TORONTO - With a playoff berth already clinched, the Ryerson Rams take on the Waterloo Warriors in a home-and-home series this week. After amassing a 16-5-2 record, only five games remain on Ryerson's regular season schedule. Coming off a 5-2 team win over Windsor, every skater seems to be hitting their stride at the right time.

As expected, Matt Mistele (Whitby, Ont.) and Mathew Santos (Toronto) operate well-above a point-per-game basis. Mistele has 27 points in 22 games including a key goal in the Rams' comeback winter homecoming win over York last Friday. With 29 points in 23 games, Santos has showed off his playmaking abilities, having collected at least one assist in the Rams' past three games including a pair of helpers against Windsor. 

Hayden McCool (Whitby, Ont.) missed Ryerson's match against Windsor after being hit hard late against York last Friday. "He's probably just day-to-day. It's just precaution," said head coach Johnny Duco after defeating the Lancers. 

Plenty of Rams have stepped up both in McCool's short absence and in the new year. Patrick Fellows (Mississauga, Ont.), who had a goal and two assists on Saturday, has picked up at least one point in every game in 2020 so far. 

"It always feels good to score and to help the team win," remarked Fellows on Saturday. Despite only two goals this season, the forward has racked up fourteen points and is sixth in team scoring. "Secondary scoring is a big thing. Maybe we kind of lacked that in the first half of the season but we seem to be coming together as a team here in the second half," added Fellows.  

Besides Fellows, plenty of skaters like Jesse Barwell (Oakville, Ont.), Devon Paliani (LaSalle, Ont.), Aaron Hyman (Calgary, Alta.), and Matt Nosella (Toronto) have been contributing. Barwell and Paliani have three points each over their last two outings while defencemen Hyman and Nosella have two points apiece in the same time frame. Nosella also earned himself a Star of the Week honour for his recent performance. 

Forwards Steven Harland (Toronto) and Brandon Glover (Sarnia, Ont.) also scored memorable goals this past weekend. Harland netted the clutch game-winner over York in Ryerson's winter homecoming while Glover scored his first career OUA goal to lift the Rams over Windsor. 

"We've got lots of guys who have put in a lot of hard work whether it's this year or last year, (they've) been biding their time, waiting their turn to get to contribute," said coach Duco in regards to his squad's depth. "We've had a lot of guys bouncing around our lineup, just whatever the team needs, (they) go out and give it their all."

Waterloo is 9-11-1 this year and dropped their last game in a high scoring 9-6 affair versus Guelph. They will enter the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Thursday night, with puck drop at 7:15 p.m. On Saturday, Ryerson heads to Waterloo for the second half of the home-and-home with puck drop slated for 7:00 p.m. Ryerson students can attend Thursday's game for free with their OneCard and stream Saturday's match on OUA.TV.