Lamb scored just one minute later from Adam McKee and Adam Nemeth.

Frank Dayus made 37 saves in the effort, while Unice had 43 for the Mustangs.

The Lancers will again face the Mustangs next weekend as they travel to London on Friday night with the season series evened at 1-1. Puck is set to drop at 7:30pm.

Windsor is back at home for their final regular season home game next Saturday February 5th when they host the Brock Badgers at 7:30pm.

The game is part of the Lancers annual "Blue & Gold & Pink" day in support of breast cancer research. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game, and commemorative event t-shirts will be available for sale as well, with all proceeds going towards breast cancer research.

Source: Windsor Sports Info

It was looking as if Saturday's contest might be an exact replica of the first game of the weekend series, as – just like Friday – a second-period goal by Dillon Johnstone gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead that held on to until the waning moments of regulation, but the script unravelled in the last minute of the third period.

Crowley's goal at 19:24 of the third gave Manitoba its first goal of the weekend, sending the game to overtime. Both teams only mustered one shot during the extra frame, setting the stage for Dittmer's heroics in the shootout.

Steve Christie made 21 saves in regulation and stymied the Cougars on all three of their shootout attempts, helping Manitoba improve to 11-5-4 as the Bisons move into a tie for second place in the Canada West standings with 26 points.

The Cougars, who got a masterful 32-save performance from A.J. Whiffen, move to 7-13-2 with the shootout loss.

Neither team was able to score on the power play, as Manitoba was 0-for-4 and Regina was 0-for-3 with the man advantage. Johnstone's goal came late in the second with Cody Gross in the penalty box serving a too many men penalty.

Manitoba will be on the road for the third and fourth consecutive games next weekend, as the Bisons will square off with the Calgary Dinos on Friday and Saturday. The Cougars will travel to Edmonton for a pair of games against the No. 4-ranked and Canada West-leading Alberta Golden Bears.

Source: Regina Sports Info

The victory gave the Huskies the weekend sweep in the series and a leg up in the log-jammed Canada West standings. With the win the Huskies move to 13-7-0 and sit in a tie for second place with the University of Manitoba Bisons (11-5-4), who split with the last-place University of Regina Cougars this weekend, at 26 points. Calgary falls to 11-8-2 and to third place. A night earlier, the Huskies won 6-3 over Calgary.

"Every team in the Canada West needs a win right now and we were glad to take ours this weekend," said Huskie head coach Dave Adolph.

Huskie defenceman Brett Ward opened the scoring in the game at 6:42 in the second period on the power play on a shot from the point. The Huskies had the man advantage after Joel Eisenkirch took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Andrew Bailey gave the Huskies a 2-0 lead at 18:40 in the same frame. Brennan Bosch scored the Huskies insurance goal 3:15 into the third period.

Both Calgary and Saskatchewan had trouble on the power play. The Huskies converted on just 1-of-8 chances, while the Dinos were 0-5 on the night with the man advantage.

Dinos' netminder Dustin Butler made 21 saves in the loss.

The Huskies travel to face the UBC Thunderbirds next weekend, while Calgary returns home to host the Manitoba Bisons.

Source: Saskatchewan Sports Info