Men's Hockey: Shootout in Montreal - Redmen Down Mustangs in Penalty-Filled Affair

It was a cold, brisk evening in the city of Montréal on Saturday night, but inside McConnell Arena things better resembled the Wild West, as an all-out barnburner took place between the #5 McGill Redmen and #7 Western Mustangs.

Western was entering the game coming off of a tough loss in Ottawa against the Gee-Gees the night before where they were held off of the scoresheet until over midway through the second. In this one, they got started quickly to try to remedy that as Steven Reese scored just three and a half minutes in to get the Mustangs out in front early.

Following the goal, both teams started a long and lengthy parade to the penalty box that endured throughout the entire game, as special teams became a crucial part of both sides’ strategies.

And just under seven minutes after Reese gave Western the lead, McGill’s Neal Prokop scored on the powerplay to even things up. The goal came after Julian Cimadamore took a cross-checking penalty, the first of three straight calls against Western.

As the period began to draw to a close, it was McGill making two straight trips to the sin bin, giving Western’s Zach Harnden the opportunity to deflect a Matt Clarke point shot past Andrew Flemming and into the McGill cage, giving the Mustangs a 2-1 lead.

It looked like Western scored again just seconds later, but the goal was called back for a hand pass, much to the ire of the Mustangs bench. With that, the period came to an end with Western ahead 2-1, but not before some extracurricular activity saw Shaun Furlong head to the box for a roughing minor.

That late penalty turned out to be a big advantage for McGill, as they came out on the offensive to start the second. The post came to the rescue early as David McKiernan rocked a slapshot off the iron and over the glass, but shortly afterwards, David Rose was able to bang home the rebound off a Hugo Laporte point shot to tie things up at two.

Less than three minutes later, McKiernan got some redemption, as he floated in a knucklepuck from the point that handcuffed Western’s Josh Unice and found twine, putting the Redmen up 3-2.

The period began as a disaster for Western, not only because of the two goals but just sloppy play in general.

A mad goalmouth scramble at the other end finally gave Western some momentum, as Daniel Erlich had Flemming sprawling on the ice trying to stack his pads, and was able to get the puck over Flemming and into the net, tying the game up at 3-3.

McGill kept the pressure up, but Unice was able to keep Western in the game, making save after save, and stopping 15 of 17 shots in the period.

His play resulted in late momentum for the Stangs, and on the powerplay Clarke was able to tee up another blast from the point and put it just under the crossbar, giving Western a 4-3 lead with just eight seconds remaining.

They’d take that score into the intermission, but again the period ended with some rough stuff. All ten players on the ice got involved in pushing and shoving, with a few gloves-on punches thrown. By all accounts, it was the CIS version of a line brawl, and ended with two minors and a ten-minute misconduct to each team as they prepared for the third.

Entering the third, McGill pulled Flemming from the game, and Jacob Gervais-Chouinard came into hold down the Redmen net for the final twenty minutes.

Again, penalties played a key part of the game, and McGill capitalized on an early powerplay. Carl Gelinas tapped the puck home on a goalmouth scramble, and just like that things were tied up.

McGill were then able to kill off a big penalty kill midway through the period, and just thirty-five seconds after the penalty expired, Cedric McNicoll scored the go-ahead marker, putting the Redmen ahead 5-4.

The game took an ugly turn from there, with McGill’s Patrick Delisle-Houde sent to the dressing room with a checking to the head misconduct. McGill were able to kill off the minor penalty that accompanied it, and then Western took some undisciplined penalties as they scrambled to get back into the game.

Kyle de Coste took an interference penalty, but Clarke was able to speed in on a shorthanded breakaway with a great chance to tie things up. He was hooked lightly, causing a weak shot, and Western became enraged that there was no call. Cimadamore took matters into his own hands, as he ran Laporte into the boards from behind, and received a minor and ten-minute misconduct of his own.

With that, McGill looked poised to simply walk away with a win, as they held a brief two-man advantage and then a powerplay to end the game. However, after the first penalty expired, some bizarre action took place on the ice. Max le Sieur made contact with Unice during play, and after the whistle Unice gave le Sieur a bit of a face wash. After the ensuing scrum was broken up, le Sieur chased Unice into the corner, sharing some words, and was called for a potentially-disastrous unsportsmanlike misconduct penalty, giving Western a 5-on-4 advantage with the net empty and 35 seconds to go.

Ultimately, though, Western was unable to put together any type of challenging attack, and McGill were able to survive and escape with a 5-4 victory, in a wild game that saw 84 total penalty minutes, and the Redmen outshooting the Mustangs 49-38.

With the win, McGill moves to 7-1-1 on the season and sit atop the top of the OUA East, and Western fall to 8-3-0, and after the two losses on the road trip now find themselves in the middle of the pack of the OUA West.

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Join us for next week’s matchup as the 6-3-0 UQTR Patriotes travel to Windsor to face the OUA-leading 8-1-0 Lancers.
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Football: Mustangs whip Queen's 51-22 in largest Yates Cup blowout in 21 years, set up Mitchell Bowl matchup vs. Calgary

If this isn't the year Greg Marshall beats Laval, then when will it be? Framed against the cold steel bleachers of a less than sold-out TD Waterhouse Stadium, the Western Mustangs made the gap between No. 1 and No. 4 look wider than the lack of understanding between Ford Nation and an urban hipster.

By the end of 15 minutes, after the Queen's Golden Gaels had failed to make hay off two Mustangs miscues, Will Finch and friends were primed to produce the most definitive Yates Cup win among Marshall's eight as a head coach. Western, with Finch goings bombs-away to fellow superlative sophomore Matt Uren, controlled the middle two quarters and won 51-22 to retake the summit in the OUA.

They might be there for a while. Finch, game MVP Uren, running backs Yannick Harou, Tom Marshall and Garrett Sanvido, pass rusher Dylan Ainsworth, linebacker Preston Huggins and starting O-linemen Kadeem Adams and Matt Van Praet each have at least two years' eligibility remaining. Western, which led by as much as 43 points in the first 45 minutes on Saturday, could be poised to match the run the Marshall-made McMaster Marauders had at the outset of the millennium, when they won 41 of 44 games against Ontario teams during a four-year Yates reign from 2000-03.

"Against Ontario teams" is the operative part. Marshall is 0-for-3 against Laval in university football's cruelest month — agonizingly close semifinal losses in 2003 and '10 sandwiched around a no-doubter Vanier Cup loss in 2008. Those McMaster and Western teams had their shortcomings, but through 10 weeks this fall, no OUA squad came close to finding one in Western. It was just the sixth time a team hung a half-a-hundred on an opponent in the Yates. The 29-point margin was the largest in the Yates since 1992, when Wally Gabler Jr. and Guelph drilled, coincidentally, Western 45-10.

Perhaps Calgary, with home field for the Mitchell Bowl next week, can do so. Laval, which will play Mount Allison at an undisclosed location in the early Uteck Bowl, didn't look like a world-beater while escaping with a 14-11 Dunsmore Cup win over Montreal.

Finch was uber-efficient on Saturday, throwing 20-for-27 for 252 yards with three TDs while rushing 12 times for 77 more, without turning the ball over. That makes him the winner of the Battle of Burlington vs. Queen's Billy McPhee (21-for-35 for 275, two TDs and two picks) if you feel a need to be superficial about it. Western bent Queen's more than it broke it along the ground, where Sanvido toted the rock 20 times for 98 to lead a 220-yard output. Defensively, the Mustangs held firm, holding Queen's all-time leading rusher Ryan Granberg to 44 yards in his final OUA game. McPhee's interceptions weren't egregious; the first was on a nothing-to-lose second-and-long deep ball and the other by Huggins came on a ball that Pawel Kruba tipped into the air.

One stat note for Queen's: Justin Chapdelaine finished with seven catches for 82 yards and a TD in his final game.

