CIS men's hockey Friday roundup

It was a back and forth tilt the entire 60 minutes as Darren Burns was able to get a full effort from all four offensive lines.

The game started with a dramatic UPEI goal that was immediately waved off as Westblom was interfered with on the play. Although Acadia was given a powerplay after the non-goal, they were unable to convert with the man advantage.

Previously injured forwards Spencer Jezegou and Chris Bruton hit the ground running in their returns, as both contributed to the game physically, winning key battles along the boards as the clock ran down late in the third.

Graham Bona was issued a controversial (at best) 2 minute checking-from-behind minor and a ten minute misconduct with 6:28 remaining in the final period.

The two teams are right back at it Saturday night as the Axemen look to sweep the series with a win when they visit Charlottetown.

Source: Acadia Sports Info

The third game in the best-of-three series will take place tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at the Ice House.

Ryan Berard (Niagara Falls, Ont.) capitalized on an early two-man advantage for the Ravens as he beat Varsity Blues goalie Garrett Sheehan (Cremona, Alta.) just over a minute in for his second goal of the series.

The Ravens continued to pressure the Varsity Blues and their intensity paid off midway through the period when Joey Manley (Ottawa) scored off a rebound, giving Carleton a 2-0 lead.

With Carleton on a powerplay early in the second, Sheehan made an initial save off the Ravens' shot but lost sight of the loose puck and Manley put it away for his second of the night.

Blake Boddy (Ajax, Ont.) got Toronto on the board after he let go of a rocket from the point that beat Ravens goalie Matthew Dopud (Pointe-Claire, Que.) on the powerplay with under six minutes to play in the second.

The goal gave the Varsity Blues some life and Paul Dupont (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) made it a 3-2 game with a shorthanded marker.

But the Ravens regained their two-goal lead less than 30 seconds later when Andrew Self's (Peterborough, Ont.) shot went off a Varsity Blues player and into the back of the net.

Third-period goals by Brandon MacLean (Burlington, Ont.) and Jeff Hayes (Ottawa) put the Ravens up 6-2.

Matt Walters (Winnipeg) cut the Ravens lead in half before Manley responded seconds later with his third of the night, rounding out the scoring in the game.

Dopud made 31 saves for the win.

Source: Carleton Sports Info

Nipissing struck first in this game as Dorian Peca of Oakville, Ont. scored the first goal roughly ten minutes into the game. The lead would not last for long though as Gaels' sniper Jordan Mirwaldt of Winnipeg evened the game 30 seconds later. Queen's would pull ahead for the first time when Jordan Soquila of Maple Ridge, B.C. scored a minute after Mirwaldt. The Lakers would tie the game before the period expired as Brogan Bailey of Lunenberg, N.B. scored with three minutes remaining in the period.

Queen's would jump ahead once again as Ben Munroe of Kingston, Ont., scored a power play goal eight minutes into the second period. That goal would be as close as the Gaels came to extending this series however, as Nipissing dominated for the remainder of the game. Andrew Marcoux of Rockwood, Ont., Dan Watt of Winnipeg, and Sam Hopewell of Almonte, Ont., all scored prior to the end of the second period, and Watt's goal would stand as the eventual game winner.

Halfway through the third period Lucas McKinley of Fredricton, N.B., would ice the game for Nipissing with the second Laker power play goal.

Steele De Fazio of Georgetown, Ont., played the duration of the game in net for the Gaels and stopped 29 of 35 shots on goal. Kelly Jackson of Toronto contributed two assists to the Gaels effort, while Colin Bergman of Calgary, Brock Ouellet of Lindsay, Ont., and Stephane Chabot of Rockland, Ont. would add the others. Chabot was later ejected from the game for hitting from behind.

The Gaels are now eliminated from the OUA playoffs after losing two consecutive games in the three game series. Queen's fell in the series opener by a 7-0 score.

Source: Queen's Sports Info

Guelph would tie the game 6:26 into the second period as Andrew Merret slid a shot past Kurt Jory (Brandon, Man.) for the shorthanded marker.

Just over a minute later, Brock would regain their one goal lead, as senior Ryan Allen (Fort McMurray, Alta.) slid a two-on-one pass across to Abercrombie who buried a wrist shot over the glove of Loverock.

Before the end of the second period, freshman Jake LaPlante (Mississauga, Ont.) blasted a slapshot from the high point over the shoulder of Loverock for the 3-1 lead.

Midway through the third period, Guelph would cut the lead to one as Justin Gvora beat Jory on the wraparound. Just 17 seconds later, the Gryphons tied the game 3-3 with a one-timer from Cale Jefferies which beat Jory five-hole.

With a 1:46 left in regulation, Brock freshman Kaine Geldart (Kingston, Ont.) would find freshman Jordan Gignac (Hamilton, Ont.) on the corner of the crease who slid it past Loverock for the game winner and his third of the postseason.

Jory recorded 24 saves for his first postseason victory of his career while Loverock added 19 saves in the loss.

The third an deciding game of this best 2-of-3 series will be at Guelph on Sunday, February 20th at 7:30 pm.

Source: Brock Sports Info

First period penalty trouble cost the Gee-Gees men’s hockey team any hope of forcing a third game in the OUA East quarter final Friday night as they dug themselves into a deep six-goal hole against the McGill Redmen, who bounced the uOttawa from the postseason in a 10-5 win.

