Alexander Colle | Sports Editor
Featured image: The 10th nationally-ranked York team obtain 3-2 and 4-3 victories, including shootout victory over Brock. | Courtesy of York Lions
In their first two games of the regular season, the reigning OUA Champion Lions entered Canlan Ice Sports and Seymour- Hannah Centre arenas last Friday and Saturday night, taking victories from both the Windsor Lancers and Brock Badgers.
The first game featured a matchup against a Windsor squad that finished last season with a record of 13-13-2.
The scoring began in the fifth minute, when York’s Kegan Blasby slapped in York’s first goal of the season, assisted by Colton Vannucci and Justin Bean.
Less than one minute later, the Lions found themselves on the power play, when Windsor’s Jack Van Boekel was called for an interference penalty. York capitalized on the five-on-four opportunity in seconds, when Trevor Peterson found his way to the net and wristed home the second goal of the game, assisted by Derek Sheppard and Bean.
Three minutes later, the reigning OUA champs lit up the scoreboard for the third time when Reid Jackman tucked in his first of the early season, assisted by Scott Feser and Sal Filice.
The Lancers defense tightened up in the second, thanks in part to a switch in net, as they replaced starting goalie Blake Richard with Jonathan Reinhart. The revitalized visiting team finally got on the board in the sixth minute of the period, when Jake Brown slapped one past Lion goalie, and last year’s rookie of the year, Mack Shields.
Windsor took this momentum and carried it into the third period, where Blake Blondeel put one past Shields in the 12th minute, cutting the York lead to a single goal.
The Lancers pulled Reinhart for an extra attacker in the final minutes in an attempt to tie the game up. Then, with only 10 seconds to play, Kyle Campbell was penalized for holding, which gave the Lancers a six-on-four opportunity. However, the Lions cleared the puck off the ensuing face off, ending Windsor’s hopes for a comeback.
Shields looked just as good as last season, stopping 36 of the 38 shots he faced en route to the 3-2 victory.
The Saturday night game featured a matchup against a Brock team that finished 14-13-1 last season.
This time the Lions found themselves on the wrong end of the opening score, as it was Brock’s Mack Lemmon who drew first blood, sneaking one past goalie Alex Fotinos with less than five minutes to play in the period.
Midway through the second, York found themselves in a hole when Jackman was given a 10- minute misconduct penalty, giving the Badgers a man-advantage for the next 10 minutes.
Despite intense pressure from the Badgers for the next seven minutes, the Lions finally found an opening in the 13th minute when Campbell found the puck in Brock’s zone and scored a shorthanded goal for York, evening the score at one.
However, Brock responded with just 14 seconds left in the period, when Ryan Purvis put one past Fotinos to regain their lead.
Just 38 seconds into the third, the Badgers added another goal, courtesy of Sammy Baga.
York responded two minutes later when Derek Sheppard snuck one by Badger goalie Alex Brooks- Potts, assisted by Nik Coric and Trevor Peterson.
In the seventh minute, the Badgers gifted York with a golden opportunity to tie the game, as Brock’s Jeff Corbett was given two minutes for tripping. On the man advantage, the Lions capitalized when Petersen put one past Brooks-Potts off of an assist from Campbell and Jackman, tying the game at 3-3.
After the rest of the third period and an entire overtime solved nothing, a shootout was needed.
Brock shot first, as Chris Maniccia gave the Badgers a one-goal lead, putting the pressure on York’s first shooter, Josh LaFrance.
LaFrance responded in dramatic fashion, as he beat the Badgers’ goalie to even the score at one goal apiece. After a miss by both Brock and York, the Badgers missed their second-straight shot, which set the stage for Sheppard, who found the back of the net to give the Lions their second victory of the season.
York goalie Fotinos saved 49 of 52 shots in the victory, keeping York’s record unblemished.
The Lions look to remain undefeated next week when they face off against the UOIT Ridgebacks on October 20 and the RMC Paladins on October 21 at home.
The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. for both games.
