CIS men's hockey Friday roundup: No. 7 Aigles Bleus defeat top ranked V-Reds

MONCTON, N.B. - The CIS No. 7-ranked Moncton Aigles Bleus moved closer to first place and No. 1-ranked UNB Friday night with a 5-1 home victory over the V-Reds in Atlantic University Sport men's hockey action in front of over 1,150 fans at the J. Louis-Lévesque Arena.

This was Moncton's first victory over UNB after 11 losses in a row dating back to an overtime win on January 16th, 2009. Their last victory over the Varsity Reds at home was on November 21st, 2007 in a shootout. Moncton maintains third spot in the standings, one point behind Acadia following their 4-3 victory Friday against the StFX X-Men.

"This is surely a nice victory for us," said Moncton coach Serge Bourgeois who did not hide his pride. "This gives us confidence because we want to attend the national championship and we need to beat teams like this one to get there and during the championship. I thought our players gave too much credit to the Varsity Reds and we stressed we could beat them by creating scoring chances. This was a playoff game tonight and we found ways of scoring and Marion played a very good game for us tonight."

''The key now will be to play similar Saturday (tonight) against the Tommies," added Bourgeois. "We need to be ready to play this team also. They have a really good goaltender."

Subway Player of the game Pierre-Alexandre Marion, was also all smiles after the game and he was happy with his performance.

"The guys did a great job of eliminating a number of shots,'' said Marion. ''The rebounds either stuck with me or our players were able to clear the puck. We played a nice defensive game. This is surely a confidence booster. UNB has been dominating for many years and this is great for us. It was an overall defensive effort by all. The 5-on-3 situation in the first period was key as I told myself I would not let them score and they didn't."

Christopher Guay and Charles Bergeron, on the power play, gave the Aigles a 2-1 lead in the first period. Jonathan Harty was the only Varsity Reds to score during a shorthanded situation. Keven Charland made it 3- à 1 in the middle of the second period. Rémi Blanchard and Éric Faille completed the scoring in the third. Faille and Alexandre Quesnel each had two assists.

Marion faced 35 shots, including 14 in the first and 13 in the second for the win. Daniel LaCosta had 27 shots.

The Aigles will next host the St. Thomas University Tommies Saturday evening at 7 pm at the J.-Louis-Lévesque Arena.

Source: Moncton Sports Information

WOLFVILLE, NS - Despite a heavy list of injuries, the Hockey Axemen pulled out a 4-3 win against the StFX X-Men, taking a 2-1 lead in the season series against the X-Men. With another win under their belt, Acadia has extended their winning streak to three and improve to a record of 14-6-1 in the AUS standings, while the X-Men slip to 6-11-3 and only one point ahead of Dalhousie in sixth place.

Three of the four goals scored by the Acadia came on the power play, which has proved to be one of the Axemen’s strong points this season as they sit third in the conference in power play goals with 23 in 20 games. The first period saw two of the three Axemen power play goals with the first goal coming in the early minutes of the game.

Veteran forward Jonathan Laberge continued his hot streak by netting the opening goal, his seventh of the season. The X-Men, however, responded at the 7:50 mark to tie the game at one. The StFX goal came from sophomore forward Scott Brannon, who one timed a pass from teammate Jason Bast that saw the puck go through Axeman Goalie Evan Mosher’s pads.

Wolfville native K.C. Brown, who has seen plenty of playing time due to the team's rash of injuries, netted his second goal of season late in the first frame. Teammate Liam Heelis scored on the powerplay with just over two minutes remaining in the period to give Acadia a 3-1 lead heading into the intermission. The shots on goal for the period were 17-10 in favour of the Axemen.

StFX rebounded back in the second period with two quick goals in the opening four minutes. X-Man Nick McAvoy scored on the power play to cut Acadia’s lead to one, while Scott Brannon scored his second goal of the night to tie the game at three only 4:44 into the period.

After coming back from a two-goal deficit, the StFX began to build more momentum, as they fought to get their first lead of the night. With strong play from first year goaltender Evan Mosher, Acadia was able to wait out the storm tied at three after two periods. The X-Men were able to grab a 10-8 shots on goal advantage.

