CIS men's hockey Friday roundup: X-Men clinch playoff berth with shootout win over Saint Mary's

WOLFVILLE, NS - Joe Gaynor's eventual game winner late in the third period and eighth goal of the season, gave the Axemen a 4-2 win over the Dalhousie Tigers in Acadia's last home game of the regular season.The Axemen improve to 16-9-2, resulting in a final home record of 9-4-1 and snapping a four game losing streak. Needing the win tonight against Acadia, the Tigers drop to 7-17-3, losing their chance to squeeze into post season play in sixth place.
 
The Axemen opened the scoring early in the first period with a goal coming from rookie forward Joel Ridgeway who returned after missing 13 games due to injury. Ridgeway scored off of a hard slap shot that beat Tiger goalie Bobby Nadeau low on the glove hand side, giving Ridgeway his second goal of the season and Acadia a 1-0 lead.
 
Acadia’s second goal of the night came on a short handed play early in the second period. Axemen forwards Liam Heelis and Andrew Clark broke out into the Dalhousie zone that saw Clark backhanding in his 15th goal of the season shorthanded. Heading into the final game of the regular season, Clark leads the AUS scoring race with 39 points, including 15 goals and 24 asssists in 27 games. Teammate Chris Owens leads the AUS defensement with 10 goals and 19 assists.
 
Just over two minutes into the final frame, Dalhousie Tiger Francois Gauthier fired a shot top shelf on Axemen goalie Peter DiSalvo, cutting Acadia’s lead in half. Seven minutes later, Tiger Brett Plouffe pushed the puck past DiSalvo to tie the score at two, giving Dalhousie a boost in momentum.
 
Fortunately for Acadia, the Axemen would respond quickly to the Plouffe goal with a goal from second year forward Joe Gaynor. Gaynor scored on a Bobby Nadeau rebound off of Paul Kurceba's shot from the blueline,  It was Gaynor's eighth goal of the season, giving Acadia its second lead of the night.
 
With under eight minutes remaining in the game, Axemen rookie Alex Beaton shoved in a lose puck off of an Adam McIllwraith shot on net to give the Axemen a two point lead and the eventual 4-2 win. The game closed out with the Axemen taking a 31-24 shot on goal advantage over the Tigers.
 
With a victory in hand and only one more game remaining in the regular season, the playoff picture is beginning to take shape but still unclear on whether Acadia has an opportunity to move from fifth place to fourth in the next 24 hours. Tied at 34 points with UPEI, the Axemen will hope for a Panther loss to St. Thomas and an Acadia win against Saint Mary's in the last regular season game scheduled for 7pm in Halifax against the Huskies.

Game Notes: Ryan Graham will return for his first regular season game of the season after suffering a concussion and sitting out until now. Leo Jenner has been given the go-ahead to join the Axemen after an injury to his spleen in November sidelined the 6' 4" defenseman. Jenner will probably see ice time in the second round of the playoffs if the Axemen make it to this point in post season play.

Senior graduating Axemen Adam McIllwraith, Paul Kurceba and Ryan Graham were honoured prior to the opening faceoff. All three will graduate this year with a Bachelor of Business Adminstration degree.

Source: Acadia Sports Info

The first period saw a lot of scoring. The X-Men opened the flood gates early as Bryce Swan fed Michael Kirkpatrick in the slot and he roofed a shot over Huskies goaltender Neil Conway’s shoulder 52 seconds into the game. Saint Mary’s was able to capitalize less than four minutes later when Cory Tanaka scored on a nice passing play from Colby Pridham and Brad Smith while on the power play at 4:17.

The first intermission was a good time for both teams to settle down and get back to their game plans. Saint Mary’s started the second period with a new goalie, as Anthony Peters came in for relief for Conway after he allowed three goals on six shots. The pace slowed down in the second frame as both StFX and Saint Mary’s were waiting to capitalize on a mistake.

