Alexander Colle | Sports Editor
Featured image: A pair of late comebacks resulted in three points this weekend in Ottawa. | Courtesy of York Lions
Having lost both games last week to Waterloo and Windsor, the Lions men’s hockey team looked to get back on track this weekend when they took on the Carleton Ravens and Ottawa Gee-Gees in the nation’s capital.
First up was an 8-3-2 Ravens team that defeated the Lions by a score of 4-0 last season. This year yielded a different result, as the Lions managed to comeback late in the game and earn the victory in a shootout.
The game started out very much in Carleton’s favour, as seven minutes into the first, Raven Evan de Haan beat Alex Fotinos to draw first blood for the Ravens, assisted by Jared Steege.
York had a chance to tie the game up two minutes later, when Raven Adam Chapman was given a two-minute penalty for goaltender interference on a close play at the net. The Lions were unable to capitalize on the opportunity, however, and instead promptly gave the puck away 24 seconds later to Raven Josh Burnside, who made a nifty pass to Dalen Hedges, who then fed it to Travis Douglas for the goal.
York was given another opportunity five minutes later when Brett Welychka was called for a hooking penalty, once again putting the Lions on the powerplay. This time, the Lions made no mistake, as Josh LaFrance made a great individual effort to put one past Ravens goalie Francois Brassard to cut the Carleton lead in half.
After a scoreless second period that saw Carleton outshoot York 12-7, the Lions looked to the final frame in an attempt to tie the game up. With one minute left in the period, the Lions were in dire straights, and on the verge of losing their third-straight game. With an extra attacker, the Lions used superb puck to manufacture the chance they were looking for, as Justin Bean received a pass from Colton Vanucci and blasted it past Brassard, tying the game up with just 38 seconds left in regulation.
After overtime solved nothing, the two teams looked to the shootout to decide a victor. After a scoreless first round, both Trevor Peterson and Welychka found the back of the net, tying the game up once again.
Looking to grab the lead, Lion Derek Sheppard made a crafty move around Brassard and successfully wristed the puck into the net to give the Lions a 2-1 lead. It was up to Steege to extend the game—but he could not outsmart Fotinos, as the Lions goalkeeper made a clutch stop to give the Lions the victory.
The next game against the Gee-Gees was almost a carbon copy of the Ravens game, as York fell behind early when an Ottawa power play led to a goal by Gee-Gee Médric Mercier midway through the first period.
Things looked even worse for York in the second period, as the Gee-Gees got the best of Fotinos and scored two goals within a two-minute span, first by Brendan Jacome in the second minute, and second by Eric Locke in the fourth minute.
Down 3-0, the Lions failed to throw in the towel despite the discouraging score. Eight minutes into the second period, York finally got on the board when Bean made an individual effort and put one past goalie Anthony Brodeur for the goal.
Just a minute later, York cut into the Ottawa lead once again when Kyle Campbell received a pass from Sal Filice, and sniped one past Brodeur to cut the lead to a single goal.
Down one goal heading into the third period, York was looking to complete the comeback and did just that in the sixth minute, when Andrew Doyle netted his second of the season, assisted by Jack Goranson and Campbell.
As per usual, the rest of the period and overtime solved nothing, so it was up to the shootout once again to decide the winner.
Unfortunately, the result was not one the Lions were looking for, as they failed to beat Brodeur on all three attempts. Connor Sills scored the only goal for Ottawa, but that was all they needed to take the victory in Saturday’s matchup.
The Lions look to end their semester on a high note this weekend when they take on the Laurier Golden Hawks at home on Friday, and the Ryerson Rams downtown on Saturday.
The puck drops at 7 p.m. for both games.
