By Will Lofsky
The Ryerson Rams men’s hockey team proved their resilience on Friday, defeating the Concordia Stingers 4-2 to end the preseason.
With the win, the Rams close out the preseason with a 4-1 record.
The Stingers scored once in the first period on a power play only ten minutes into the game. The Rams, however, didn’t get discouraged and managed to get 11 shots on net despite giving the road team two power plays in the frame.
Unfortunately, things would go from bad to worse for the Rams, as Stingers forward Phil Hudon scored a power play goal in the second to give his team a 2-0 in the first three minutes of play.
Rams backup goalie Garrett Forrest subbed in for starter Taylor Dupuis shortly after.
From that moment on, the Rams took over with three goals in rapid succession, with scoring coming from Zach Shankar, Cavin Leth and David Miller. The team exploded with momentum, and managed to control the puck deep in the Stingers’ end for the rest of the second period.
“The guys are coming together,” said Rams forward Mathew Santos. “We have a great group of people in our dressing room, and everybody is lifting each other.”
Forrest wouldn’t allow any more goals during his time between the pipes, and his good play would help keep the Rams in the game. The home team would eventually capitalize on a scoring opportunity, as Rams forward Mark Shoemaker got the final goal on a short-handed opportunity from the point, giving his team a 4-2 lead which ultimately sealed the game.
“We’ve had a great pre-season going 4-1 while beating some real good hockey teams in that stretch, but now we’re back to 0 and 0,” said Rams head coach Johnny Duco at the end of the game. “We’ve got to make sure that we bring a strong compete level every game regardless of who we’re playing.”
UP NEXT: The Rams will open their regular season at home against the Waterloo Warriors on Wednesday Oct. 3. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
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