The third period was played defensively, as each team mustered only seven shots a piece. Saint Mary’s was the team that was able to make the most of their opportunities however, as Pridham closed the score to 4-3 when he buried the puck past Perricone at the 3:29 mark from O’Keefe and Tyler Cuthbert. Lucas Bloodoff was than able to complete the comeback for the Huskies as he put a low shot under the pads of Perricone at the 7:05. Tanaka assisted on the play for his third point of the night. The Huskies continued their third period pressure late in the game, but Perricone held his ground and guided the X-Men into overtime as the 4-4 deadlock remained after regulation.

Ten minutes of four-on-four overtime was unable to solve anything. Shots were 6-4 in favor of the X-Men in the extra period.

As the shootout ensued, Saint Mary’s selected Cam Fergus, Colby Pridham and Brad Smith as their three shooters while the X-Men chose Michael Kirkpatrick, Jason Bast and Kevin Undershute. Kirkpatrick was able to start the shootout with a pretty goal, netting one high over an outstretched Peters.

Fergus skated down and misfired on Perricone, while Bast was unable to solve Peters on the X-Men’s second attempt. Huskies second shooter Pridham couldn’t get one past Perricone, so it gave Kevin Undershute the chance to seal the victory for the X-Men. He skated down ice but was unable to score as Peters made the save. Huskies Brad Smith needed to score to keep the shootout going, but his shot was turned aside from Perricone as the X-Men won the game and the two points that punched their ticket to the AUS playoffs in exciting fashion.

Overall shots in the game were 42-32 for the Huskies. Subway Player of the Game Joey Perricone played very strong in nets for the blue and white, making 38 saves. Neil Conway and Anthony Peters combined for 28 saves for the Huskies.

With the win the X-Men (9-14-4) clinched the sixth and final playoff spot. They play their final regular season game tomorrow night in Halifax against the seventh place Dalhousie Tigers (7-17-3). The Tigers were eliminated from playoff contention with the X-Men victory, combined with their 4-2 loss to Acadia.

Source: StFX Sports Info 

OTTAWA - The Carleton University Ravens men’s hockey team clinched a playoff berth on Friday with a 6-3 win over rival UQTR at the Ice House.

Carleton is now fifth in the OUA East with 31 points.

Andrew Glass (Boston, Mass.) scored twice in a four-goal first period for the Ravens, while Brandon MacLean (Burlington, Ont.), Jeff Hayes (Ottawa), Michael Folkes (Burlington, Ont.) and Shane Bakker (Navan, Ont.) also added goals in another classic high-scoring, hostile affair between OUA East rivals.

The Ravens would get a chance early in the first to open the scoring with a power play opportunity, but after a mistake in the attacking zone, Tommy Tremblay (LaTuque, Que.) struck shorthanded for the Patriotes to give UQTR an early 1-0 lead.

Marty Johnston’s Ravens didn’t let that affect them though, as they stormed back with four unanswered goals. Glass scored his third and fourth goals of the season in the period, giving him 11 points in as many games this season.

Folkes and Hayes also helped Carleton storm out to a 4-1 lead through 20 minutes.

In the second period, MacLean and Pierre-Alexandre Joncus (Matane, Que.) exchanged goals to make it 5-2 heading into the third.

From there, Carleton’s defense took over, giving up just one shot on goal against Matthew Dopud (Pointe-Claire, Que.) in the first 10 minutes of the period. Maxime Gravel (Chateau-Richer, Que.) finally buried UQTR’s third goal of the game with just under five minutes to go.

A Carleton penalty just seconds later concerned Ravens fans that another late third period collapse could be on the horizon. But the Ravens rose to the occasion on the ensuing power play, and Bakker ultimately added an empty netter to seal the deal for the Ravens.

Dopud was effective in goal for the Ravens, stopping 32 of the 35 shots he faced while swallowing up many of those shots without giving up rebounds.

The Ravens are back in action on Saturday, Feb. 11 to battle the Concordia Stingers in their regular season finale. The puck drops at 3 p.m.

Source: Carleton Sports Info

OTTAWA - With their playoff hopes on the line, the uOttawa Gee-Gees hosted the OUA East top dog McGill Redmen on Friday evening at the uOttawa Minto Sports Complex. Despite putting out their best effort of the season against the Redmen the garnet and grey would come up just short, losing 3-2.

