TORONTO — The Ryerson Rams earned a 5-3 win over the York Lions in a Wednesday morning matinee at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in their final home game of the 2019-20 regular season.

Leading the way for Ryerson was captain Matt Mistele (Whitby, Ont.) who collected a goal and three helpers in the win. 

Jesse Barwell (Oakville, Ont.) would get on the board first for Ryerson, burying a cross-ice pass from defender Gregory DiTomaso (Etobicoke, Ont.) to collect his ninth goal of the year. Barwell's first-period marker gave Ryerson a 1-0 lead with 18 minutes left to play before intermission. 

York forward Brandon Yeamans struck back two minutes later with a shorthanded goal to tie the game at one. At the 12-minute mark of the first, York would add another off a Brendan Browne top-shelf snipe to gain a 2-1 lead midway through the period. 

The Lions' lead didn't hold for long, though. The Rams tied up the game on a highlight-reel, buzzer-beating sequence from Mathew Santos (Toronto); Santos would draw in two York defenders before being hauled down in the zone, passing the puck up to Hayden McCool (Whitby, Ont.) who would find a wide-open Mistele in front. Mistele's 14th of the year sent the Rams to the dressing room tied at two after 20. 

The Rams would strike gold on the man advantage in the second period, netting back-to-back power play markers to gain a two-goal lead. McCool's fifth power play goal of the season came at the 10:23 mark of the second, deflecting a Mistele point shot to put the Rams up 3-2. Mistele would make another stellar play just five minutes later; the captain's stretch pass found David Miller (Burlington, Ont.) at York's blue line on a partial break. Miller's dangles secured Ryerson's fourth goal of the game with under five minutes to play in the second. 

The third period came with little action until the 10-minute mark when York would pull their goaltender to gain a two-man advantage on the power play. Their original attempt was unsuccessful, but Cole Ceci would leave the net again just a few minutes later to gain another mid-period man advantage. Morgan Messenger would bring the game within one at the 13:24 mark of the period, cutting Ryerson's lead to 4-3 with under six to play in the game. 

"I've never seen [a goalie] pulled that early, and I've never seen a goalie change with a player and go back in on the fly," says Rams head coach Johnny Duco. "They're mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, so they're trying things out and they're playing to win — I respect that. 

"It speaks volumes to their coaching staff and their willingness to try and set a winning culture." 

Ceci left the net again near the end of the period, but Ryerson's Devon Paliani (Lasalle, Ont.) notched an empty netter in the dying moments of the game to secure a 5-3 win for the Rams in their final home game of the regular season. 

Both Santos and DiTomaso collected two assists in the win over York. 

Ryerson would finish the game going two-for-five on the power play and four-for-four on the penalty kill. The team wrapped up their season series against York with another victory to sweep the Lions with three wins and no losses on the year. 

Ryerson will wrap up their regular season campaign on the road against the Windsor Lancers on Friday, February 7th. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Capri Ice Complex.