By Charles Vanegas
The Ryerson men’s hockey team (6-12) scored five straight goals en route to a 6-4 victory over the University of Toronto Varsity Blues on Sunday.
From beginning to end, the crosstown competitors proved that this is, in fact, a true rivalry. The Rams and Varsity Blues combined for a total of 88 penalty minutes, with Blues forward Kyle Ventura receiving two 10-minute misconducts.
“We’ve got a little hate on for them,” said Rams captain Andrew Buck. “They don’t like losing to us, and it’s the same thing going the other way — we don’t like losing to them. Especially where they’re standing (now at 10-5-3), they probably came in here thinking it was going to be an easy one.”
After the final whistle, players from both sides continued to engage in heated taunting and shoving. Rams head coach Graham Wise could be seen pushing forward Jason Kelly towards the locker room in order to remove him from the situation.
“It’s a crosstown rival and there are emotions. That’s the nature of the beast. [But] we have to play them again (on Jan. 23) and put that behind us,” said Wise. “It’s not the kind of stuff I like to see after a whistle — pushing and shoving and scrapping. You don’t want to say ‘that’s hockey.’ But that’s rivalry.”
Almost overshadowed by the post-game ruckus was the play of new Ram Jamie Wise. The first-year winger — who is also the son of the Rams’ head coach — had two goals in the contest, including the game-winner.
“In his first game on Friday he struggled a bit, but today you could see what he’s capable of,” said Buck. “He brings a lot of skill and a lot of size and a lot of grit out there.”
Last season, Jamie Wise scored 31 goals for the Mississauga Steelheads of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). While he’s noticed the difference in play, Wise said he’s already getting used to his new team.
“It’s a different league. Coming in from the OHL, it’s less structured. But all the guys work hard out there. It took me a game and a bit to fit in, but I think I’ll be fine the rest of the way.”
Also scoring for the Rams were Buck, winger Dustin Alcock, and defencemen Mark Corbett and Dean Willmott.
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