TORONTO — After winning their last seven games and coasting to the top of the OUA West division, the Rams men's hockey team won a wild one Friday night, edging out the division rival Lakehead Thunderwolves by a score of 9-7. Buoyed by a three-goal night from first-year forward
Chris Playfair and a slew of excellent supporting performances, the Rams won their eighth straight and 10th overall to thwart the Thunderwolves' chance at a postseason berth.
Much to the chagrin of the energized Rams core, the Thunderwolves got on the board first when blueliner Tyler Jette wired a shot through the screened view of Rams goalie Garrett Forrest, who started his seventh game of the season. Lakehead continued to play a measured and intense game, but the Rams got back into things quickly when Kyle Bollers fed Playfair, the latter of whom tucked the puck past Lakehead's Max Wright for a stunning equalizer. Playfair, who last week notched his first goal as a university athlete, was relieved at things finally going his way.
"All throughout the first half of the year, there were a lot of chances for me," Playfair remarked. "I'm happy, but ultimately it's about getting wins and cleaning up our game a bit."
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After the first intermission, the Rams came out with a skip in their step, evening the score two minutes in when the Bollers-Playfair pair connected again to tie the game at 2-2. Right on cue, the Thunderwolves answered back, with Stephen Fox beating Forrest's glove on a rush to give his team the lead anew. Before the crowd could catch its breath, Zachary Shankar deked expertly around a sprawling Wright to bury his second goal in his last three games. Minutes later, Jesse Barwell, one of the team's most dependable forwards, potted his fifth of the season in a typically understated fashion to bring the tally to 4-3, which is where things would stand until Domenico Commisso got in on the fun with his fourth of the year.Â
"It's just one of those games," Rams head coach Johnny Duco said of the onslaught of goals his team put on the board in the second period. "It felt like a race to 10."
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In the third period, Playfair sent the metaphorical hats flying with his third goal of the contest, giving his team a 6-4 lead before 45 minutes of hockey had even been played. While the Rams were still celebrating Playfair's hat trick, Lakehead roared back with two goals in as many minutes off the sticks of Stephen Fox and Spencer Blackwell. Never one to sit idly, Kyle Bollers responded with a marker of his own with 12 minutes left in regulation, running up the score to an eye-popping 7-6. After Mark Shoemaker was sent to the penalty box for cross-checking, the Thunderwolves evened the score once again courtesy of Blackwell, who scored his second of the game.
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With five minutes remaining in regulation, Barwell came up clutch, beating Wright with a screaming shot for his second of the game in what would eventually be the game-winning goal. Though Lakehead fought back in the game's dying seconds, Bollers added an empty net goal to seal the 9-7 victory for the blue and gold. Despite the game ending fruitfully, Duco was adamant that the team needed to be better in order to properly prepare for the postseason.Â
"We can come out and be better defensively tomorrow and be tighter," Duco said, alluding to the team's defensive struggles. "It's the first game all year where we haven't been sharp defensively."
After taking a brisk break, the Rams are back in action on Saturday, when they'll take on the Thunderwolves in their final regular season meeting. The puck drops at 7:15 p.m.
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