The Axemen power play unit capitalized on a late third period penalty to X-man Bryce Swan on a 10 minute misconduct and two minute hit to the head on Acadia's Joe Gaynor by the StFX bench. Axeman defenseman Michael Ward banged home a rebound off the X-Man goalie Joseph Perricone for the eventual game winner, with the original shot coming from Laberge.

With a 37-28 shots on goal Acadia advantage, Evan Mosher's win-loss record improves to 10-6 while Perricone struggles with a 4-11 record thus far.

Head Coach Darren Burns was happy with the win, despite giving up a 3-1 lead after one period. "I thought our guys competed extremely hard it was a great character win. Our blueline played well as expected and we need to now focus on an important Sunday game at X".

The X-men and Acadia return to the ice this Sunday to complete their season series and weekend back to back matchup.

Source: Acadia Sports Info

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - The Brock University men's hockey team (11-9-1 OUA) extended their win-streak to three games and clinched a playoff berth as they defeated the York Lions (10-8-4 OUA) by the score of 5-4 in overtime Friday night at the Seymour-Hannah Centre.
 
Prior to the game, the Badgers had a moment of silence for Bruce Wormald who passed away on January 18, 2012. Bruce was a former Brock player and the first-ever Brock University Male Athlete of the Year in 1968-69.

The Badgers opened the scoring 6:18 into the first period. With the man-advantage, sophomore Kaine Geldart (Kingston, Ont.) and sophomore Matt Abercrombie (Sarnia, Ont.) setup sophomore Thomas Stajan (Mississauga, Ont.) for his ninth goal of the season.

Just nine seconds later at 6:27, York rookie Ryan Andersen (Wainwright, Alta.) beat Brock senior goaltender Kurt Jory (Brandon, Man.) to tie the game 1-1. It was Andersen's first career regular season goal.

York would take a 2-1 lead just 18 seconds into the second period, as Bryan Weinberg (Thornhill, Ont.) and Matt Thomson (Kitchener, Ont.) setup Jesse Messier (Keswick, Ont.) for his ninth of the campaign.

With just over five minutes left in the second, Brock would tie the game 2-2 as Stajan and freshman Sean Jones (Newmarket, Ont.) setup Abercrombie for his eighth.

Thirty-two seconds into the third period Brock would make it 3-2. Senior Ryan Allen (Fort McMurray, Alta.) would beat York goaltender David Blair (Ajax, Ont.) for his third of the season. Jones and freshman Dylan MacEachern (Mississauga, Ont.) added the assists.

York's Andersen would answer back with his second of the night at 6:18 of the third, tying the game 3-3. Rob Labute (Toronto, Ont.) and Jeremie Perron (Calgary, Alta.) were credited with the assists.

Brock would regain the one-goal lead 4-3 with 4:17 left in regulation. MacEachern and junior Josh Schram (Paris, Ont.) setup Allen for his second goal of the night.

The lead would not last long, as the Lions answered back less than a minute later tying it 4-4. Labute and Andersen setup Mark Cross (Strasbourg, Sask.) who put it behind Jory sending it to overtime.

In overtime, York's Tyler McGee (Timmins, Ont.) would get called for charging at 1:34, putting Brock on the powerplay.  Just 33 second into the powerplay, Abercrombie and Geldart setup senior Isaac Smeltzer (Estevan, Ont.) who buried a one-timer past Blair for the game-winner.

In goal, Jory registered 18 saves for the victory, his 30th of his Brock career. Blair added 29 saves in the loss.

The Badgers next action is January 22nd at 1:00 pm when they take on the Waterloo Warriors as part of the OUA Outdoor Classic at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton.

Source: Brock Sports Info

WATERLOO, ont. - The Warriors found their first win of 2012 in thrilling fashion as they slipped past the Windsor Lancers 3-2 in a shootout on Friday night at the Columbia Icefield Arena in Waterloo.

Windsor's Derek Lanoue (Tecumseh, Ont.) scored late in the third period what looked to be the game winning goal but Blake Chartier (Winnipeg) of the Warriors tied it up 37 seconds later to send the game into overtime.

With the extra period solving nothing, Andy Smith (Rosetown) was the lone player to score in the shootout lifting his team to the 3-2 victory.