Queen's gets tight

Western's second- and third-quarter play, when a Groundhog Day-like circuit of sustained drives, booming wind-aided Lirim Hajrullahu kickoffs and Gaels two-and-outs led to the score climbing higher and higher, likely renders second-guessing Queen's approach academic. It needs to be said, though, that the Gaels had the mien of a lot of basketball teams who go up against Dave Smart's Carleton Ravens, knowing the big onslaught is just a matter of when. Pat Sheahan, whose best Tricolour teams — the Tom Denison teams that played Sisyphus by rolling their boulder up Mt. Marshall in 2002-03 and the team that traversed the Golden Mile in '09 — got off the bus spreading the ball around to receivers. Yet Queen's didn't seem ready to take that chance on McPhee by putting it all on their fourth-year QB. That meant a lot of unsuccessful first-down runs and a lot of second-and-longs instead of the second-and-mediums that Danny Brannagan seized on so well four years ago.

Queen's star linebacker Sam Sabourin, who might be in the CFL come next September, fell on an early Uren fumble and the Gaels also sold out to block a Hajrullahu punt in the first quarter. Queen's only converted those gifts into a 5-3 lead. After that, Western scored the next 45 points.

There's no knowing whether Queen's getting more on the board early would have made any difference. Western mooted that but good. Now the Mustangs are two stages away from the peak that four other Ontario teams have scaled during the Laval era. Otherwise, all the OUA records written in purple ink will seem pretty moot, too.

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Football: Conference championship point spreads

Mount Allison at Saint Mary's (-9.5)
Montreal at Laval (-11.5)
Queen's at Western (-18)
Manitoba at Calgary (-14)

Not a terribly close set of games by the look of it, but there are always deviations from the predictions.

At 26:54 of Countdown U (video below), the members of the panel choose their Games of the Week. All games but the Hardy get one vote.



As for last week, five of the seven conference semifinals were within a touchdown of their predicted spread, with two big misses in the Montreal blowout win and Mount A's win despite only 154 yards of offence.

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Men's hockey: No lack of excitement in first UNB-UPEI matchup of regular season

In a top-10 matchup that did not disappoint, the Varsity Reds kept their season-opening winning streak alive with a 3-2 shootout win over rival UPEI.

UNB has been known to field a competitive team year in and year out and 2013-14 appears to be no different. Gardiner MacDougall’s boys have already established themselves as front runners to repeat as CIS champions.

Meanwhile on the island, the Panthers are enjoying early-season success and were ranked 4th in the national rankings going into Wednesday night’s game in Charlottetown.

The home squad started off the contest with loads of pressure and peppered goalie Charlie Lavigne with shots.

However, it would be the Varsity Reds who opened the scoring. Matt Petgrave broke out of his zone with Dylan Willick and Antoine Houde-Caron on an odd man rush. Petgrave fanned on his shot but it beat goaltender Wayne Savage 5-hole. Savage will no doubt want that one back.

Even after the goal, UPEI kept the hammer down and it nearly paid off. Defenseman Matthew Mainone made a P.K. Subban-like spin-o-rama at the red line and sprung Jordan Mayer all alone on a breakaway. Unfortunately for the rowdy crowd of 1050 at MacLauchlan Arena, Mayer was just a step too quick and was offside. He took the shot anyway, much to the disdain of his opponents, and some pushing and shoving ensued.

The Varsity Reds headed to the dressing room with a 1-0 lead.

Their lead would not stand for long, as the Panthers had many golden opportunities on the power play and Tyler Brown finally broke through with his fifth of the season. Mayer and Dana Fraser were credited with assists.

It appeared as though the game was going to tighten up but then the Varsity Reds showed why they were the three-time defending AUS champions. Petgrave cut into the slot and backhanded home his second of the game over the blocker of Savage.

The Panthers would respond before the period was out, though. Mayer and Mason Wilgosh were on a two-on-one and Mayer attempted to step inside to his backhand, but lost control of the puck and it somehow ended up in the back of net. It was ugly, but it counted and that’s how the second period would end.

The third frame began with more chances for the Varsity Reds and Savage had to be called on to make some spectacular saves. It seemed as though it would only be a matter of time before the number two team in Canada broke through.

The Panthers were determined not to let that happen. They let fire a good five shots in the span of about ten seconds. Lavigne turned away all of them however, including going post-to-post to stone Mayer with what was the save of the night, hands down.

Back and forth hockey followed. In the final minute, Brown dangled around Lavigne and tried to flip the puck over him. Lavigne managed somehow to get his blocker on it and Petgrave carried it right back down the ice. He saucered the puck in front of the net and it was whacked towards goal. Savage was sliding the wrong way in his crease but threw out the pad to toe-poke it wide and send this contest to overtime — the first time this year an AUS team has taken a point against UNB.

While the overtime period did yield some great chances for both sides, it would not break the dead-lock and a shootout was required. UNB got up 2-1 and Cody McNaughton needed to score to extend it, but couldn’t get it past Lavigne and the Reds were victorious.

The game lived up to its billing and the fans probably went home happy to have seen such a great display of hockey, despite the result.

Up next for the UPEI Panthers (now 4-1-1 and 3rd in the AUS with 9 points) they will be visiting Saint Mary’s on November 15th while the Varsity Reds (7-0-0, 1st in the AUS with 14 points) will be welcoming Acadia on the same night.
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Men's Hockey: AUS Update

I've kind of dragged out writing this post waiting for more details to firm up (such as rosters) for Friday's AUS Men's Hockey All-Star game, but enough with the procrastination.

We were short one game this past weekend, as high winds closed the Confederation Bridge and prevented UPEI from traveling to Moncton Friday night. I go back long enough to remember travelers being marooned on ferries back in the day (but fortunately not me), so not the worst outcome. Despite that, the Panthers managed to maintain their hold on third place in the AUS and #4 ranking in the CIS. Will Wednesday night be the night they hand UNB their first loss? Certainly the game of the week to watch.

V-Reds continue to win despite their power play power outage

UNB had an unusually hot power play going into the weekend (albeit based on a small sample size of four games), and the more expected reality returned; hot is usually followed by cold. The V-Reds were 0-for-the-weekend with the man advantage, and it prevented them from pulling away from St. Thomas on Friday (that and three crossbar clangs) and it allowed Moncton to get back into the game on Saturday. Fortunately for UNB the other half of the special teams, the penalty kill, was flawless on the weekend and snuffed out a potential momentum shift for their opponents. We all know the hockey maxim: special teams and goaltending win you championships. UNB has most of that working so far, but not all of it. If and when they do, look out. Oh, and we also learned that d-men Ben Shutron and Adrian Robertson are both equally able at stopping pucks that get by their acrobatic goalie.

Friday: UNB 3 @ STU 2
Saturday: UdeM 1 @ UNB 4

Axemen are 2nd hottest team in AUS, and in 2nd place. Coincidence?

While some may focus on UNB's 6-game win streak, Acadia has won their last four straight. On Wednesday the cruised to a win at home against Dalhousie, with Liam Heelis scoring two more goals (he now has 7 goals in 6 games) and rookie netminder Brandon Glover picked up his first shutout. Saturday was a closer affair, with Joe Gaynor scoring in the 1st and 2nd period before SMU put on a push in the 3rd period but only creating one goal.

Wednesday: Dal 0 @ Acadia 5
Friday: SMU 1 @ Acadia 2

Panthers make the most of their single game

UPEI scored two games worth of goals in their game against STU. The well rested Panthers, unable to get off the Island Friday night, made short work of the Tommies, scoring four times in the first period and five times in the second period. Rookie Cody McNaughton had a hat trick during that onslaught.

