CIS men's hockey Saturday roundup: Top ranked UNB, McGill and Western defeated

The Ravens handed the Redmen their first regulation loss last week, earning a 4-0 victory on home ice. With today's win, Carleton's record improves to 17-7-2 for 36 points and second place in the OUA East.

Justin Caruana (Orono, Ont.) got things started for Carleton less than four minutes into the game, when he beat Redmen goalie Hubert Morin (St. Georges de Beauce, Que.).

Less than a minute later, Jeff Hayes (Ottawa) came streaking in and dropped the puck to a trailing Joe Pleckaitis (Toronto), who made no mistake and gave the Ravens a 2-0 lead.

With 34 seconds left on the clock in the second, Joey Manley (Ottawa) put Carleton up 3-0 heading into the final period of play.

The Redmen turned up the pressure in the third, holding the Ravens to just one shot for the first 15 minutes of the period. But Carleton netminder Ryan Dube (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) did a good job to keep them off the scoreboard, making 25 saves for his second shutout of the season.

The Ravens return to the Ice House for their last regular season home game on February 11 in a key matchup against the UQTR Patriotes. The puck drops at 7 p.m.

Source: Carleton Sports Info

The first period was a tight-checking affair, with the Varsity Reds holding a 9-6 edge in shots on goal. The only penalties in the opening frame came at the 16:59 mark when UNB's Ben Wright was assessed a 5-minute major for slashing and a game misconduct. SMU forward Chris MacKinnon was given a four-minute penalty for spearing and Justin Wallingford was given a roughing minor during the same stoppage. The result of play was a one-minute, four-on-three power-play for the Varsity Reds.

UNB couldn't convert with their 60-second man advantage, but were able to open the scoring with just 57 seconds remaining in the opening period on a goal by Daine Todd, his second of the season. Nick MacNeil and Marc-Antoine Desnoyers picked up assists on the even-strength goal which came just seconds after the UNB power-play ended.

Rookie forward Chris MacKinnon tied the game for the Huskies midway through the second period, snapping a shot past Travis Fullerton at the 10:22 mark for his 11th of the season with assists going to Colby Pridham and Kyle Wharton.

Cam Fergus scored the eventual game-winner five minutes later at 15:20, his team-leading 16th of the season and the 70th of his career, to give Saint Mary's a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes.

There were no penalties in the second period, which saw the Huskies outshoot the V-Reds 9-7.

SMU forward Brad Smith gave the defending CIS champions a two goal cushion with his second goal of the season, 10:13 into the final period with David MacDonald and Andrew Hotham picking up assists. The only penalty called in the final 20 minutes was a tripping infraction assessed to Cory Tanaka.

UNB outshot the Huskies 10-8 in the third and pulled Fullerton in the final minute for an extra skater, but could not beat Neil Conway. The Huskies went 0-for-1 on the power-play while the V-Reds were 0-for-2 with the man advantage.

Conway turned aside 25-of-26 shots and improved to 16-9-0 on the season while Fullerton allowed three goals on 23 shots and his win-loss record now stands at 14-4-0.

The V-Reds have already clinched first place in the AUS standings and their record now stands at 20-5-0 while the Huskies, who are battling for the other first round bye, improve to 16-9-1.

This was the fourth and final meeting of the regular season between these two teams and the home team has won every game in head-to-head play this season. UNB won the first game 5-2, the Huskies took the second game 3-1, and the V-Reds took the third game by a score of 4-1.

Notes: UNB head coach Gardiner MacDougall picked up his 200th career regular season win Friday night with a 2-1 win over the No. 7-ranked StFX X-Men in Antigonish. Including Saturday night's loss, MacDougall's career regular season record now sits at 200-87-18. Overall (reg. season + AUS playoffs + CIS championship games), he now has a coaching record of 241-114-18....V-Reds forward Hunter Tremblay, already the school's all-time leading scorer, was held point-less this weekend and remains in a tie for 15th place in career AUS regular season scoring points with 195 points in 106 games over his four-year career....Saint Mary's forward Cam Fergus is the next highest active leading scorer in league history. Fergus moved into the top 50 list of all-time AUS leading scorers this week. His 159 points in 106 career regular season games currently ranks tied for 46th on the all-time list.

Source: Saint Mary's Sports Information

The historic game, which commemorates the first hockey game played between the two schools back in 1886, was a rough and tumble affair that saw the two teams combine for 90 minutes in penalties.

Fittingly, the Gaels opened the scoring on the powerplay when Kelly Jackson of Toronto, put a bouncing puck past RMC goaltender Andrew Flemming of Quispamsis, N.B., midway through the first period.