Starting goalie Justin Leclerc (Saskatoon) was solid between the pipes for Waterloo stopping 36 shots and all three shootout attempts for the win while Dan Savelli made several key saves of his own and allowed only two goals on 30 shots.

The first period was all Windsor as the Lancers showed off their outside speed and nose for the net. With Waterloo in penalty trouble the Lancers would pepper Leclerc with all types of shots on a 5-on-3 opportunity but the Warrior netminder was equal to the task, stopping all 16 shots faced in the opening frame.

The second period would open up as both teams went on the attack. Waterloo found the first goal of the game at the 3:16 mark as rookie Josh Woolley (Cambridge) would net his first goal as a Warrior to put the home squad up by one. Woolley made good after his own tip putting home the rebound while falling to the ice. Jarred Parent (West Montrose) and Ryan Molle (Calgary) were credited with the assists.

The Lancers would respond two minutes later as Brett Vandehogen (Chatham, Ont.) picked up an errand pass by Spencer Prommels (Grand Prairie, Alta.) and slid the puck home on his backhand past Leclerc.

Both squads would exchange chances in the next ten minutes but Leclerc and Savelli stood tall keeping the contest locked at one's as the period would end with a Waterloo penalty to Justin Larson (Buckhorn).

Windsor was unable to capitalize on their third period power play as Waterloo's penalty killers did a good job of getting in the shooting lanes.  Both teams would continue to exchange chances before Windsor found the go ahead marker at 17:16 by Lanoue.  Lancers captain Matt McCready (Kingsville, Ont.) ripped a shot that bounced off Lanoue past Leclerc.

The Warriors would not let down, pressuring Windsor and would be rewarded 37 seconds later as Chartier would pick up a rebound on the goal mouth following a Larson shot that was tipped by Jarrett Schnurr (Waterloo).

With overtime settling nothing, Andy Smith (Rosetown) stepped up as the third and final shooter for Waterloo sliding the puck low blocker side on Sanelli to give Waterloo the extra point.

The win gives Waterloo a little more breathing room in third spot in the OUA west with 28 points (12-6-4) while Windsor sits alone in sixth with 19 points (9-11-1).

Waterloo turn their attention to the Outdoor Classic happening on Sunday, January 22 at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton against the Brock Badgers who also won tonight over York.  Game time is set for 1pm and tickets can be purchased at the Balsam/Beechwood gate.

Source: Waterloo Sports Info

GUELPH, Ont. - The Sleeman Centre hosted the annual Guelph Gryphon’s men’s hockey Winter Homecoming Frosty Mug game tonight (Jan. 20th) in Guelph. Both teams came to the game ready to play and more than 1,500 fans in attendance were in for an exciting night right from the start.  Both teams fought hard but the Gryphons ultimately came out on top with a final score of 5-3.

Guelph’s record moves to 7-12-4 on the season while the Golden Hawks drop to 6-14-1. Gryphon scoring was led tonight by fourth year Justin Gvora (Thunder Bay, Ont.) who tallied a hat trick and has scored five goals in the last two games.

Three minutes into the first period the first goal of the game was scored by Golden Hawk Mitchell Good (Wellesley, ON) after sneaking in behind Gryphon goalie Cody St Jacques (Iroquois Falls, ON) into the right corner of the net. He was assisted by Mitch Lebar (Aurora, ON) and Tyler Stothers (Oakville, ON).

Guelph had a number of shots on net in the first including a close one from Justin Gvora  11 minutes in. Gryphon Patrick Campbell (Sauble Beach, ON) helped keep the score under control for the rest of the first with his aggressive defence and by intercepting Laurier passes.

The game picked up in the second period seeing five goals across the board. The first for the Gryphons came from Gvora on a power play after some quick thinking from JT MacDonald (Niagara Falls, ON) and Zach Lillie, (Bracebridge, ON) at 8:58 in the second. Laurier returned only minutes later with their second goal from Mike Masciolii (Azilda, ON) after an assist from Zach Woolford (Rockwood, ON) at 10:18.

Only seconds later the Gryphons tied up the game again after Mike Kusy (St. Catharines, ON) shot into the right corner of the net before Golden Hawk goalie Ryan Daniels (Pickering, ON) could respond. He was assisted by Matthew Lyall (Richmond Hill, ON) and Ken Peroff (Astorville, ON). Laurier came back once again and took the lead with a goal from Stothers to bring the score to 3-2.