Friday: UPEI @ UdeM (postponed)
Saturday: STU 2 @ UPEI 10

Aigles Bleus didn't respond as well to night off

UdeM was supposed to be the fresher team Saturday night, but whether it was bus legs or rust the V-Reds jumped all over the them and were up 3-0 just past the 12 minute mark. UNB's roving goalie Charles Lavigne (what trapezoid?) gifted Eric Faille a goal very early in the second period, but was solid outside of that in frustrating any potential Moncton comeback.

Friday: UPEI @ UdeM (postponed)
Saturday: UdeM 1 @ UNB 4

Welcome back Huskies

In the log jam for fourth place you will also find Saint Mary's. They still don't have Anthony Peters back in nets, but Curtis Black didn't cost them the game against Acadia and got the win against StFX. The SMU power play has been shockingly bad all season (worst in the AUS) and didn't disappoint on the weekend. Fortunately for them, their equally bad penalty kill turned around, as least for the weekend.

Friday: SMU 1 @ Acadia 2
Saturday: SMU 4 @ StFX 1

What's up with the X-Men?

Consistency is not StFX's strong suit right now. It seems like every game they have good periods and no-so-good periods. After spotting Dal the first goal Friday night, they score three of their own before the end of the first period, and yet found themselves having to win in overtime. Saturday they scored first, but SMU replied with four unanswered goals. Sure it is early in the season, but you would want to sort this out before too long. Kudos should go to the X-Men for staging a Military Appreciation Game Saturday.

Friday: Dal 4 @ StFX 5 (OT)
Saturday: SMU 4 @ StFX 1

Tommies in the mix

I would have never imagined that the three "Saints" would all have the same number of wins, two, after three weekends of play. To STU's credit, they played a disciplined, structured game against UNB on Friday, and they made it a one goal game after the V-Reds scored two early goals. They also refused to play into the V-Reds hands and open it up in the third period. Rookie netminder Alex St. Arnaud made 45 saves to keep his team in the game, but still the V-Reds ran their win streak to 36 games in the Battle of the Hill. After that bruising, give-everything game, it was not a surprise that the short-staffed Tommies got beat on the Island by the rested Panthers who avoided their normal grudge match with Moncton. However, the margin of victory did look more like last season than this season.

Friday: UNB 3 @ STU 2
Saturday: STU 2 @ UPEI 10

One point is better than no points

While Dal has yet to win this season, they did recover from a blanking at the hands of the Axemen to force a comeback tie with the X-Men, before eventually losing in overtime. The Tigers offence has really suffered this season without the injured Pierre-Alexandre Vandall, and Ben Breault opting to turn pro.

Wednesday: Dal 0 @ Acadia 5 
Friday: Dal 4 @ StFX 5 (OT)

This week

It is a condensed schedule in conference play as each team gets one mid-week game before Friday's All-Star "break". Wednesday UNB is at UPEI to renew acquaintances for the first time since their chippy playoff series in late February. A much anticipated game that could be a sell-out. Moncton is at STU for the first time, and both are looking for a win after last weekend. StFX is at the Halifax Forum to play Dal on Wednesday, while Thursday SMU hosts Acadia at the Forum.

Friday is the previously mentioned all-star game, which will serve as the final audition for players hoping to make the AUS version of Team Canada for the World University Games in December. It won't be easy for the coaching trio of UNB's Gardiner MacDougall, StFX's Brad Peddle and UPEI's Forbie MacPherson to decide on their squad; AUS rules mandate that the eight teams must have at least one representative each on the 22 man squad, and no team shall have more than four reps.

Saturday morning everyone will check out of the hotel, and those who make the cut will check into a different hotel together and begin two days of practices and team-building on the Olympic ice surface at the Grant*Harvey Centre. It should be fun for fans, but it is competing for attention with UNB's hosting of the CIS men's soccer championship from Thursday through Sunday. Not to mention many students and Frederictonians will be bailing out of town for the long weekend.
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Top Programs Kick Off Basketball Season in Ottawa

Some of the top men's and women's basketball programs in the country opened their seasons in Ottawa this past weekend, including both defending CIS champions. Here's our recap of those games:

Tough Start for Windsor

Following a strong regular season that saw them finish atop of the OUA West last season, the Windsor Lancers looked to rebound from a disappointing missed opportunity to play in the CIS Final 8 basketball championship last season as they lost to Lakehead in the OUA bronze medal game. However, things looked optimistic for the Lancers, who entered the season ranked sixth in the nation. Unfortunately for them, the schedulers weren’t so kind, forcing Windsor to open their season on the road at the opposite end of the province against the no. 1 Carleton Ravens and no. 3 Ottawa Gee-Gees.

Coming off of their ninth national championship in the past eleven years, it should be no surprise that the Ravens entered the season ranked atop of the CIS Top Ten. Led by legendary coach Dave Smart and a returning class of standouts including Phil and Thomas Scrubb, as well as Tyson Hinz, Carleton looks poised to contend in achieving their campaign of “Again for Ten.”

It was a high-profile affair to kick off the season at the Raven’s Nest, with a good-sized crowd walking into the arena on a red carpet draped with Ravens cheerleaders on either side while the band provided a traditional university sport soundtrack. A rendition of the national anthem before the game topped off the classy beginning, and the game began.

It took only four seconds for Carleton to put up their first points of the season, as Thomas Scrubb dunked the ball on a fast break off of tip-off. From there, Carleton never looked back, in a game that didn’t see a single lead change. Windsor was able to keep it close through the first quarter, trailing only 23-16.

In the second quarter, however, Carleton began to pull away, in particular dominating the boards, outrebounding the Lancers 23-14 at the half. Carleton also worked the outside shot, which led to them outscoring the Lancers 24-11 in the second quarter. Carleton’s 47% FG%, compared to Windsor’s 36%, gave the Ravens a 47-27 lead to start the third.

In the third, the Scrubb brothers continued to dominate, while Windsor saw some flashes of brilliance from senior Lien Phillip. Windsor tried to claw back into the game, but both Mike Rocca and Enrico Diloreto found themselves in early foul trouble. With three quarters gone, Carleton maintained a 70-51 lead.

In the fourth, Carleton kept the pressure up causing lots of frustration on the Windsor side, resulting in some unusual mistakes such as bad turnovers and travel calls. Coach Smart got the bench players some work near the end of the contest, when Carleton had taken a commanding 27 point lead. The Ravens went on to take the game by a final of 95-74, with strong performances by both Scrubb brothers. Phil scored 24 points with five assists, while Thomas had 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Phillip remained the standout for Windsor, scoring 20 points and nine rebounds in an otherwise unspirited effort.

In their second contest of the weekend, Windsor headed downtown to face the third-ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees, hoping to bounce back from the previous night’s loss.

The game got off to a flying start, with both teams trading scoring runs in the first quarter. The Gee-Gees jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead, before Windsor turned things around on a 12-0 run of their own. Ottawa found their second big momentum swing in the first quarter following a pair of dunks by sophomore Caleb Agada, which led to 15 consecutive points for the Gees. Windsor was able to right the ship, however, closing the gap to 26-18 after the first intermission.

In the second quarter, things settled down a bit as the teams more consistently traded buckets. The Gee-Gees were able to get out to a 14 point lead, but Windsor’s Enrico Diloreto, who scored a team-high 29 points on the day, led a Lancers run at the end of the quarter to halve that lead, to 47-40 at the half.

In the third quarter, Windsor showed the hunger that was missing in the previous night’s game, as Josh Collins worked from beyond the arc and the Lancers were able to tie things up at 62 apiece, before taking a 66-65 lead into the final quarter.

A hot start to the fourth put Ottawa back ahead, though, and they didn’t look back. The Gee-Gees jumped out to a quick 9-0 run, and then it was Johnny Berhanemeskel who put the finishing touches on the game, with a pair of three-pointers and a deep field goal.

