Emilie Miranda | Executive Editor, Online
Featured image: With less than a month left in the season, the Lions men bolster their bid for a playoff spot with two wins. | Courtesy of Placide Ilunga
It was a bittersweet weekend for the Lions, with the men winning their games against Ryerson and Brock, and the women dropping theirs against Nipissing and Laurentian.
Friday night saw large crowds for a men’s cross-town matchup that’s now only a subway ride away for Lions fans. The Lions opened the scoring eight minutes into the first period, when Josh LaFrance went top shelf on the Rams’ goalie after missing a breakaway attempt just seconds earlier.
Stefano Pezzetta extended the Lions’ lead three minutes into the second, deflecting the puck off a defender and over the goalie’s shoulder. However, it looked like York was going to let the game get away from them, after Ryerson’s Alex Basso capitalized on two of York’s penalties in the second and third to tie the game.
With just under eight minutes to go, Colton Vannucci split the defence and wristed the puck under the goalie’s arm to give the Lions the lead once again. Getting their penalty trouble under control, they were able to hang on for the 3-2 win.
Mack Shields made 28 saves in the victory, which earned the Lions two points against their divisional rivals.
The men were back at it again on Saturday night against a Badgers team that had handed them their first loss of the year. This game was a very different story, however. After a scoreless first period, Kyle Campbell put the Lions ahead with a power play goal, followed six minutes later by some insurance courtesy of LaFrance.
The victory was capped off by a Trevor Petersen goal with half a minute to go in the game, as Shields recorded his second shutout this season. Both Petersen and Campbell had a goal and assists in the win, which saw the Lions go two for six with the man advantage.
York currently sits tied for second in their division, just four points behind first-place Guelph.
Unfortunately, it was a different story for the Lions women, who only managed to score one goal over their two games.
On Saturday night they faced off against the fourth-place Lakers. With no goals coming in the first period for either side, Nipissing opened the scoring seven minutes into the second.
Kelsey McHolm tied things up less than four minutes later, but Nipissing retook their lead 13 minutes into the third, and added an empty-netter with less than a minute left, en route to the 3-1 victory.
York only managed 21 shots on net in the game, and were unable to capitalize on four power play opportunities.
Sunday afternoon saw another low-shooting game, this time against the Laurentian Voyageurs.
The first period was full of back-and-forth action, with neither team seemingly able to sustain pressure in the offensive zone. Then, with just four minutes left in the period, the Voyageurs drew first blood on a power play goal.
The second period failed to yield any goals for either side, but halfway through the third, the Voyageurs added an insurance goal after grabbing a loose puck with a delayed penalty for the Lions.
York pulled goalie Lauren Dubie for the extra attacker late, but they were still unable to put one past the Laurentian goalie, as they were shut out 2-0.
Though they outshot the Voyageurs 25-22 in the game, the Lions were once again unable to score on four power play opportunities. They currently sit 29 points behind first place in the OUA.
The men look to continue their success with back-to-back road games against Lakehead on Friday and Saturday, while the women will host UOIT and Queen’s on Saturday and Sunday. The puck drops at 7 p.m. for the men, and 2 p.m. for the women.