As tensions were already high, a series of small fights found two Gee-Gees occupying the penalty box for most of the first period. McGill capitalized on the Gee-Gees unruly play, scoring six unanswered goals in the first period alone.

“It was a real unfortunate start,” said head coach Dave Leger, “There were too many breakdowns at critical times.”

The second period saw the Gee-Gees bounce back and pick up some momentum. Third-year defensemen Scott Ashton, Ottawa, Ont., opened scoring in the second for uOttawa, getting the puck past third-year McGill goalie Hubert Morin to put the score at 7-1. From that point on, the Gee-Gees played a defensively and offensively sound game, outshooting the Redmen 10-9 in the second and 12-6 in the third.

“I think the school should be proud,” added Leger, “but I’m proud of how our guys battled right to the end.”

First-year forward Kyle Ireland, Rosetown, Sask., also made his mark in the game, scoring a hat-trick with two goals coming on the power play. Ireland was also named the game’s third star.

“It’s bittersweet,” said Ireland, “We fell into that hole really early and we battled back with a lot of heart. I think that’s the most important thing.”

This concludes the 2010-2011 season for the Gee-Gees. Look for a season wrap-up on www.geegees.ca in the coming days.  

Source: Ottawa Sports Info

Both teams came out a little timid early-on, not wanting to make any mistakes. Lakehead seemed intent on playing physical, especially Andy Hyvarinen and Brock McPherson, who both delivered some jarring hits early on. McPherson was all over the ice in the first, ripping a shot off the post towards the end of the period.

Waterloo's Josh Schappert scored just 31 seconds into the second period, deflating the Thunderwolves and killing their first period momentum. Lakehead goaltender Alex Dupuis was strong, and made some big saves including one on a partial breakaway to keep Lakehead in the game.

The third period saw a flurry of action, with Lakehead dominating the Warriors. But the Wolves were unable to solve Waterloo goalie Keaton Hartigan, who was great all night, especially in the final minutes of the game. Waterloo captain Chris Ray high on the short side of Dupuis at 17:37 of the third to seal the game. Waterloo then added an empty-netter with barely any time on the clock.

This was the first time in ten years that Lakehead has been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs

Source: Lakehead Sports Info

The third and deciding game will take place on Sunday, February 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Waterloo, Ont.

Game two was a mirror image of the opening game one night earlier, as both teams played a gritty game with excellent goaltending stealing the show.

After fighting off a Laurier power play early in the second, Scott Baker (Mactier, Ont.) would find Jeremy Whelan (Pickering, Ont.) coming out of the box with a home run pass to send the third year forward in on a breakaway. Whelan would make no mistake as the buried a backhand past Laurier goalie Ryan Daniels to put the Ridgebacks ahead 1-0.

This was the second time in as many nights in which Whelan would score the game's opening goal.

Laurier would bounce back with a goal of their own midway through the second period, as Zack Wollford scored his second goal of the series, leveling the score at 1-0.

In the third frame, Jason Guy (Whitby, Ont.) and Daniels combined to make 18 saves, shutting down both offences and forcing the game into overtime for the second straight night.

In the first overtime period, both teams had good scoring opportunities with five shots apiece, but the goaltenders would stand strong and not allow a goal to force another overtime period.

The Ridgebacks opened up double OT with three shots in the opening minutes, but were unable to net the series clincher. Minutes later, Laurier's Garrett Sinfield was able to beat the UOIT defence to the loose puck, as he sent in Reid all alone who beat Guy through the five-hole to score the game winner and send the series back to Waterloo.

Guy made 37 saves for UOIT, allowing just the two goals in the game. Jeff Daniels was just as impressive as he stopped 42 of 43 Ridgeback shots to pick up the win. Daniels and Guy have posted a goals against average of 1.25 in the playoffs, tied for the second best average in the OUA.

Both power plays were shutout on Friday night as Laurier went 0-for-3 and UOIT went 0-for-4.

The 2-1 double overtime decision was the longest game in UOIT men's hockey program history going over 72 minutes.

Source: UOIT Sports Info

With the loss the Lancers went 0-2 over two nights and lost the best of three series to end their season.

The Blue & Gold struggled to find their footing in the first period, giving up 3-0 goals to the Mustangs in the opening twenty minutes.

Head coach Kevin Hamlin's intermission talk had a positive effect on the Lancers as came out strong and focused. Down a man only a few minutes into the period, the Lancers did not let that stop them as they scored their first goal of the game on the short hand.

Tom Craig scored his first goal of the post season after accepting from Brett Vandehogen to put hte past behind Western's Josh Unice to bring Windsor within two.

Heading into the third, Windsor was still down a pair of goals and despite a tremendous effort and a number of scoring chances, the puck did not bounce in the Lancers favour, keeping the team down by two. Windsor out-shot the Mustangs 14-5 in the final frame.

After a Windsor time-out with less than two minute remaining, the home team pulled goaltender Jim Watt in favour of the extra man.

The strategy worked as captain Kyle Lang scored his first of the playoffs with less than a minute remaining to put the Lancers within one.

The Lancers kept Watt on the bench in favour of the extra man with eyes on the tying goal. Unfortunately off the ensuing face-off, Western squeaked one past the Lancer defence into the empty net.

Source: Windsor Sports Info