TORONTO, Ont. - Before the puck even dropped at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Thursday night, the Rams men's hockey team had reason to feel energized. Instead of wearing their regular blue or gold primary jerseys, the team was sporting brand new white jerseys that featured sleek strips of blue and gold set against a pristine white background. It helped, of course, that it was the team's inaugural Teddy Bear Toss night, and the team's first goal would result in a parade of teddy bears flooding the ice.

That aesthetic freshness, as surface-level as it may have been, certainly helped the Rams, who managed 44 shots on net and came away with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues.

In a sloppy first period, both teams traded chances, but neither could push across a goal in the opening 20 minutes. The red hot Kyle Bollers, in particular, came within inches of his fifth goal of the season, slotting a shot just wide of Varsity Blues goalie (and one-time Maple Leafs signee) Alex Bishop on a thrilling breakaway. Still, a steady Toronto blueline kept the hungry Rams at bay, at least temporarily. 

"I liked our effort," Rams head coach Johnny Duco remarked. "In terms of our game plan, we did a pretty good job executing it."

The second frame brought about the Rams' first power play of the night, which yielded some high-quality shots, but no goals. The Rams continued their offensive onslaught well into the middle of the period, bombarding Bishop with shots of all kinds. It was all for naught, however, since the Blues struck first with five minutes remaining, thanks to the gritty play of forward Danny Katic, who knocked a loose puck past Rams netminder Garrett Forrest.    

With 13 minutes remaining in the final frame—and the Rams' shot total nearing 40—Gregory DiTomaso finally got the Rams on the board with a stunning, screaming shot from the point. As the teddy bears rained down, the blue and gold breathed a heavy sigh of relief, finally giving the lively crowd something to cheer about.

"I've never done that before, but it was pretty cool," DiTomaso laughed when addressing his second goal of the season, and the teddy bears that accompanied it. "I felt like we were playing the game right all night."

Added Duco: "Once we scored that goal, I felt like we really found our legs and that gave us an adrenaline shot." 

True to that assessment, the Rams heroically took the lead with three minutes remaining, when Elijah Roberts fed a speeding Bollers, who managed to pot a bouncing puck past a sprawling Bishop. In the dying seconds of the game's final period, a racing Jacob Kamps outskated a pair of Blues defenders to bury an empty net goal that sealed the deal for the relieved Rams.

"We're buzzin'," Bollers said triumphantly, praising Roberts' effort on the game-winning goal. "Our team battled hard."

After a day of rest and preparation, the Rams will hop on a bus to St. Catharines, where they'll play an early Saturday evening game against the first-place Brock Badgers; the puck drops at 5:15 p.m.