Matt Dionne | Sports and Health Editor
Featured image: The Lions picked up right where they left off before the break with back-to-back wins. | Courtesy of York Lions
The hockey season is well underway, and the Lions continue to ice their competition.
On Friday, the men were in London facing off against the Western Mustangs. York’s Trevor Petersen opened the scoring just seven minutes into the game with his ninth goal of the season, assisted by Colton Vannucci and Greg Milner. Just over a minute and a half later, York would add another goal courtesy of Nick Zottl, assisted by Steven Janes.
The second period saw a flurry of scoring, as the Lions would add their third goal of the game courtesy of Reid Jackman, assisted by Nicholas Geiser and Scott Feser. However, Western would finally respond with back-to-back goals of their own to cut the Lions’ lead to 3-2.
Just three minutes later, Milner would net his 11th goal of the season, assisted by Bryce Milson and Peterson, to put the game out of reach in favour of the Lions.
Neither team would find the back of the net in the third, and the Lions would go on to win the game 4-2.
The Lionesses hosted the Waterloo Warriors on Saturday, where they looked to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, but to no avail.
Waterloo would open the scoring halfway through the first, but York would respond just six minutes later, courtesy of Sarah Power’s first goal of the season, which was unassisted.
The rest of the first and most of the second periods were a back-and-forth battle, but neither team could get the upper hand until Waterloo broke the stalemate late in the second. The Warriors wouldn’t look back from there, adding a pair of goals in the third to go on to win 4-1.
The men were back home on Sunday to host the Guelph Gryphons at Canlan. Neither team could find the back of the net in the first, however, Lions fans didn’t have to wait long for a goal in the second frame. York’s Janes would find the back of the net just before the halfway mark to give the Lions a 1-0 lead.
Zottl and Geiser would provide York with some insurance to give the Lions a 3-0 lead. The Gryphons would finally break the shutout in the third, but it wasn’t enough, as York would go on to win the game by a score of 3-1.
With the win, the Lions move into first in the Ontario University Athletics West with 28 points, just one point ahead of the Ryerson Rams. With the loss, the Lionesses are now eight points behind Windsor for the eighth and final playoff spot, and their playoff hopes are looking slim.
Both teams play again on Saturday on the road. The men will be in Windsor taking on the Lancers, while the women will be at U of T taking on the Varsity Blues. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. for the men and 7:00 p.m. for the women.
