Men's hockey Top 10: Double-OT dramatics keep Patriotes alive

Two high seeds
  1. UNB — Forward Kevin Henderson had the mortarboard trick (that's four goals; next time you see him, throw your diploma at him) to help the Varsity Reds grab Game 1 of their series vs. Acadia with a 5-2 win Sunday.

    UNB hosts Game 2 of the best-of-5 Atlantic semi-final on Monday; the winner goes to the University Cup. It's a 2-2-1 format for the Atlantic semis.
  2. Alberta — Has a first-round bye in the Canada West playoffs, so they won't play until sometime after the summer solstice.
  3. Laurier — The Golden Hawks, who'll play Western next, pulled out back-to-back one-goal wins over Lakehead, 3-2 in overtime and 4-3, to keep their season alive, with Colin Williams scoring the series-winning goal with 13:03 to play.

    Laurier lost the lead three times on Sunday, just as it did in Game 1, but it doesn't matter for a few days yet. Craig Voakes scored twice Sunday after getting the OT winner on Saturday.

  4. Saint Mary's — The Huskies are tied 1-1 with Moncton in their best-of-5 AUS semi-final after a 2-0 loss Saturday. Game 3 is Tuesday.

    Saint Mary's has yet to score an even-strength goal in the series, after getting five on the power play in their 5-4 win Wednesday. Moncton evidently had trouble keeping its composure in the bandbox rink at SMU. Cam Fergus scored twice for Saint Mary's; Moncton's Dean Ouellet was in the box for two SMU goals in a row in the second, including one which put the Huskies ahead for good.

  5. Trois-Rivieres — Forward J.S. Breton was the man of the hour, scoring in the 23rd minute of overtime to help UQTR rid itself of the pesky Carleton Ravens with a 5-4 double-overtime win in Game 3 of their OUA East semi-final.

    The Patriotes lost once on home ice and contrived to cough up a three-goal lead in their own barn, which must have McGill licking its chops, at least behind closed doors. Patriotes coach Jacques Laporte went with backup goalie Michel Dupont got the start in goal in the final two games. Dupont responded with 29 saves in his team's Game 2 win, but considering he only had 26 shots on Sunday, one wonders if they come back with J.C. Blanchard.

    Alex Archibald stopped 86-of-93 shots across the series' final two games for Carleton, which made a great run in just its second season.

    UQTR might not have been ready to play in Game 1, a 4-2 Ravens win, after the week-plus layoff. They gave up a goal in the first minute of the game and gave up the clincher in the third just 56 seconds after Alexandre Demers had scored cut the margin to 3-2.

  6. Western — Beat York, 4-2 and 3-2, for a two-game sweep of their conference semi-final, and they get to scout both of their potential opponents on Sunday. Kevin Baker got the game-winner in Game 2 in the first minute of the final period; Keaton Turkiewicz had three assists in the opener.l

  7. Moncton — Goalie Kevin Lachance made 39 saves in that 2-0 win over SMU, which is obviously the Aigles Bleu's biggest win so far this season. They have the next two games on home ice.
  8. Saskatchewan — Has a bye into the Canada West semi-final series.
  9. Waterloo — No games this week, since they're eliminated.
  10. Lakehead — Losing to Laurier isn't much skin off the Thunderwolves' nose, since they are hosting the Cavendish University Cup in three weeks.

    One noteworthy aspect of Game 2 on the Lakehead end; Shandor Alphonso scored their first goal with his brother, Arron earning an assist. In Game 1, Drew Kizell scored two goals, including the game-tyer in the third period.
Outside the Top 10
  • McGill swept Toronto, 3-2 and 6-3, in the OUA East semi-final. Marko Kovacevic and Eric L'Italien had power-play tallies during a three-goal second period that finished off the Varsity Blues on Saturday.
  • The Canada West playoffs don't start until Saturday, in order to let teams get back to normal after the Universiade.
Next PostNewer Post Previous PostOlder Post Home

1 comment:

  1. I really hope the OUA goes to 2 divisions (or 1) next year. At the risk of sounding like a whiner, Waterloo, Lakehead and Laurier all got burned. First round, York sits with its feet up with 31 points (by virtue finishing 1st in the middlish Mid West division), and Waterloo with 39 points plays Lakehead with 38 points and Walterloo is gone. Now, in the second round, top team Laurier with 45 points is "rewarded" by drawing Lakehead, while the weakest team, York, plays Western. Even though Lakehead beat Laurier last night, I have to believe they'd rather be playing Western, the team they should be playing based on regular season record.

    I know this happens in the NHL and in baseball, but that doesn't make it right and they also don't play a best of 3 series.

    ReplyDelete