In a heavily heated match-up of nationally ranked teams hosted at the Canlan Ice Sports Arena, the York University Lions men's hockey team upset the No. 1 McGill Redmen by a 3-2 score on Saturday night (Nov. 21).
 
The win moves the Lions into top spot in the OUA West standings with an 8-2-3 record on the year and a fifth win at home. For the Redmen, the loss stopped a nine-game winning streak and was just their second defeat of the year.
 
It was a very physical and fast-paced game as soon as the puck dropped as both teams played great possession hockey to build their opportunities in front of net.
 
The Redmen were disciplined defensively so it was going to take something special in order for the Lions to break the scoring. They were able to rally together and put two goals past Redmen goaltender Jacob Gervais-Chouinard within a minute's span.
 
After receiving the puck from Derek Sheppard (Ajax, Ont.), Trevor Petersen (Thornhill, Ont.) was trapped facing the boards by three defenders. However, by pulling several Redmen defenders out of position, he managed to find the stick of Justin Larson (Buckhorn, Ont.), who was left unmarked in the crease. Larson drove the puck home for a one-goal lead at 12:23 and gave the team the spark they needed to instantly increase the damage to 2-0.
 
Off of a fast break towards net at 13:34, Mitch VanTeeling (Brandon, Man.) was able to slip the puck between the posts with the help of Kyle Campbell (Halifax, N.S.).
 
In the second period the Redmen handled the puck well with tight and intricate passing and though the Lions hustled hard to keep up, they couldn't stop them from narrowing the score at 4:35. After a crisp passing sequence from Dominic Talbot-Tassi and Liam Heelis, Samuel Labrecque was able to drill the puck into the corner of the net and make it 2-1.
 
The Redmen gained momentum after the goal and put relentless pressure on the Lions' defence, but the Lions tried to expand their lead and eventually executed off a power play opportunity at 17:36. Sheppard tried his luck with a slap shot from the blue line and after the puck slid through a sea of players, Petersen was in the right position to claim a goal.
 
The Lions' 3-1 lead was short-lived, however, as Daniel Milne picked up the scraps from Talbot-Tassi's slap shot at 19:23 and narrowed the lead once again to 3-2 to head into the final intermission. David Rose also got an assist on the play.
 
The third period remained goalless, but it was a nail-biter. The Redmen were all over the Lions desperately seeking an equalizer, but they eventually ran out of time and the game finished in a well-deserved one-goal win for the Lions.
 
Gervais-Chouinard finished the game saving 27 of 30 shots, and Lions goaltender Chris Perugini (King City, Ont.) saved 26 of 28 shots.
 
The Lions will be on the road in Quebec next weekend, beginning with a game against the UQTR Patriotes on Friday night (Nov. 27). Puck drop will be at 7pm.