The Gee-Gees outscored the Lancers 31-19 in the final frame, en route to a 96-85 victory, but at the end of the night all of the attention was on Berhanemeskel. He set a new school record for career three-point scoring, by draining five and attaining 200 over his career. He led the Garnet and Grey offensively, picking up a game-high 34 points in the contest, in addition to snagging six rebounds.

Mustangs Suffer Blowouts

The other team that was in the national capital this past weekend was the unranked Western Mustangs, who finished last season in the basement of the OUA West in a season that saw only three wins.

Things didn’t look good for the Mustangs with the tough opening schedule, and neither Ottawa nor Carleton left room for any surprises.

On Friday, Ottawa found themselves with another hot start, putting up 26 on the Mustangs in the first. In the second quarter, the lead expanded as Ottawa outscored Western 29-19, to take a 55-37 lead into halftime.

The Gee-Gees continued to shoot well from beyond the arc, sinking eleven three-pointers and shooting 42% from three-point range. As the Mustangs fought to get back into the game, things got worse, as Western committed a whopping 24 turnovers in the contest.

Finally, the buzzer ran out with the scoreboard reading a final of 104-76 in favour of the Gee-Gees.

Most teams would look forward to the opportunity to bounce back from such a devastating loss, but that’s just not true when it’s Carleton waiting to face you.

As expected, things got even worse for the Mustangs in Saturday’s match-up.

Carleton came out firing on all cylinders, and Phil Scrubb and Clinton Springer-Williams each nailed a pair of three-pointers, helping the Ravens jump out to an 18-4 lead. By the time the first quarter ended, that lead had been extended to a 33-10.

There were no real changes in the second quarter, and by the time Phil Scrubb made a jump shot to hit the half-century mark for the Ravens, their lead was extended to 33 points. Heading into halftime, Carleton was leading 57-21.

In the second half, Western could only muster an additional 23 points, while Carleton hit the century mark with about seven minutes to go in the fourth quarter, the lead at that point being 100-36.

Perhaps in retribution for a 71-4 licking that the Mustangs football program laid on the start-up Ravens, Carleton’s basketball team went on to win by 75 points, 117-42. In a game that saw scoring dispersed evenly between the key starters and bench players, Springer-Williams finished with a game-high 17 points.

Lancers Drop Opener

Meanwhile, in women’s hoops, the roles were reversed in Friday’s Carleton-Windsor matchup. The Lancers entered ranked first in the country following three consecutive championships, and many believed they would have little problem jumping to a quick 2-0 start.

The Ravens, playing at home in front of an electric crowd, had other plans.

After an even first quarter, Carleton was led by Lindsay Shotbolt and McKenzie Sigurdson in the second quarter, scoring double the Lancers' nine points to take a 36-24 lead into halftime. Sigurdson had an explosive start, scoring 11 points in the first half alone.

Carleton fought to withhold the Windsor attack in the third quarter, and were able to equal the Lancers' offence and take a 51-41 lead into the fourth.

That’s when Windsor upped the ante, and began to claw back into Carleton’s lead. Korissa Williams scored five points to help the Lancers jump out to a 7-0 run to start the quarter, closing the lead to three. Sigurdson hit a clutch three to extend the lead, but Windsor again closed the gap, Miah-Marie Langlois three-pointer with 4:34 left shrunk the lead to a point.

With just over two minutes left, Windsor were finally able to restake the lead, and had momentum on their side. However, Sigurdson just could not be contained, as she sunk another shot from beyond the arc with 1:25 left to give Carleton a 60-58 lead. The Ravens clamped down on defense, and a pair of free throws following an intentional foul was enough to allow the Ravens to escape with a massive 62-58 upset to start the season.

Unsurprisingly, Sigurdson led all players in scoring with 20 points, and shot 100% from beyond the arc.
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The Tiers of the OUA: A Men's Basketball Season Preview

For the 2013-14 OUA preview, I've divided all the teams up into tiers. Ontario is deep this year with four teams being in the conversation for nationals. There are other teams who could surprise too, if they get a few lucky bounces and some transfers pan out. Then, we have some programs floundering in the basement without a shred of hope of making noise. For each team, I've given a projected finish and a player to watch. That player is a combination of on-court entertainment while also being a barometer for the success a team will have.

CIS Title Contenders

Carleton Ravens

There is no weakness in the Ravens’ game. Sure, their jerseys are lacking in creativity, but that’s the most significant criticism I can find. The team that claimed its ninth CIS title in 11 seasons this past year, Carleton will put more distance between themselves and the rest of the pack come March 2014.

Behind Tyson Hinz, the Scrubb brothers, and transfer Victor Raso there is just no way another team beats these guys. We’re talking about a team that nearly beat the Syracuse Orange.

Phil Scrubb is the best player in the country — this much is tough to debate and until he shows any signs of slowing down, Carleton is a lock to compete for the W.P. McGee Trophy. Scrubb led the conference in PER (with Tyson Hinz and Thomas Scrubb right behind him) and he shoots 47 per cent on two point shots and 41 per cent on three point shots. (Unless otherwise specified, all statistics refer to the 2012-13 season.)

Last year, Dave Smart orchestrated the best offence and defence in the country. Not just the OUA — the entire CIS. The Ottawa Gee-Gees had an offensive rating of 107, second in the country to Carleton’s 122 (!). The gap between the Ravens and the field for defensive was closer — Carleton put up a defensive rating of 84, with the next closest figure being 89 from the Ryerson Rams.

Carleton owns the best REB% in the league at 41 per cent. They get to the line at a great pace – second to McMaster – and shoot the highest 78 per cent at the charity stripe. The Ravens hold teams to a 40 per cent eFG% too.

If you haven’t caught on yet, Carleton can do it all and their key players all fall somewhere in the top ten in the nation. Expect another dominating season from the Ravens.

Player to Watch: Phil Scrubb. I just want to know what this guy’s ceiling is. He opened the year with 38 points on 13 shots through two games.

Projected Finish: CIS Finals – Wilson Cup Champions

Windsor Lancers

This is a veteran team. Josh Collins, Enrico Diloreto and Lien Phillip are all in their fifth year of eligibility. They are this year’s version of the 2012-13 Lakehead Thunderwolves, relying on experience through the long season.

Windsor’s strength lies in their defence, which plays a suffocating press that forces turnovers at the highest rate in the conference. Phillip grabs 28% of the Lancers’ defensive rebounds, good for No.1 in that category. He’s also a highly capable defender on the block and while not a player who blocks shots (he only had 14 blocks last season), Phillip can bother shots in a help situation.

The concern for this team will be how they function on offence. Michael Petrella played a ton of minutes at guard for the Lancers last year, but with his departure, Windsor has to look elsewhere to get the ball moving on offence. Collins is a top-level point guard, great at distributing the ball to his teammates. His average of 4.1 assists per game put him at 15th in the country. But the issue here is his turnovers.

The talented teams in the OUA prey on turnovers, and if you can’t control turnovers — as Collins has shown — you’re not going to win. Last year, take a look at the OUA teams who made it to the CIS Final 8: Lakehead, with Greg Carter and Dwyane Harvey leading the charge; Carleton, with the Scrubb brothers and Clinton Springer Williams wreaking havoc on ball-handlers; Ottawa, with Johnny Berhanemeskel and Warren Ward finishing top-five in total steals, and the Lancers. Windsor as a team has a low TOV% (20 per cent) but Collins owns a 24 per cent TOV%. It’s tough to build a successful offence around that, proven by their lowly 98 O-Rtg.

Another key to shoring up their offence will be reigning in Diloreto. He’s a talented offensive player, but he shoots an abysmal eFG% of 44 per cent. His shooting is only compounded by his USG%, which ranks 13th in the league among qualified players. If coach Chris Oliver can move some of those possessions to Rotimi Osuntola Jr. - a hyper-efficient guard with range - Windsor should be able to come out on top of the OUA West.

