2009-10 NEWS RELEASES

UOIT Ridgebacks Media Release
Friday, January 15, 2010

Ridgebacks stun the top-ranked Mustangs

Men’s Hockey: UOIT defeated Western 6-4

LONDON, Ont. – It was the UOIT Ridgebacks biggest win in the history of the men’s hockey program Friday night as they upset the No. 3 nationally ranked Western Mustangs 6-4 in London, Ont.

“The team battled hard tonight,” said Marlin Muylaert, UOIT head coach. “The effort was there for us to pick up two big points in the standings as we continue fight for a playoff position. Even though it was a great win, there is no time to celebrate as we have to get ready for a tough game at home against Guelph in less than 24 hours.”

The odds were stacked against a shorthanded Ridgebacks squad, who had only 15 skaters dressed while trying to snap a three game losing streak. Captain Derrick Bagshaw (Oshawa, Ont.) and team leading scoring Josh Vatri (Barrie, Ont.) were among the several key players sidelined in the game.

Western on the other hand, entered the match on a 16 game winning streak, with their last loss coming on October 10, 2009 in their second conference game of the year. Mustangs head coach Clarke Singer was also one win shy of earning his 250th CIS victory.

The Mustangs opened up scoring in the game with an early goal, but UOIT would manage to bounce back with a pair of goals from Dustin Turner (Charlottetown, PEI) and Tony Rizzi (Kingston, Ont.) less than a minute apart to take a 2-1 lead. Western would respond with a goal of their own to knot things up at 2-2 heading into the break.

The teams would continue to trade goals throughout the second period, with both teams scoring two goals to remain tied after two. Nathan Spaling (Drayton, Ont.) and Brent Varty (Oshawa, Ont.) scored for UOIT.

In the third period, Pickering native Kyle Wetering would break the 4-4 tie at the 8:35 minute mark, as he battled hard in front of the net, beating Western goalie Josh Unice to net the Ridgebacks fifth goal of the game. Wetering would add an insurance marker in the final seconds scoring an empty net goal to give UOIT the 6-4 victory.

“Kyle had a great game for us tonight,” said Muylaert. “The scoresheet proves it as he finished with two goals and an assist, but he also had a great defensive effort when we needed it.”

After recording two goals in their prior three games, UOIT did a great job of regaining their scoring touch to knock off the Mustangs.

“Momentum seemed to be on our side tonight,” said Muylaert. “When they (Western) would score to tie up the game, our guys responded with timely goals.”

Jeff Dawson earned the win for the Ridgebacks, stopping 29 Western shots including all ten Mustang attempts in the third period. Keyvan Hunt, who had eight consecutive wins in net for Western, was pulled in the second period after letting in three goals on 11 shots. Josh Unice picked up the loss for Western allowing two goals on ten shots. Western out shot UOIT 33-22.

Turner, Spaling and Jeff Barletta (Port Stanley, Ont.) would all end up with two points respectively.

Both teams scored single goals on the power play, as UOIT went 1-for-3 with the man advantage while Western went 1-for-4.

UOIT (7-11-1) trails Brock (8-12-1) and Windsor (7-9-3) by two points for the final playoff positions in the western conference. The Badgers and Lancers both picked up losses on Friday night. Western (16-3-0) is tied with Laurier (14-4-2) for first place in the conference with 32 points apiece.

The Ridgebacks will be back in action Saturday night as they take on the Guelph Gryphons at the Campus Ice Centre. Puck drop for Scout’s night is at 7:30 p.m.

GAME RECAP

UOIT 6 At Western 4
Jan 15, 2010 - Thompson Arena

UOIT 2 2 2 - 6
Western 2 2 0 - 4

1st Period
1, Western, Turkiewicz 15 (Furlong, Snow), 4:06
2, UOIT, Turner 4 (Wetering, Barletta), 8:08 (pp)
3, UOIT, Rizzi 6 (Spaling, Legge), 9:08
4, Western, Corbeil 5 (Ouellet, Swit), 12:18

2nd Period
5, UOIT, Spaling 6 5:17
6, Western, Aarssen 2 (Turkiewicz, Baker), 13:24
7, UOIT, Varty 6 (Purves), 13:40
8, Western, Baker 12 (Snow, Turkiewicz), 17:36 (pp)
 
3rd Period
9, UOIT, Wetering 9 (Turner, Barletta), 8:35
10, UOIT, Wetering 10 (Baker), 19:56 (en)
 
Shots on Goal
UOIT 5-10-7-22
Western 11-12-10-33

Power Play Opportunities
UOIT 1 of 3
Western 1 of 4

Goalies
UOIT, Dawson 1-2-0 (33 shots-29 saves)
Western, Hunt 8-2-0 (11 shots-8 saves); Unice 0-1-0 (10 shots-8 saves).

A QUICK LOOK AT THE RIDGEBACKS
Overall Record: 8-16-1
Conference Record: 7-11-1

Next Home Game: Saturday, January 16 vs. Guelph (7:30 p.m.) ***Scouts Night

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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)
scott.dennis@dc-uoit.ca