Gvora captured one more goal for the Gryphons, and his second of the night, before the end of the second with only 36 seconds left on the board. He snuck the puck into the left corner after being assisted by Peroff and MacDonald. The second period ended in a stale-mate 3-3.

The Gryphons finally took the lead three minutes into the third after a scrimmage outside of the Golden Hawk net left them vulnerable to Gryphon attack. Philip Teri (Elora, ON) pocketed the goal after a quick pass from Cale Jeffries (Glenboro, ON).  St Jacques made some fantastic saves in the third as Laurier pushed harder in their attacks to try and catch up to the Gryphons.

In the last minutes of the game Laurier pulled their goalie to put their offence into full force but they were left with an open net when Gvora scored his third of the night, confirming the Gryphon win.

The Gryphons next play the York Lions in Toronto on January 26. Puck drops at 7pm.

Source: Guelph Sports Info

THUNDER BAY, ont. - The Lakehead Thunderwolves fell 1-0 to the Western Ontario Mustangs in front of a sell-out crowd of 3,735 Friday night at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay, ON in a battle for OUA West supremacy.

The first period was a dominated by special teams as both teams make frequent trips to the penalty box; Lakehead and Western Ontario each made five trips to the sin bin. There was a nice pace to the game even with the penalties, and both teams were fired up and laying the body.

Thunderwolves’ starting netminder Alex Dupuis continued his strong play with two huge point blank saves on OUA leading scorer Keaton Turkiewicz and Thunder Bay native Zach Harnden.

Western got on the board first on a 5-on-3 power-play as Turkiewicz placed a hard shot over Dupuis’ shoulder, giving the Mustangs the 1-0 lead at 2:07 of the second period.

The physical play really picked up in the middle frame, highlighted by a huge hit from Lakehead freshman Jake Carrick on Western forward Kevin Baker that really ignited the full house of Thunderwolves fans. Lakehead had some great chances on the power-play, but could not put it past Mustangs’ goalie Josh Unice.

The third period was a spirited affair in which the referees let the teams play, and it made for some very entertaining hockey. Alex Dupuis was very sharp for Lakehead, making several big saves to keep his team in it but the Thunderwolves were unable to capitalize on their chances giving Western the 1-0 win.

The Molson 3 stars of the game were
1st- Josh Unice, Western Ontario
2nd- Keaton Turkiewicz, Western Ontario
3rd- Alex Dupuis, Lakehead

Both teams are in action again Saturday night at the Fort William Gardens, puck drop is at 7:30 PM.

Source: Lakehead Sports Info

WINNIPEG - The third place Bisons men’s hockey team beat the first place Saskatchewan Huskies by a 4-2 score in Canada West hockey action on Friday, January 20 at Max Bell Arena. The Bisons win moves the home team to only four points back of Saskatchewan, with two games in hand in the standings.

“We’re glad for the result and recognize the effort and the performance of our guys, but the message is let’s not be satisfied. Tomorrow is an opportunity again and we want to take advantage of it,” said Bisons men’s hockey head coach Mike Sirant.

With the Bisons clinging to a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes, the Huskies went on the power play early in the third. Despite the pressure they had in the Bisons’ end they were unable to put one away but continued to press for their first goal of the game.

Huskies goalie David Reekie kept the Bisons from a potential third goal after he blocked a shot from Darren Bestland from the edge of the crease.

Halfway through the period the crowd protested a tripping penalty to the Bison’s Del Cowan. The Huskies were finally able to take advantage of the power play. With 9:18 left in the period Shaun Vey put a point up on the board, making the score 2-1. But the Bisons were able to answer the Huskies power play goal with their very own power play goal only a minute afterwards. Brendan Rowinski fired home his seventh of the season on a rebound from the goalie’s right pad, making their lead 3-1.

The Huskies went on the power play again with about four minutes left in the game. They struggled to get it out of their own end and failed to score. The visitor team called a time out with 1:52 left in the game and pulled their goalie, which worked because Matthew Delahey scored seven seconds after their meeting.

Blair Macaulay, who leads the team in plus minus and scoring, salted away the game when he notched his 16th goal of the year on an open net at 19:03.