Lastly, they need to improve in all areas of free throws — both getting to the line and knocking them down. Their free throw to field goal attempted ratio is second worst in the OUA (to Western), and their free throw percentage is the worst, at 65%. If they can do a better job at getting to the line and setting up that hellacious press that Oliver has crafted, the O-Rtg should improve greatly.

Player to Watch: Lien Phillip - Professional-level talent, will be key to maintaining their defence.

Projected Finish: Medal at the CIS Championship - potential Wilson Cup finalist


Contenders for a Final 8 berth

McMaster Marauders

The talk in Hamilton has been about nationals, and I think that’s a fair conversation to have.

Adam Presutti had a rough sophomore season, riddled with injuries causing him to never catch on in the lineup. Outside of that, McMaster’s roster all made significant strides; Joe Rocca become a reliable offensive weapon, Taylor Black emerged as one of the best players in the conference (and nation), Rohan Boney won a Rookie of the Year award and Nathan McCarthy proved himself to be a top defensive big man.

With all of those players back, the Marauders seemed poised to build off a good season in 2012-13. It started off rough, with only two wins and five losses after the interlock period. But the team would turn it around and finish 13-8 and were this close to getting to the Final Four before succumbing to Lakehead in the Thunderdome.

McMaster had an average offence, but that was largely a product of Boney and Redpath having to take control when Presutti missed games. When the 2011 CIS Rookie of the Year did play however, he improved the offence with his playmaking ability. Presutti posted a 26 per cent AST% last season, good for second in the conference.

Where McMaster hangs their hat is on defense, and don’t expect a regression there. Boney is a great defender, Black and McCarthy can handle nearly any frontcourt and head coach Amos Connolly has added some other talent to beef up the defense. Trevon McNeil, Hamid Nessek and Leon Alexander — all in their first year with the program — are solid players who are overwhelming when defending the perimeter.

Black could take the next step and be in the conversation for an All-Canadian spot. He posted the best PER for players not from Carleton and has shown a knack for scoring at the right time and taking over quarters.

I’m very high on this team because I’ve already said a couple hundred words about them and haven’t even talked about some players who won't be playing major minutes for them. They lost Scott Laws, an emotional leader for the team, but as the team matures, they should have been able to replace the void.

They’ll need to knock off a ranked team to get to the CIS Final 8, but don’t be surprised if they do. This team is ten players deep and capable of playing with any team in the conference.

Player to Watch: Taylor Black. He is only in his fourth year of eligibility and has already made noise through the beginning of this season. Just how good can he be?

Projected Finish: Second in the OUA West, potential Wilson Cup finalist.


Ottawa Gee-Gees

With the departure of Warren Ward — a player who received NBA camp invites and praise from professional hoops writers — to Germany, it’s easy to sweep the Gee-Gees out of the conversation. But there is more to the Garnet and Grey than Ward. Johnny Berhanemeskel is the league-leader in three-pointers made, Vikas Gill is an efficient option to take some more of the offensive load and Mike L’Africain has been stellar through the Gee-Gees undefeated pre-season.

To say L’Africain struggled through his sophomore season is putting things gently. Offensively, he was unable to be efficient while playing off Ward’s double teams and was an average defender with a D-Rtg of 98. But L’Africain has all the tools to be an effective point guard for an electric offence.

Head coach James Derouin has looked to increase the tempo of the game, and that lends to L’Africain’s ball handling abilities and decision-making. Last year, the second-year guard finished 16th in the OUA for assists. Playing alongside Gill and Berhanemeskel gives L’Africain two lethal weapons on the perimeter, so his assist numbers should improve this year.

I mentioned earlier that the Ottawa offence is second in the conference and while it will regress due to the loss of Ward, it will still be up there with the best. The defence is what’s suspect here.

Matt Nelson, a six-foot-nine centre, hardly played last year after suffering multiple injuries. In fact, he even doesn’t show up on the CIS roster for last year’s team. But he’ll be the key to keeping the Gee-Gees defence in the upper echelon of the OUA ranks. Ottawa played a small-ball rotation, with Gill at six-foot-seven being the largest player on the court. While this rotation led them to a CIS bronze, it’s hard to imagine this being sustainable after losing a strong perimeter defender in Ward. If Nelson can come in and become a fearsome paint presence, Ottawa’s defence could take a leap. But that’s a tall task for a second-year player with minimal on-court experience.

Another key piece to the defensive puzzle is Caleb Agada, who showed himself to have a little something during the Gee-Gees CIS Final 8 run. He has been getting a lot of minutes early in the season and I'm bullish on his perimeter defence being able to slow some offences down.

Nelson should have time to grow, however. Last year, Derouin had his team forcing opponents into difficult shots, gang-rebounding and forcing turnovers. All of those skills do not require height; they require extreme amounts of will and no player missing a beat.

With Derouin behind the bench, L’Africain poised to become a top OUA point guard and the majority of the parts from a CIS medal finish still in tact, the Gee-Gees could be in the hunt for a CIS wild card berth.

Player to Watch: Mike L’Africain. With Ward gone, someone will have to take over on offense and orchestrate. Can L'Africain pick up the slack? My quick answer is yes.

Projected Finish: potentially in the OUA bronze medal game - CIS wild card conversation

Ryerson Rams

You could make the case for Ryerson to be a CIS contender. They have the pieces; they only lost one player from last year’s team and added some intriguing talent.

But I’m pessimistic about this Rams squad. Their offence earned a pedestrian O-Rtg of 100 despite having Jahmal Jones, Aaron Best and Jordan Gauthier. Those players though, might be the reason that their offence struggled.

Both Best and Jones have been efficient on two-point shot attempts: Best shot 55 per cent from inside the arc while Jones shot 45 per cent last year. That figure from Jones is a dip in production from his first three years in OUA play, when he shot 48.3 per cent in 2011-12 and a scorching 52.4 per cent in 2010-11. His shot totals through those years were all within 11 FGA of each other.

Gauthier shot 51 per cent on non-threes last year, but 122 of 266 shot attempts were threes last year, where he only made 40 — or 32 per cent of his attempts.

It’s the three-point shots that are killing the Rams. Through twenty games last year, 38 per cent of Ryerson’s shots were threes and they only shot 29.0 per cent behind the arc. That’s a lot of threes for a team that isn’t particularly good at it.

Teams with similar three-point shot rates? Carleton with 39.5 per cent and Ottawa with 39.7 per cent. But those squads are really, really good at threes. The Ravens knocked down 40.2 per cent of threes and Ottawa knocked down 40.1 per cent.

I’m not saying that Ryerson should abandon the three-point shot. My point is that they’ll need to make better decisions in the half court. The three aforementioned guards lead the team in USG% and if they want to make it to the Final 8 tournament, head coach Roy Rana is going to have to reign their shooting in.

Instead, they should look to Bjorn Michaelsen. He is a solid big man and shoots a team-best eFG% of 56 per cent. He is polished in the post and should receive more touches than he did last year.

Ryerson is capable of making nationals, but it will take a major shift in player tendencies to get there. Can Rana change the established player styles of his three guards?

Player to Watch: Aaron Best. In his third year, he has the opportunity to climb into the top five scorers of the OUA.

Projected Finish: potentially in the OUA bronze medal game - Wild card conversation


Up-and-comers

Laurentian Voyageurs

Manny Pasquale is gone, but this team has the ability to rework itself and make noise in the OUA East. Don’t expect them to be challenging Ottawa or Carleton at the top of the standings, but they should have upset potential in the playoffs.

Georges Serresse, Jamie Weldon and Stephen Williams have all moved on from the program but Josh Budd, Nelson Yengue and Tychon Carter-Newman should have no issues filling those minutes.

Budd has already shown a scoring prowess, leading the team in scoring over Waterloo in the season opener. Carter-Newman is a defensive monster and able to clean up some plays on the offensive glass too. Nelson Yengue didn’t use a ton of offensive possessions last year, but made good on the times he did, shooting a 52 per cent eFG%.

