By Ilyas Hussein
In their first game since the OUA men’s hockey season was postponed, the Rams cruised their way to victory in a 5-1 win over the York Lions off the back of a hat trick from forward David Miller on Feb. 10 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC).
The game began with both teams needing to shake off the rust. Sloppy turnovers in the neutral zone from the respective sides resulted in chances for each squad.
“We were a little sloppy to begin, probably not how we drew it up,” said Rams head coach Johnny Duco.
Midway through the first period, Ryerson was able to capitalise on one of its chances. Miller found himself in a two-on-one situation after a defensive breakdown by the Lions. He elected to shoot and the puck ended up finding the back of the net, giving the Rams an early 1-0 lead.
Shortly after, the Lions entered the Rams zone on what seemed to be an offside, but no whistle was blown. York managed to take advantage and whip the puck around the outside hash-marks resulting in an open chance in-front for forward Nik Malencia. Following a nice save by Rams goaltender Garrett Forrest, Lions forward Owen Gihula was able to pounce on the loose puck and bury it to tie the game at one.
Following a penalty from the Lions, the Rams applied a great deal of pressure in the offensive zone. York goaltender Cole Ceci found himself diving across his crease in order to keep the game tied.
The powerplay seemed to go straight to the legs of the Rams as they began to maintain puck possession and create scoring opportunities. One of which came with 3:13 left in the frame when forward Jeremiah Addison put one past Ceci to restore the Rams one-goal lead.
The second period opened with the Rams continuing their strong play from the first as they were on the attack for most of the early portions of the frame.
“As the game went on, you could see us start to find our legs, find more plays and work the rust off a little bit,” said Duco.
At the 7:20 mark of the second, the Rams were able to double their lead. After a broken Lions stick, Rams forward Jackson Doherty managed to find an open seam in the middle of the slot from behind the net. Miller accepted the pass and roofed it for his second of the night.
Ryerson continued to dominate the puck possession game following the goal. At times, they would hem the Lions in their own end for two to three minutes at a time.
“The key tonight was just to keep things simple. Putting pucks behind them, holding on to the puck and puck management,” said Miller.
With the momentum clearly in their favour, the home team added another to the scoreboard as forward Kyle Bollers added to his great year scoring his eighth of the season to make it a 4-1 lead late in the period.
“Coming back after a long break, I was kind of worried that I wouldn’t get the first one right away, but I’m glad I got it out of the way,” said Bollers.
Through the end of the second, the Lions were limited to only eight shots on goal as they barely sniffed the offensive zone.
The third frame began with a continuation of the previous periods as the Rams were in complete control. Less than two minutes in, Miller put his third past Ceci to complete the hat trick and give the Rams a 5-1 lead.
“[Miller’s] a glue guy, the team loves him. He is beloved up and down the lineup, every time he scores the bench goes crazy,” said Duco. “Guys are happier when [Miller] scores, then when they score themselves. That’s how you know you have something special.”
Once Miller was able to complete the hat trick, the team was visibly elated.
“The boys loved it. If you saw us on the bench, we were going bananas,” said Bollers.
The Burlington, Ont. native was appreciative of his teammates’ encouragement.
“It was really nice seeing the boys be so supportive,” said Miller.
Moments after Miller’s third goal, a Ryerson 2-on-1 broke out and forward Jesse Barwell rang one off the post, nearly making it 6-1.
The emotions were visibly getting to the Lions as frustrations boiled over. Midway through the period, a large scrum ensued near the York bench and Lions defenceman Connor Senken was the only one sent from the pile to the penalty box.
The latter half of the period was mainly a low-event affair, as the Rams snuffed out the majority of Lions scoring opportunities, while getting multiple special-teams looks.
As the clock wound down, the Rams secured the victory and began the new year on a good note.
The Rams look to sweep the home-and-home on Saturday, Feb. 12, as they face the Lions once again.
“Any time you win you feel good about it,” said Duco. “But with that being said, it’s 0-0 on Saturday and they’re going to be hungry.”
UP NEXT: The Rams head to Canlan Ice Sports to face York again on Saturday. Puck-drop is set for 7:15 p.m.
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