The University of Windsor Lancers men's hockey team earned a hard-fought 3–2 home victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday (Feb. 7) night at the Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex, erasing an early deficit and scoring twice in the third period to complete the comeback. After falling behind 2–1 through forty minutes, Windsor leaned on timely special teams and strong goaltending to close out the win.
Prior to the game, the Lancer honoured their graduating players: Brady Hinz, Dylan Schives, Matt McNamara, Stef Dobrich, and Keegan McMullen.
STATS
Windsor controlled the flow of the game for most of the night, outshooting Toronto 36–23. Lancer goaltender Max Donoso turned in another steady performance, stopping 21 of 23 shots to earn the victory. Rayce Ramsay made 27 saves for Toronto and Nick Surzycia took the loss in the third period after coming on in relief
Offensively, Brady Hinz led the way for Windsor with a goal and an assist, while Aaron Shaw and Colton Smith each found the back of the net. Keegan McMullen and Ray Hamlin added assists. The Lancers went 1-for-5 on the power play, while Toronto finished 1-for-4 with the man advantage.
GAME FLOW
Toronto opened the scoring late in the first period on the power play, as Eddie Yan converted to give the Varsity Blues a 1–0 lead heading into the intermission. Windsor generated chances but was unable to solve Ramsay's netminding in the opening frame.
The Blues doubled their lead early in the second period when Ryan Watt scored to make it 2–0. Windsor answered back midway through the period, with Brady Hinz capitalizing on an unassisted effort to cut the deficit to one. Despite continued pressure from the Lancers, Toronto maintained its 2–1 advantage after forty minutes.
In the third period, Windsor took over to stage a comeback. Aaron Shaw tied the game at 9:19 on the power play, finishing a setup from Keegan McMullen and Hinz. Just under four minutes later, Colton Smith delivered the game-winner, burying a feed from Ray Hamlin to put Windsor ahead for good. The Lancers locked things down defensively the rest of the way to secure the 3–2 win.
UP NEXT
The Lancers will look to build on this momentum as they close out their regular season in Thunder Bay, Ont. at Lakehead and prepare for the playoffs. Puck drop on Friday, February 13 is set for 7 p.m. and can be streamed online via oua.tv.
