The Wilfrid Laurier University men’s hockey team suffered a loss against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues on Nov. 10, with a final score of 6-2.
The game escalated quickly, with the Varsity Blues scoring their first goal three minutes into the first period on first year goaltender Tristan Malboeuf. Both teams roughed each other up, accumulating a total of 14 penalty minutes for each team.
Toronto showed some very strong offence in the first period. They passed the puck seamlessly and the Golden Hawks struggled to intercept their passes. They always seemed to have a player in the perfect position to grab the puck and get a shot in the net.
Along with passing well, the Varsity Blues had a man screening goaltender Malboeuf out front, a hockey tactic where a player positions themselves directly in front of the opposing goaltender to obstruct their view of the puck.
This makes it more difficult for the goaltender to see incoming shots. Their second goal of the night came as a result of screening the goalie. With Malboeuf unable to see past the player, they sank the puck into the net for the second time.
Following the second goal of the night, Toronto took back-to-back penalties, leaving the Golden Hawks with a two-man advantage for 45 seconds. Unfortunately, they did not benefit and the Golden Hawks finished the period two goals behind.
The Varsity Blues came out strong after intermission, scoring their third goal of the night just over three minutes into the second period. With Laurier behind by three goals, the extra curriculars started ramping up as the players started to fight.
Toronto took a 2-minute penalty for hooking, allowing Laurier the chance to score on the power play. Fourth-year arts major Patrick Brown took advantage, scoring Laurier’s first goal of the night.
About halfway through the period, Laurier was catching up in shots at 16-16, but both teams failed to sink another puck for the rest of the period. They continued to skate up and down the ice, with Toronto keeping a fast pace for the Golden Hawks.
“They’re a fast team,” said fourth-year arts major Sam Rhodes. “They took advantage of some turnovers we had, getting the puck up quick, and then ultimately buried their chances but I thought we were right there with them. We were close in shots, and we had a few good looks.”
The Golden Hawks kept up the pace into the third period, where the fights really picked up. A fight broke out after a whistle, leaving Laurier with a 2-man disadvantage. This allowed the Varsity Blues to grab their fourth goal of the game.
Following this goal, a Toronto player managed to take out two Laurier players in one hit, leaving Toronto forward Ben Woodhouse alone in front of goaltender Malboeuf and giving them their fifth goal.
While the Golden Hawks were leading in shots, it was no use as Malboeuf had to face a total of 39 shots due to a lackluster defensive performance, only mitigating 33 of them with little help from his defense.
First-year arts major Brendan Anderson commented on the Golden Hawks performance. “It’s a tough loss but I think we’re building…we got to come together as a team,” he said.
Laurier’s Bryce Sutherland, a second-year arts major, was able to score their second and final goal of the game about halfway through the third period. It was quickly followed by the Varsity Blue’s sixth goal of the game just a few minutes later.
“The effort was there,” said Rhodes. “It was unfortunate they were able to score so many on us but we’re keeping our heads up and we’re just looking on to the next game.”
With one more fight in the last minute of the game, the period came to an end with a final score of 6-2 in favor of Toronto.
The Golden Hawks were on the road for their next games on Nov. 15 and 16, with back-to-back games against the Nipissing University Lakers. Unfortunately, Laurier lost these games with the final scores being 4-1, and 3-4.