This team is balanced, with an O-Rtg and D-Rtg of 101. Alex Ratte had a great year last year while leading the team in USG%, but it’ll be interesting to see how the loss of Pasquale impacts the defenders he faces.

I’m buying Voyageur stock because of that Sudbury advantage and returning players who are capable of filling in for the losses. The only thing that worries me about this team is what happens when Ratte has an off night or takes on an elite defender. Who takes on the shooting responsibilities? It looks like Budd, but he only averaged 7.2 points a game last year in 24 minutes per game. Will he be able to carry the offence?

Player to Watch: Josh Budd. I hinted at it before, but I’m really curious to see if the fourth-year can take these offensive units to new heights in the post-Pasquale era.

Projected Finish: Third in OUA East


Queen’s Golden Gaels

Queen’s has never made the national tournament. For a school with rich history and enough spirit to support a handful of OUA competitors, that’s a jarring fact.

But the Gaels seem to be building towards something now. Last year, rookies Sukhpreet Singh and Roshane Roberts were second and third in minutes played per game. Fourth-year Greg Faulkner led the team in minutes and scoring before going down with an injury. His strong debut in tricolour after transferring from Carleton put Queen’s at 6-3 heading into the winter break. The wheels fell off later in the season, going 1-4 in their final five games without Faulkner to finish 10-10.

It’s those outstanding rookies that put the Gaels in the up-and-coming conversation. Both were thrust into high usage situations, tasked with carrying the offence. The adjustment from high school to the OUA got the best of the two, with Singh putting up an eFG% of 46 per cent and Roberts hitting at a 40 per cent clip. Those are two sobering numbers, but there are positives.

Singh got the line at an all-OUA level. His free throw rate of 0.37 was good for ninth in Ontario. He only made 74 percent of his free throw attempts, but for a rookie to come out and make a habit of getting to the charity stripe is nothing short of impressive. Singh also has an elite play-making ability, finishing his first-year campaign with a 21 per cent assist rate to put him at tenth in the conference.

For Roberts, there are not many redeeming offensive numbers. All around, it looks pretty bleak. He’s not a great shooter from anywhere, doesn’t do well at the line (71 per cent last year) and averaged just over an assist a game. Those numbers will definitely turn around as he gains experience.

Where Roberts could redeem himself is to grow on the defensive end. He showed promise; he averaged a hair over a steal per game last year and owned an impressively low 2.6 fouls committed per 40 minutes.

Mike Mullins — brother of Columbia University and member of the Canadian development team Grant Mullins — joins the team and should take some of the scoring load off of Roberts. 

Nikola Misljencevic has had a strong pre-season, including 20 points over No. 8 McGill to lead his team to an OT victory. He only averaged seven shots a game, but it’s likely that he’ll take more possessions too.

Don’t expect a breakout season though. This team will likely be building off of last year’s success and give their young players more on-court experience.

Player to Watch: Greg Faulkner. He is a savvy player with range who has the potential to go for 30 if the defence is sleeping on him.

Projected Finish: Loss in OUA quarterfinals


Laurier Golden Hawks

This one is a tough call. Their roster screams "average" as evidenced by last year’s O-Rtg of 94 and D-Rtg of 101. Both marks are just middle of the pack, but more importantly, they are far off from the mark of teams that compete for the Wilson Cup year-in and year-out.

Still, they have a chance to make a run. Max Allin, in his final year of eligibility, is one of the best scorers in the country. He plays an efficient style; good three-point shooting and a ton of free throws. Third-year Will Coulthard has one of the quickest triggers in the conference, willing to throw it up at any second. Consistency is still an issue for him, though. He used the most possessions out of any player on his team, but only shot at an eFG% of 45 per cent.

While those two players are good on the offensive end, there are not many other players to rely on and that’s where we see the difference between them and true contenders. Allin and Coulthard combine for many of the team’s possessions per game but the others go to players who simply are not efficient enough to be deemed worthy of using a possession.

The next two leaders in USG% are Patrick Donnelly and Jamar Forde, at 20 per cent and 19 per cent respectively. Donnelly, who left the team late last year for unknown reasons but is back now, shot a horrific 39 per cent eFG%. That’s 96th worst among players that played at least one-third of team minutes. There were only 107 players that qualified. Forde isn’t much better - he ranks 85th in the category.

Head coach Peter Campbell will have to either move those shots to Coulthard and Allin or find new sources of offence. Matt Chesson, OUA Rookie of the Year, and incoming rookie Jack Simmons could give them that offence. Chesson has size and a post-game, while Simmons has put up 11.6 points through five preseason games.

Their defence is average but should be better with Donnelly back, Chesson playing more minutes and Allin maintaining a low foul rate. Turning that offence around is more important than making that defence on par with team’s in the running for the title.

Player to Watch: Max Allin. He broke the school scoring record last year in his first game back after the passing of his father. Allin can light it up with the best of them and is always worth a look.

Projected Finish: Fourth in OUA West - OUA semifinal loss


Lakehead Thunderwolves

I refuse to put Lakehead in the basement. Yes, Scott Morrison is on a professional leave of absence, scouting for the NBA D-League’s Maine Red Claws. Yes, the group of players like Joseph Jones, Greg Carter, Yoosrie Sahlia, Ben Johnson, and Matthew Schmidt who took this program to a new level are all gone. But the Thunderwolves will find a way, as they always seem to.

Lakehead had a surprising preseason, playing the Victoria Vikes tough and grinding through a game against Carleton. They dropped some games to inferior opponents, but once this team plays gets their feet wet and uses that Thunderdome advantage, they’ll be back in the conversation for the top of the OUA West.

Since the majority of players who played for this team are gone (and Ryan Thomson is sitting out the year to recover from knee surgery), I’ll shy away from putting stock in team stats. However, we can look at some players with increased roles that will try to get Lakehead back in the CIS Final 8.

Anthony McIntosh is a fourth-year player who has been asked to take on increased importance for this squad. He did not log major minutes last year — his highest minute total was in the final game of the regular season with 13 — but has already played a ton in the preseason.

Igor Lebov is a transfer from Franklin Pierce University and he has a wealth of talent. Lebov could another one of those players that Morrison has plucked out of seemingly nowhere and has potential to lead this team in scoring.

Justin Bell is in his final year of eligibility after bouncing around the OUA. He’s played for Ottawa and York but looks poised to grab a starting forward spot on the roster.

With so many moving parts, this season could go very right or very wrong for the Thunderwolves. Not having Morrison behind the bench puts a damper on my optimism slightly. What will kill this team’s chances is a slow start in the difficult interlock period.

Player to Watch: Igor Lebov. The transfer is a talented player on offensive who can hit from anywhere on the court. He could give below-average defenders nightmares.

Projected Finish: Third in the OUA West, loss in the semifinals



Playoffs, but barely


York Lions

Head coach Tom Olivieri has built a good roster here, with a lot of depth and experience. True, this team is competing in a tough conference, but I like their chances.

Aaron Rados is leading this squad as a fifth-year forward. He plays tough and led the team in minutes last year, although just barely beating out David Tyndale. Rados will be asked to take on more of the offensive load this year since Tyndale was a major source of their scoring.

This could be a good shift though, as Rados had a 52 per cent eFG% last year, a respectable mark in the top-third of the conference. He spreads his shots well; taking just under half his shots from three while shooting a decent 35 per cent and getting to the line consistently.

The Lions’ defence was respectable last year too, posting a D-Rtg of 103. A lot of that can be credited to Nick Tufegdzich, a fourth-year forward who anchors this defense. Olivieri has to hope that his presence inside can push that D-Rtg south of 100.

I’ve put this team in the "up-and-coming" section because I think their experience will pay off. But there is no time for growing pains and the loss of Tyndale can’t linger on the offence. Tyndale was an "oh no the shot clock is running down, here just take the ball" guy and did a decent job in that role. But do they have the pieces to replace that? They should, as Olivieri seems intent on playing nine guys in his rotation, according to a York Lions website video.