It was clear from the get-go that the Gee-Gees knew they needed a strong performance in order punch their ticket to the post season. The two teams drew neck and neck in the first frame, exchanging odd man rushes and power play opportunities. But it was the goalies who stole the spotlight in the first frame, as Gee-Gee goaltender Russell Abbott (Mill Bay, B.C.) stopped all 13 shots he faced and McGill’s rookie goaltender Mark Segal turned aside the six shots the Gee-Gees generated.

Finally, 4:14 into the second period, Redmen defenseman Ryan McKiernan fired a power play point shot past Abbott to break the deadlock. McKiernan was given plenty of space to walk in and fired the clapper through a screen and over Abbott’s right shoulder.

The OUA East’s third best power play was not done there, making the most of another man advantage with a goal from speedy sniper Francis Verrault-Paul that found its way through heavy traffic, leaving Abbott no chance on the play.

“We had plenty of chances to get the puck out on their power play, and we didn’t,” said Gee-Gees head coach Réal Paiement. “It’s those kind of mistakes that we cannot make against those teams and expect them not to jump all over them.”

The Gee-Gees would manage to pull within one goal shortly thereafter though, with a tap in goal by rookie Maxime Chamberland (Chateauguay, Que). Goaltender Segal was sprawled out of position when the puck squeaked out to the open side for Chamberland to finish.

The two teams would exchange goals in the third period, but it was at the 18:50 mark of the final frame when controversy struck. Gee-Gees forward Stephen Blunden (Ottawa, Ont.) redirected a point shot to tie the game, but not before the official called Blunden on goaltender interference, negating the goal and leaving the Gee-Gee faithful up in arms. 

It wasn’t all bad news for the Gee-Gees though, as a Ryerson loss elsewhere in OUA action Friday night solidified a playoff spot for the garnet and grey. Their ultimate position in the division will be determined after their final performance on Saturday evening at the uOttawa Minto Sports Complex against the UQTR Patriotes.

“UQTR is the type of team that, if you aren’t going to play hard against them, they are going to get the odd-man advantages to put the puck in, so we are going to have to be very solid defensively and play more desperate around the net offensively,” said Paiement.

Source: Ottawa Sports Info

TORONTO – The Guelph Gryphon men’s hockey team completed their regular season schedule tonight with a 5-3 loss to the York Lions at York.

The Gryphons finish the regular season with a 9-14-5 record and in seventh place in the OUA West Division.  The Gryphons will play either the Lakehead Thunderwolves or the Waterloo Warriors in a best-of-three West Division quarter-finals series.  The Gryphons will not have home-ice advantage. 

Graduating senior Kris Belan (Florence, Ont.) scored all three Gryphon goals tonight while Cody St. Jackques (Iroquois Falls, Ont.) was in net making 30 of 35 saves.

For all playoff information and schedules please visit gryphons.ca for regular updates. 

Source: York Sports Info

TORONTO - In his final regular-season home game, fifth-year defenceman Dan Brewer registered three points to lead the Varsity Blues men’s hockey team to a 6-0 rout of the RMC Paladins on Friday, February 10 at Varsity Arena.

With the win, the Blues (15-9-3) gain a crucial two points to remain tied with the Carleton Ravens for fourth in the East division with one game in hand.

A Cambridge, Ont. native, Brewer was honoured prior to the game along with fellow graduating teammates Bryden Teich (Toronto), Jeff Zippel (Elmira, Ont.), Paul Dupont (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.), Byron Elliott (Burlington, Ont.), and team captain Andrew Kizito (Toronto).

Brewer scored a goal and added two assists, while Scarborough, Ont. native Kyle Ventura scored twice on the powerplay. Michael Markovic (Toronto), and Cassidy Preston (North Bay, Ont.) each had a goal and an assist in the win.

The Blues penalty kill was tested early in the game, and answered the challenge, killing off a string of penalties in the first period, including a 5-on-3 advantage.

Special teams came through in the second as well, with Ventura making good on two powerplay opportunities. Ventura, who went to the dirty areas in front of the net all night long, muscled home a rebound off Brewer’s point shot to open the scoring at 14:39 of the second. Then, with 3:47 remaining, he caught another rebound, this time from Elliott, and brought it down to the ice before swatting it into the net.