RMC would respond in the second period with a pair of powerplay markers of their own. First, Matthew Pinder of Calgary, redirected home a point shot to square the game at one before Michael Soros of Ottawa, scored his first goal of the season to give the home team a 2-1 lead after two periods.

With the crowd behind the Paladins to start the third, the Gaels needed a spark and it came in the form of Jackson. The rookie forward would notch his second goal of the contest on a powerplay to tie the game at two.

From there, the Paladins fell apart, taking consecutive penalties to give Queen's a two-man advantage. Jonathon Lawrance of Steinbach, Man., would make RMC pay deflecting home an Alexi Pianosi (Halfiax, N.S.) point shot to give Queen's the 3-2 lead.

Just over a minute later, Patrick McEachen of Stouffville, Ont., sprung Scott Kenway of Calgary, on a breakaway and he made no mistake, putting a backhander high over the shoulder of Flemming to give the Gaels a two goal margin.

The Gaels would round out the scoring shorthanded when Jordan Soquila of Maple Ridge, B.C., made an almost identical move to Kenway and beat Flemming over the blocker.

Steele De Fazio of Georgetown, Ont., making his second consecutive Carr-Harris Cup start, got the win in net for Queen's, turning aside 21 shots. Flemming was handed the loss as he made 24 saves.

Following the game, Jackson was named the Queen's game MVP while Landon Lavictoire of Kirkland Lake, Ont., took home the honours for the Paladins.

The Gaels will now prepare for their final two games of the regular season. Queen's will face Ryerson on Friday night at the Memorial Centre before taking on the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday at Constantine Arena.

NOTE: Pinder's second period goal was the first time RMC had scored in the Carr-Harris Cup in 191 minutes and 23 seconds dating back to 2007-08...Jonathon Lawrance's game winner was his ninth of the season, setting a new career high for goals in a season for the Queen's captain

Source: Queen's Sports Info

With the win, the Blues are 10-10-0 and move into a tie with the Concordia Stingers for sixth place, while the Lakers drop to 16-8-3 and sit in third place in the OUA East.

Kay opened the scoring with what would be the eventual game-winner eight minutes into the second period on a Toronto powerplay. The Orono, Ont., native then set up Paul Dupont's goal on another man advantage 6:24 into the third period.

First-year forward Michal Markovic would add an insurance marker with 17 seconds remaining in the game to secure the 3-0 upset victory.

Rookie goaltender Garrett Sheehan made 23 saves and earned his first career shut out in the victory.

The Varsity Blues return to the ice next Friday, February 11 when they host the Lakers at Varsity Arena. The Blues will honour their graduating players prior to the puck drop at 7:30 p.m.

Source: Toronto Sports Info

It would be James Marsden (Exeter, Ont.) and Alexander Poulter (Broomfield, Co.) who would come through for the Golden Hawks, each pocketing a goal on the night.

Andrew Loverock (Elmvale, Ont.) made the start for the Gryphons and stood tall, stopping 22 of 24 shots for his fourth win in as many starts.

Ryan Daniels was between the pipes for Laurier and put forth a valiant effort making 31 saves, but was saddled with the loss.

The Gryphons move to 14-10-2 with the victory, while Laurier drops to 14-7-5.

Loverock was tested early in the first period and looked sharp for the Gryphons. Stoning a Laurier forward on a shallow breakaway, Loverock ended up sprawled on his stomach, but didn't stop his magic there, proceeding to make saves from this awkward position on two extra efforts from the Golden Hawks. Of course, the excited Gryphon fans responded accordingly, with cowbells ratling.

Despite the efforts of Loverock throughout the frame, it would be the Golden Hawks who got on the board first at 15:58 in the period. Out-muscling the Gryphon defense in the corner, Laurier managed to pull the puck free and get a shot on net. While the initial play was unsuccessful, Poulter was sitting on the doorstep and banged the loose puck into the back of the net.

It would take Guelph almost two periods before getting on the score sheet, but when they did they made it count. With just 20 seconds separating goals, the Gryphons managed to catch the Golden Hawks and take the lead in the later part of the second period.

The Gryphons would get started when Zach Lillie stepped over the Laurier blue line and wired a wrist shot over the far shoulder of Daniels, evening the score at one. Before the Golden Hawks had time to contemplate the first goal, the Gryphons were back in their zone ready to do more damage.