Player to Watch: Aaron Rados. With more possessions heading for his hands, he is one of the most intriguing players in the OUA East.

Projected Finish: Sixth in OUA East, lose in quarterfinals.


Western Mustangs

I’m expecting this team to squeak into the playoffs but only as a product of a weaker lower half of the OUA.

I’m not a fan of this team whatsoever, as they play a rough style that is not exactly fun to watch. Last year, in a regular season match-up against McMaster, the Mustangs could not hit a shot from anywhere on the court. Mac was running them out of the gym and instead of accepting that the game was lost, Western decided to just start playing dirty. They began to hit players at every possible second and it became a safety concern.

That Mustang squad is the proud owner of the worst O-Rtg in the conference, at 86. The leader for that offensive unit was Peter Scholtes, who used 27% of the possessions but put up an eFG% of 41 per cent. He is back to lead the offensive, which is not an encouraging sign. Western also turned the ball over on 25% of their possessions last year.

Alongside him on offence is Quinn Henderson. He too used a lot of possessions for them and shot a better percentage at 47 per cent, but that mark is not something to structure an offence around.

Defensively, this team was bad. They posted a D-Rtg of 106 and turned the ball over at an OUA-worst rate of 25 per cent of possesions. There is reason for optimism, though. Greg Morrow is back for a third-year and he was the strongest defensive player for the Stangs last year. He also shot a great percentage from the field with a 58 per cent eFG%, so if you’re looking for a bright spot, here it is.

Eric McDonald is a transfer from Guelph and could provide more offence for the squad. He had a strong preseason, including 18 points against Acadia.

Brad Campbell has added some recruits but it’s yet to be seen how many minutes they will play.

Western’s experience could pay off and they should prey on weaker OUA teams like Waterloo, Guelph, Toronto and Algoma.

Player to Watch: Greg Morrow. He shoots the best percentage (by far) on this team and can get his own shot. Will he be given the keys to the offence over Scholtes though?

Projected Finish: Fifth in the OUA West. Quarterfinal loss.



Guelph Gryphons

Guelph is just too young of a team to put in a category other than the basement. Zach Angus is one of my favourite players to watch in this league, but he can only do so much. Angus and Michel Clark are two returning players who logged major minutes, but the rest of the returning cast are relative unknowns. 13 (!!!) players averaged double-digit minutes per game last year too, and they need to figure out their rotation.

Their O-Rtg and D-Rtg were so bad last year, I contemplated not putting them in to save the horror. For offense, Guelph was tied for third worst in the league with 92 and for defense, they were second worst in the league, with 107. What’s scary is that Dan McCarthy — one of the team’s best defenders — is gone. Adam Kemp is a six-foot-seven forward and has a year of experience under his belt. They will need him to anchor the defence.

Offensively, McCarthy’s departure means that the team will need to look elsewhere for offence. He used a lot of possessions for the team last year and the Gryphons will miss his production. For a player using as many possessions as McCarthy did, you would want his eFG% to be higher (it was 46 per cent) but Guelph needs whatever they can get.

They have a fresh crop of rookies, with 12 first-year players listed on their 2013-14 roster. It’ll be a rough start for the season to them if head coach Chris O’Rourke spreads the minutes as much as he did last year.

Guelph has committed themselves to the development of athletics, with a new indoor complex, brand-new football stadium and revamped soccer complex. They have some highly competitive teams in soccer, rugby, football, field hockey and cross country (to name a few). Basketball has been lacking though. Could this be the year where they start to turn that around? Probably not on paper, but through the development of their first-years, it could be the beginning.


Player to Watch: Zach Angus. He is a tough player with solid stroke and ability to get to the hoop. He’ll get more touches this year and it’ll be fun to see what he does with it.

Projected Finish: Sixth in the OUA West. Quarterfinal loss.


Basement Dwellers

Toronto Varsity Blues

I’ve put Toronto here because of the conference they play in, but I’m optimistic about the future of this team.

For one, John Campbell is the new coach. He is leaving Dalhousie, where he took two teams to the Final 8. He has implemented a new system, but said that it’s been "challenging" to introduce.

Then there is the new Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport opening in 2014. If you’ve seen the promotions for it, you know that Toronto has laid the foundation to host a CIS-best athletic department.

But for this year, they have Alex Hill returning, Matt Savel should hopefully be healthy and Dakota Laurin should get more shots since Arun Kumar has left.

Last year, Kumar and Hill used a large proportion of the team’s possessions and neither was even close to efficient. Losing Kumar is a blessing for Campbell, as he stopped any and all ball movement. If he can rein Hill in a bit, Toronto will improve on offence.

The defence was an issue last year, but again that comes from Kumar. He is a short guard and let a lot of guys get by him. If your point guard can’t defend in the OUA, you’re going to have a bad time.

These guys will be worth a watch to see what Campbell can do, but you won’t see these guys making much noise in a loaded OUA East.

Projected Finish: Eighth in the OUA East.


Algoma Thunderbirds

The newest OUA team could turn into a Lakehead-lite. Their coach, Thomas Cory, casts a wide net in recruiting — he grabbed recruits from British Columbia and Michigan — and he has been the team’s coach through their college competition. Throw in the travel factor, where teams are playing in Sudbury the night before and you’ve got a distinct advantage. The two schools even share the same weird "Thunder" prefix.

McMaster’s Joe Rocca said that the team is ultra-athletic and will look to just run teams out of the gym, a sentiment Mac coach Amos Connolly echoed in a separate interview.

They’ll be able to surprise some teams too, with teams having to do so much travelling to get there.

Player to Watch: Terrell Campbell. Athletic player who can get up and down the court as fast as anyone.

Projected Finish: Seventh in OUA East.


Brock Badgers

The new head coach in St. Catharines has already called this a rebuilding season, but Brock seems to finally be having a positive rebuild.

For the past couple of seasons, the Badgers have fielded teams that struggle to mesh on the offensive end. Last year, they put up a brutal O-Rtg of 90. With Charles Kissi in charge, the offence already looks better when I watched a preseason game against Niagara College. The ball moved a lot quicker and they were playing an inside-out style instead of the iso-ball of years past.

Mike Luby, Brian Nahimana, Jameson Tipping and Mark Gibson have all moved on from the program. Tipping had two years of eligbility remaining but left the program to play for the Brampton A’s — where Tipping’s older brother is the president and his father is the owner. Tipping used a lot of possessions for this team but was a treat to watch, as he could get to the hoop with ease, back you down in the post and hurt you from outside — evidenced by his 34 per cent mark from three.

Tshing Kasamba and Issack Egueh played the most minutes of returning players and are set to lead this squad. Alongside them is Dani Egaldi, a six-foot-seven rookie with long arms and scoring touch. He doesn’t have the size to handle older players on the defensive end but his quickness is a plus if Kissi wants to switch him on to a guard.

You don’t want to look too much into last year’s team stats because the roster will be comprised of a whole new crew. I’m looking forward to seeing where this team ends up in February because they could be really coming into their own. Egaldi is a player with OUA Rookie of the Year potential and Kissi is a coach who seems intent on changing the culture at Brock.

Player to Watch: Dani Egaldi. I can’t say enough about him. He looks like he could really give defence problems with his size and ball handling abilities. Needs to find a three point shot, though.

Projected Finish: Eighth in OUA West


Waterloo Warriors

The Warriors only lost two players — Brendan Smith and Kyrie Coleman — but having so many players return is exactly what I don’t like about this squad.

Waterloo was just as bad as Western was last year offensively and marginally better defensively. Their offence lacks any balance and their defence is susceptible to foul trouble, with abysmal fouling numbers for their major players.

