By Wojtek Dabrowski
Ryerson’s hockey team withheld an invasion from the Royal Military College Saturday night by mobilizing their sticks and skates.
The Rams simply stickhandled around the RMC Paladins, who were using the strategy of blitzing their enemy with bodychecks and skated to a 4-2 victory.
The win could not have come at a better time for the Rams, who are in an all-out war with York University for the final playoff spot in the OUA Mid West division.
Saturday’s win was a quick rebound form Friday’s 5-2 loss to Queen’s. The Ram’s record now stands at 7-12-1, but because the Yeomen won twice last week, the two teams are tied for the final playoff spot in the division.
Head coach Louie Carnevale said the team will really have to pull together if they want to make it to the playoffs, and that is exactly what the Rams did against the Paladins. It was a fast and hard-hitting game, with eight shoving matches erupting throughout it.
“They’re a much more clutch-and-grab team, because they lack the talent,” Carnevale said of RMC, which has a 3-19-0 records.
Still, the Rams kept their cool and came through with goals from Kirby Tokarski, Peter Hoppe, John DiBasta and Eric Medieros.
Ryerson right-winger Ryan Love said it was a tough win.
“RMC works hard all game,” he said. “That’s their mentality. They just go all out.”
The Rams will have to go all out too if they hope to make it to the playoffs.
To gain some ground on division-mates York and Laurentian this weekend, they will have to beat the top team in the league, University du Québec à Trois Revières.
UQTR is the third-ranked team in Canada and they possess a 19-0-4 record. Ryerson plays them in Quebec Saturday, Feb. 5 after playing against Concordia, 9-6-3, in Montreal on Friday, Feb. 4.
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