Lillie, now looking to share the wealth, fed Ed Gale in the neutral zone, providing a lane to the net. Gale, who assisted the first goal, fired the puck on net hard and while his shot was be turned down by Daniels, it was too much to absorb and the puck was left on the ice in front of the Laurier netminder. J.T. MacDonald, making use of his unmatchable speed, hustled to the net before Daniels could react and shoveled the puck top-shelf from in close. The Gryphons would enjoy their first lead of the game going into the second intermission.

Both teams would find themselves in penalty trouble in third period, but surprisingly it would be the short-handed Golden Hawks who would find the back of the net first. Midway through the frame Laurier forward, James Marsden, hammered the puck on net from the sideboards and the howitzer passed through Loverock, tying the game at two apiece.

Just a few minutes later, while on another powerplay, the Gryphons made a strong, offensive surge into the Laurier end. Gale, crossing the blue line, spun and dropped the puck for a trailing Ken Peroff, who would finish the play in style. Slowing down and using a shoulder fake, Peroff forced Daniels to make a move and the goaltender ended up on his knees outside the crease. Peroff continued on his path and dangled the puck around Daniels, tucking it neatly on the other side of the goal line to restore the lead, 3-2.

The Gryphons spent the rest of the period fighting off the Golden Hawks, who were relentless in their attempts to knot the game once again. Fortunately for Guelph, their hard work paid off and Gale put an end to the fight with an empty-net goal as the final seconds ticked down, resulting in a 4-2 victory for the Gryphons.

The Gryphons will finish their regular season on the road next weekend, visiting the York Lions on Friday (Feb. 11), and taking on the Western Mustangs on Saturday (Feb. 12). Stay tuned to gryphons.ca for post-season details.

Source: Guelph Sports Info

Kyle Wetering scored for the Ridgebacks while Nathan Spaling and Josh Vatri added empty net goals to secure the victory.

The first period remained scoreless despite several opportunities from both teams. Mustangs goaltender Josh Unice stopped Ridgebacks attacker Kevin George on a breakaway attempt at 8:39. Unice also made two key saves in the dying seconds of the frame to hold UOIT off and remain tied after 20 minutes.

Tempers flared as both clubs searched for the first goal of the evening. Western and UOIT met last weekend and the Mustangs claimed a 7-3 victory, adding five goals in the second period. Western outshot the Ridgebacks 15-12 in the second frame of tonight's contest, but could not secure a goal.

Mustangs Chris Rocca had a goal called off at 3:24 as Ridgebacks goaltender Jason Guy was pushed into the net. Guy held the goal-line for UOIT and robbed Western of countless offensive opportunities.

UOIT notched the first goal at 5:56 of the third period as Kyle Wetering beat the Mustangs defender on the left wing boards and walked down low, beating Unice with a hard shot on the ice on the far side.

Unice was solid in net for the whole 60 minutes including a sprawling pad save to hold his team in the game. Western outshot the UOIT Ridgebacks 43-39.

With less than two minutes remaining, Unice headed to the bench as Western's extra-attacker jumped on the ice, looking for a tying goal. Spaling gained possession of the puck and fired a shot into the empty net for a 2-0 lead.

With time still left on the clock, Unice skated to the bench one more time, but the Mustangs could not find an opening as Vatri lobbed another goal into the unprotected net for a 3-0 final.

With two games left in regular season, Western (20-2-4) holds first place position in the OUA West Division with 44 points. Laurier (14-7-5) is currently ranked second with 33 points while Lakehead (15-9-2) sits in third with 32. Among 19 teams in both OUA divisions, Western is second in goals for with 114 and second in goals against with 65.

Western will travel to Brock University on Feb. 11 for a 7:30 p.m. game.

Source: Western Sports Info

With a head of steam, rookie forward Colton Grant got his fifth goal of the season at just the right time for Calgary, wristing it past the stick side of Manitoba goaltender Steve Christie with just under eight minutes to go. The snipe successfully halted any Bisons momentum created from two consecutive power play goals to start the third period.

Calgary (13-8-2) sits in third place, with Manitoba two points behind at 11-7-4.

Calgary will enjoy a weekend off next week, while Manitoba will return home where they will host the UBC Thunderbirds for a two-game series.

Source: Calgary Sports Info

Real Cyr made 12 stops in the Alberta goal to earn the victory, his fifth of the season. Regina's freshman goalie, AJ Whiffen, did yeoman's work for the Cougars by stopping 47 shots to earn the third star of the night.

Alberta is now 15-5-2 record, first in Canada West. Regina (7-15-2) finds itself officially eliminated with from playoff contention.

Terrance DeLaronde spoiled Cyr's shutout bid.

Source: Alberta Sports Info