I’ll highlight some positives for the team, though: it’s Greg Francis’ second year with the program, and perhaps that will give the team a little more stability. Jaspreet Gill has potential to be a dynamic offensive weapon too. But I’m running low on positives.

Simply, this roster lacks the talent to compete. In losing Smith, they lost their best rebounder, a loss that is already showing signs of problems as they nearly got doubled in rebounds in their season opener.

To get back to the playoffs, players need to have worked hard at becoming better defenders and cleaning the defensive glass. Otherwise, this team is going to be lucky to reach the quarterfinals again.

Player to Watch: Jaspreet Gill. He could be asked to take even more shots than he did last year, and that could lead to some eye popping stat totals.

Projected Finish: Seventh in the OUA West.
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Men's hockey: Rams Take Down Lions in Cross-City Clash

The #9 York Lions and Ryerson Rams kicked off their cross-town rivalry on Halloween last week, in what looked to be a closely contested matchup with both teams entering the game at just one-loss apiece.

Strangely, the single loss for each team came courtesy the other team in the Toronto equation, the Varsity Blues.

Before the puck even dropped, there was a sense that this would be a heated game, as each team fought to catch #10 Lakehead at the top of the OUA’s West Division.

It didn’t take long for the scoring to get started, either. York’s Mike Lombardi scored just twenty-nine seconds into the contest, on a beautiful pass from Lions captain Jesse Messier.

The teams traded shots for the period, keeping both Ryerson’s Adam Courchaine and York’s Andrew Perugini busy throughout the frame.

Ryerson was able to tie things up not too long after the midway point of the first, as Mitch Gallant banged home the rebound off a Jason McDonough shot.

However, the tie didn’t last long. Messier was able to slide the puck through Courchaine’s five-hole and regain the one-goal lead for the Lions.

The Lions were able to take that lead into the first intermission, largely thanks to the strong play of Perugini who made eleven saves in the frame.

Unfortunately for York, that luck ran out in the second period, which started out sloppy for both teams. There were several avoidable turnovers, poor shot attempts on net, and just a general slow, sluggish feel to the game.

However, that all ended when Ryerson’s Dustin Alcock scored off a nice turnaround wrist-shot from the sideboards, picking up a big rebound following Peter Hermenegildo’s shot, seven minutes into the period. That’s when the floodgates temporarily opened.

Victor Terreri scored a powerplay goal four and a half minutes later, on a controversial goalmouth scramble that put the Rams ahead. York was upset, as it appeared Perugini’s helmet came off, which should have resulted in play being whistled dead, but the referees came to the decision that the puck had already crossed the line when the helmet came off. As part of the arguments following the goal, York’s Troy Barss received a ten-minute misconduct, creating a big swing in the Rams' favour.

Ryerson took advantage of the momentum, with Domenic Alberga quickly scoring his sixth of the season a mere thirty-five seconds later. The Rams would take that 4-2 lead into the second intermission, following another high-offense period where the Rams outshot the Lions 16-12.

In the final frame, momentum swung back in York’s favour. Lombardi broke in on a breakaway off the opening faceoff but rung it off the post, and the Lions kept momentum as they peppered Courchaine with shots and the home crowd began to buzz.

Lombardi worked hard and was able to bury his second of the game with six and a half minutes to go, closing the lead to 4-3.

York put a lot of pressure on the Ryerson defenseman for most of the remaining time, before their second too-many-men penalty of the game came with less than two minutes left to seal their fate. With a man-advantage and a one-goal lead, Ryerson merely controlled the puck and escaped with their one-goal lead still intact, moving to 5-1-0 on the season. Ryerson outshot York 36-35 in the game that saw both goalies stand out.

Surprisingly considering their strong starts, both teams dropped their second weekend matchups. Ryerson fell to Western by a 6-4 tally on Saturday night, while Windsor had an easy time defeating York 4-1, giving the Lions their third straight loss that will certainly see them booted from the CIS Top Ten.

York will play Carleton and RMC this week, whereas Ryerson won't play at all. They must forfeit their next two games after some players apparently broke the school's code of conduct by drinking alcohol on their road trip to play Princeton University on Oct. 18 and 19. The infraction was severe enough for the school to suspend head coach Graham Wise for four games as well, though all four games happen to be against teams in the East division.

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Join us Saturday for the next rendition of the OUA Hockey Game of the Week, when the 5-1-0 Western Mustangs visit Montréal to face the 5-1-1 McGill Redmen.

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Football: Quick recaps of the seven semifinals

To review this weekend's seven playoff games, we'll look at them in order of how much the outcome differed from our point spreads, from most expected to least expected.

UBC 28 at Calgary 42
Predicted spread: Calgary by 15.5
Off by: 1.5 points

I respect what friend of the blog Jim Mullin said near the end of this game, about how UBC represented their school today after rumours leaked out surrounding the football team and the school's athletic review (though, those are hardly rumours). And yes they did take a 17-0 lead after beating up on Alberta previously. But in the end they lost this one by 14. Though the T-Birds can take some solace in the fact that, while Mercer Timmis had another Mercer Timmis game (32 carries, 164 yards, two TDs), he wasn't the leading rusher in the game, either by total yards or yards-per-carry — that honour going to Brandon Deschamps (184 on 22, 1 TD).


Saskatchewan 36 at Manitoba 37
Predicted spread: Manitoba by 3.5
Off by: 2.5 points

It'll be an offseason of replaying this game in their minds for the Huskies, now losers of eight of their last ten playoff games after a crazy, fantastic night in Winnipeg — and another one-point playoff loss on a missed field goal at the end. Like the people who point to close elections and say, "See, each vote does matter!", I find it tempting to say that every point does, too, but that's fairly self-evident after a game like this.

Half the points came in the fourth quarter; Saskatchewan had a five-point lead after three and kept the Bisons off the board for nearly a 20-minute period.


Sherbrooke 11 at Laval 32
Predicted spread: Laval by 18
Off by: 3 points

The latest in a long line of Laval games where they dominate the second half. 11th Dunsmore in a row for the Rouge et Or and of course they've won all of the last 10 — by three touchdowns on average, no less.


Guelph 17 at Queen's 34
Predicted spread: Queen's by 13
Off by: 4 points

No surprises here (this time...). Guelph ends the year 2-2 against OUA playoff teams, but with a 2-point win and a 1-point win followed by last week's 14-point loss and this 13-point one, which they lost to Queen's and "mistake-free Billy McPhee".


McMaster 3 at Western 32
Predicted spread: Western by 22
Off by: 7 points

I'd have to check the numbers on this, but I think this was the first Western game this year where they didn't score 50 points in the fourth quarter.

Aside from that this game was a foregone conclusion; I think we all knew the Mustangs were going to win the 1 vs. 4 game by 20+ points before they were halfway towards clinching the No. 1 seed. Mac's hearts of champions or inspired chemistry or whatever helped them win more games in the second half of the year — the relatively weaker schedule? I think it was the relatively weaker schedule — can only go so far against the best non-Laval team in the country.


Acadia 10 at Mount Allison 19
Predicted spread: Acadia by 7
Off by: 16 points

This one didn't finish as we thought. The Mounties gave up almost 100 more points during the season than Acadia did, and they weren't the ones who played Laval, so you'd think the Axemen could overcome the home advantage, even one enjoyed by a team that plays on a field some high school programs wouldn't touch. But the turnovers went 4 to 1 in Mount A's favour, in fact scoring their only touchdown on a pick-six with three and a half minutes left in the game.


Montreal 51 at Bishop's 8
Predicted spread: Montreal by 7
Off by: 36 points

The same logic that made Montreal road favourites also made Acadia road favourites. Neither game actually ended up close to the 7-point spread, but for very different reasons. While this was more lopsided than most probably expected, I still do feel a little better now about never putting Bishop's on my ballot this year. In any event, it seems the Gaiters won't have a chance to beat Laval after all.
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