After another Scarborough, Ont. native, Anthony Bergin, made it 3-0 for the Blues early in the third, Brewer recorded his third point of the night on another powerplay. With Ventura again providing a presence in front of the net, Brewer wristed the puck through traffic and past Paladins goaltender Matt Beirnes.

Markovic then helped put the game out of reach, first snapping a shot high over Beirnes’ blocker on the rush, and then setting up Cassidy Preston for a tap-in on a 2-on-1 break to make the final score 6-0 Blues.

Garrett Sheehan (Cremona, Alta.) made 17 saves for the shut out win, while Matt Beirnes turned aside 53 for the Paladins.

The Blues will complete their home-and-home series with RMC tomorrow night (Feb. 11) in Kingston, Ont. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.

Source: Toronto Sports Info

CALGARY – Friday night’s contest had anything and everything you would hope for in a hockey game as the University of Calgary Dinos came from behind to defeat the No. 4-ranked University of Manitoba Bisons 5-4 in overtime at Father David Bauer Arena.

The victory keeps the Dinos in fourth place in the Canada West standings. With one more game on the season, Calgary is up four points on the UBC Thunderbirds, who lost their game Friday against the Saskatchewan Huskies. The Thunderbirds will play the Bisons next week while Calgary waits to see where their first-round series is played – the only thing that’s certain is that they will play UBC in the opening round in a series that could still be in either Calgary or Vancouver.

The first period was a wild one as more goals were scored in 20 minutes of play then in the entire two-game set these two teams played back at the beginning of the season in Calgary.

Chris Benias and Tyler Dittmer opened up a 2-0 lead early for Manitoba as they were able to elude Dustin Butler with quick shots in the first five minutes.

Last week’s CIS male athlete of the week for his performance in a sweep of Saskatchewan, Butler was pulled less than six minutes into the contest as Kris Lazaruk came into the game with 14:15 left in the opening frame.

The goaltending change seemed to spark Calgary as they went on the power play for the first time. With his team pressing in the Bisons’ zone, Taylor Stefishen was able to put home a close attempt from just outside the blue paint to cut the lead in half. The tally at 6:40 was Stefishen’s 12th of the year.

Nothing seemed to be able to stop Manitoba’s early charge though as they would find the back of the net twice more before the game could reach the first intermission. Despite Brendan Rowinski and Blair Macaulay giving the Bisons a 4-1 lead, the Dinos led in shots 9-7 through the first stanza.

The Dinos came out looking any kind of improvement in the second period and would get the ball rolling at the 10:28 mark. Brett Bartman’s shot from the point was blocked by a defender, but Nixon was in the right place to stuff in his 10th of the campaign from the left side of the net.

Nixon almost added his second of the night minutes later as he broke out on a breakaway. The left-handed shooter went from left to right, but was stopped by the Manitoba’s Mark Friesen.

Kevin King made it a one-goal game with less than two minutes to go in the middle frame. The first-year forward came in from the right side and put a backhand attempt on net. The shot banked off Friesen and in to give King his fourth in five games. The Bisons held a 4-3 advantage going into the final frame.

Calgary tied the score 4-4 just 58 seconds into the third period. During a scrum in front of the Bisons’ net, fifth-year forward Teegan Moore found a hole and scored his fourth of the season.

The Bisons had a chance to end the game in heartbreak for the home team with 1:58 to go in regulation as Del Cowan was rewarded a penalty shot after being knocked down on a breakaway. The opportunity was foiled as the former Calgary Hitman was stopped trying to beat Lazaruk blocker side, and the game would go into overtime.

With Manitoba taking a late penalty in the third period, Calgary had a 4-on-3 advantage to begin the extra frame.  Just 57 seconds in, Kodie Curran fed a pass to Walker Wintoneak at the left faceoff dot where he one-timed the game winner through the pads of Friesen.

The Dinos outshot the Bisons 35-21. Calgary was 2-for-5 on the power play, while Manitoba went 0-for-1.

These two teams will meet up for a final time Saturday night as the Dinos close out their regular season with Seniors’ Night at Father David Bauer Arena.

Source: Calgary Sports Info