UOIT Ridgebacks Media Release
Friday, January 23, 2009

Sell out crowd cannot lift UOIT to a win

Men’s Hockey: Guelph defeated UOIT 4-2

Oshawa, Ont. – With a sellout crowd on hand for Oshawa Minor Hockey night at the Campus Ice Centre, the UOIT Ridgebacks men’s hockey team could not overcome a poor first period as they fell to the University of Guelph Gryphons 4-2 in an OUA divisional match-up on Friday night.

The Dog Pound was buzzing as fans of all ages came out to support the Blue and White, with 861 fans in attendance for the game.

UOIT managed to out-shoot the Gryphons for the second consecutive night, but the result on the scoreboard turned out to be the same as Guelph would sweep the home and home series, outscoring UOIT 9-3 over the two games.

On Friday night, Josh Vatri (Barrie, Ont.) kicked things off for UOIT in the right way scoring his tenth goal of the season just 2:24 minutes into the game. With the fans still cheering on the Ridgebacks goal, the Gryphons would storm right back just 12 seconds later as Kris Belan beat UOIT goaltender Jeff Dawson (Bracebridge, Ont.) to knot things up at one goal apiece.

Later in the period, the Gryphs would take over as Zach Lillie and Michael Nelson would score for Guelph, giving them a 3-1 lead heading into the break.

The Ridgebacks came out flying in the second as they out-shot Guelph 18-5. The team was rewarded for their great play as freshman Mike Noyes (Rochester, N.Y.) scored on the power play with a bullet shot from the point, putting the Ridgebacks within a goal. Vatri and Derrick Bagshaw (Oshawa, Ont.) picked up assists on the play.

In the third period, both teams came out with a lot of intensity with a number of big hits being featured. With each team having a number of scoring opportunities, Guelph was able to break the ice midway through the period as Edward Gale scored a Gryphons insurance marker, giving his team a 4-2 lead and eventually the win.

Once again, Guelph goalie Adam Jennings had UOIT’s number as he made 39 stops. Over the course of the home and home series, he made a total 76 saves on 79 shots. UOIT netminder Jeff Dawson allowed four goals on 28 attempts. Both teams went 1-for-6 on the power play.

Guelph has dominated UOIT over two season of play. In five meetings between the two teams, Guelph is a perfect 5-0, having out-scored UOIT 22-5. Ridgebacks head coach Marlin Muylaert is no stranger to Gryphon hockey having coached at the University for eleven seasons while winning a national championship in 1996-97. UOIT will have one more crack at the Gryphons this year as they will meet up on Friday, February 13 at the Campus Ice Centre for their final regular season home game.

UOIT drops to 4-16-2 on the year while the Gryphons jump to 11-12-2, currently riding a three game winning streak. UOIT will look to get back in the win column on Wednesday night as they host the Ryerson Rams (4-16-0) at the Campus Ice Centre for a 7:30 p.m. start.

GAME RECAP

Guelph 4 at UOIT 2

1st Period
1. UOIT, J. Vatri (10) (C. Purves, N. Spaling) 2:24  
2. Guelph, K. Belan (11) (D. Knowles, R. Cotter) 2:36  
3. Guelph, Z. Lillie (8) (G. Guimond, M. Heck) 13:37  
4. Guelph, M. Nelson (10) (B. Brook) 16:33 PP

2nd Period
5. UOIT, M. Noyes (7) (J. Vatri, D. Bagshaw) 3:36 PP

3rd Period
6. Guelph, E. Gale (3) (M. Heck, Z. Lillie) 9:44  

GUE Shots: 13 5 10 TOTAL: 28
UOIT Shots: 8 18 15 TOTAL: 41

Power Play Conversion
Guelph 1-6
UOIT 1-6

Goaltenders
Guelph
Jennings 8-6-0-0 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 60:00 SV: 39 GA: 2 [W]

UOIT
Dawson 1-5-0-0 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 57:03 SV: 24 GA: 4 [L]

Attendance: 861

A QUICK LOOK AT THE RIDGEBACKS

Conference Record: 4-16-2
Overall Record: 5-21-2

Next Home Action:
Wednesday, January 28 vs. Ryerson (7:30 p.m.) – Campus Ice Centre

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Scott Dennis
Sports Information and Marketing Coordinator
Durham College and UOIT Athletics
905.721.2000 Ext. 2784 (P)
905.721.3117 (F)