By Bob Coatsworth
Like a dedicated student who failed his midterm, Ryerson’s hockey team saw its hard work go to waste in a loss and tie last weekend.
The Rams may have deserved two points, but got only one in a 3-3 tie with the Ottawa Gee Gees on Saturday.
The tie, combined with a 8-5 loss to McGill on Friday, gives the Rams a 2-5-1 record, leaving them in third place in the four-team OUA Midwest division.
Still, the one point earned in the game against Ottawa, which was televised by Hamilton-based ONtv, made Ryerson’s head coach Louie Carnevale optimistic.
“This was a big point for us,” he said after the game. “It puts us three points ahead of Laurentian.
“I’m glad we were able to come out this weekend with a point against a team like Ottawa that was ranked in the top of the league at the beginning of the year.”
The teams played a scoreless first period before Brent Spagnol and John DiBattista scored goals in the second, for Ryerson.
In the third, the Rams came out with an aggressive forechecking attack. After cycling the puck in the Ottawa one for a while, David Sa scored putting the Rams up 3-2, but Ottawa came back to tie the game midway through the period.
Ryerson had several chances to win the game in the late minutes but couldn’t find the net.
“It’s frustrating,” said Sa, who played despite suffering from a sprained foot. “We’re playing really well, but we’re not moving up in the standings. It’s always stupid mistakes or something,” he said.
Sa isn’t the only injured Ram. Jason Kotack suffered a knee injury that team therapist Stephanie Bionda said might keep him out for a month.
And David Anthony hurt his left shoulder in the McGill game Friday. He played Saturday, but went straight to the medical room after the game to ice his ailing shoulder.
Although the Rams’ bodies need bandages, their confidence does not.
“It’s hockey,” said Sa. “We’ve got a lot of guys hurt but there’s always those little injuries you battle through.”
“We have a lot of depth,” Carnevale saif. “There’s no one player that we depend on.”
The Rams’ next games are in Kingston, where they face Queen’s Friday night and Royal Military College Saturday afternoon.
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