Earlier in the contest, Walker and Matthew Lowry from the Bisons each scored goals in the first period. Shaun Vey from the Huskies scored a power play goal in the third, but it wasn’t enough for a win. 

At the end of the first the Bisons led the Huskies, 2-0. Almost halfway through the period Jared Walker opened the scoring with his sixth goal of the season assisted by Blair Macaulay and Tyler Dittmer.

At 18:14 Matthew Lowry scored the Bisons’ second goal of the game and his fourth of the year from a rebound in the slot.

Bisons assistant captain Dane Crowley went to the box for two minutes for tripping in the first. The Bisons got another for charging at 12:05. The Bisons successfully killed both setbacks. The Huskies, who are ranked third in the country, also got two penalties; one from David Reekie at 14:17 for delay of game after putting the puck over the boards in his own end and one went to Derek Hulak for hooking with less than a minute to go in the first. 

The Bisons, ninth in the CIS, led the Huskies in shots 15-8 at the end of the first period.

The penalties started again for the Huskies when Ryan Funk got two minutes for charging after a big hit that took down one of the Bisons players. The Bisons cycled the puck well on the powerplay, but were not able to capitalize with the extra man.

A high sticking penalty was called against Michael Kaye of the Huskies about halfway through the second. Jeremy Schappert got a little rough with one of the Huskies on the power play after being squeezed out after an offside whistle. During the Bisons power play they picked up another penalty, but so did the Huskies shortly after making it four on four for about a minute.

The score remained 2-0 for the Bisons at the end of the second and the Huskies trailed the Bisons in shots 36-19.

Reekie made 42 saves in the losing cause while Bison goalie Joe Caligiuri made 36 saves for the victory. Both teams went 1/6 on the power play and this was the first victory by Manitoba against Saskatchewan during conference play this season.
 
The #9 Bisons and #3 Huskies will meet again on Saturday, January 21 at Max Bell Arena with puck drop at 7 p.m. CT.

Source: Manitoba Sports Info

CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos found themselves in a defensive showdown Friday night at Father David Bauer Arena as they fell 2-1 to the visiting UBC Thunderbirds in the first of a two-game set.

With the victory, the Thunderbirds jump past the Dinos into fourth place in the Canada West standings. UBC now has 22 points, one point more than Calgary.

Friday night was a clash of two styles. Calgary came out throwing the body while UBC relied on its speed to get behind the Dinos’ defence.

The Dinos had the best opportunity to take an early lead as they were given the man advantage four times in the first period. Those power play chances would be stymied by the Thunderbirds, though, as they held the home team to only five shots through the first 20 minutes.

UBC opened the scoring at the 13:33 mark of the opening frame. With the Thunderbirds swarming the Dinos crease, Marcus Toye banged in a rebound past Dustin Butler. The goal was Toye’s first in CIS, coming in his hometown.

With fewer bodies in the sin bin, the second period saw more even play between the two teams as the game developed some flow.

At 9:48 Calgary knotted the score at 1-1 as Taylor Stefishen fired a shot from the left side of the net over the out-stretched Jordan White. The tally was Stefishen’s his 10th of the campaign, with Walker Wintoneak picking up the lone assist on the play.

The Thunderbirds restored their one-goal lead at the 14:52 mark of the second when Matt Pepe delivered a quick stretch pass to Marc Desloges. The Vancouver native broke in alone and snapped the puck past Butler for his sixth of the season.

UBC held a 17-10 shot advantage going into the second intermission, along with the 2-1 lead.

Desloges found himself with another breakaway midway through the third period. The shifty forward tried to deke to the backhand as he moved in close, but was denied by the left pad of Butler.

Calgary went on the power play for the final time with 1:24 left in the contest. Following a timeout, the home team pulled the goaltender setting up a six-on-four opportunity. The Dinos managed to get a couple of shots from the outside on White, but none would get past the third-year netminder as the Thunderbirds held on for the win.

The Dinos outshot the Thunderbirds 22-21. Calgary went 0-for-5 on the power play, while UBC was 1-for-4.

The two teams go at it again Saturday night in the rematch at Father David Bauer Arena, with puck drop at 7 p.m. MT.

Source: Calgary Sports Info