Mistele scores hat trick, Rams overwhelm Lions with relentless offensive output

By Hayden Godfrey

Led by Matt Mistele’s hat trick, the Ryerson Rams men’s hockey team used their high-powered offence to pounce on the York Lions, taking a 8-3 victory at Canlan Ice Sports arena on Nov. 2.

Coming off an impressive victory against the division rival Brock Badgers at home, the Ryerson Rams men’s hockey team continued hoped to pick up some points in a subway series matchup against a red-hot York team who came in with a three-game winning streak.

The Lions—playing in front of a sparse, yet supportive home crowd at Canlan Ice Sports—got on the board early on the power play, thanks to the quick stick work and impressive shot of forward Morgan Messenger. Ryerson, clearly disappointed at the prospect of being down early, rebounded with force, tying it up with a top shelf rocket off the stick of Mistele.

Even after the early equalizer, the Rams weren’t done making their mark in the frame, taking the lead in the dying seconds when Devon Paliani’s snapshot found the back of the net in a scrambling sequence of shots. The lead, however, didn’t last for long, as the Lions scored 10 minutes into the second, with York’s Josh LaFrance providing the firepower to put the score at 2-2.

Fifth-year forward Marcus Hinds brought Ryerson right back in it with a goal in the dying seconds to give them the lead entering the final period. Mistele struck again shortly after, notching a beautiful goal from the slot to widen the deficit to 4-2. Hinds scored again minutes later, forcing the Lions into a timeout and asserting their dominance at that point in the night.

Though York got one back, their momentum was short lived. Mistele, who was dominant throughout the night, secured a hat-trick with another spectacular effort in the offensive zone. Rams rookie Hayden McCool added one of his own, scoring an empty netter to give his team a 7-3 lead. The night was topped off by Jesse Barwell, who found the back of the net near the end of the game to bring the score at 8-3.

“We feel good,” Rams head coach Johnny Duco said post-game. “We looked at this weekend as a little bit of a measuring stick for us to see where we were at. We know every game’s going to be tough and we gotta be ready to go.”

UP NEXT: The Rams will head to the road and travel to Columbia Icefield to take on the Waterloo Warriors on Nov. 9. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.