The first-place York University Lions men's hockey team will open the 2015-16 post season against the U of T Varsity Blues Wednesday (Feb. 17) at 7pm at Canlan Ice Sports. The second game of the series will be played Saturday (Feb. 20) at 3:30pm at Varsity Arena and if necessary, the third and final game of the best-of-three series will be played Sunday (Feb. 21) at 2pm at Canlan.
 
The Match-up: #1 York (16-7-5) vs. #8 U of T (11-15-2)
 
Game Details
Game 1: Wednesday, Feb. 17 @ 7pm, OUA.tv
Game 3*: Sunday, Feb. 21 @ 2pm, OUA.tv *if necessary
 
Home/Away Records
York – 8-6 at home
U of T – 3-11 on the road
 
Current Streaks
York – Lost 2
U of T – Won 1
 
Last Meetings
The Lions won the first meeting of the season against the Varsity Blues, as they picked up a 4-2 victory on home ice on Halloween. The Lions controlled the play throughout the game putting constant pressure on the Blues in the offensive zone, with forward Greg Milner starring for the Lions with three points. The Blues evened up the season series at 1-1 by winning a penalty-filled game 4-1 last Saturday (Feb. 13) on home ice in the regular season finale for both teams. Both teams combined for 82 minutes in penalties in a chippy game that saw Blues forward Max Flanagan put four points (2 goals, 2 assists).
 
QUICK FACTS
 
York

• The Lions finished the regular season in first place for the first time since the 2008-09 season, and won the division for the first time in the OUA's two-division format.
• The Lions ended the regular season ranked 12^th in goals per game (2.96) and fifth in goals against average (2.61) in the OUA.
• A consistent regular season saw the Lions never lose more than two games in a row. Their longest win streak was four games, set early in the season during their hottest stretch of the year as they picked up six wins in seven games.
• Special teams have been a major strength for the Lions this season, as they rank second in the OUA in penalty killing percentage (86.4) and third in power play percentage (26.5). They have also netted 31 power play goals, good for third most overall.
• The Lions ranked seventh in the OUA in shots per game with 35.5.

 
U of T

• The Varsity Blues finished the regular season by dropping three of their last four games and had a 5-5 record in their last ten games.
• U of T had trouble going on a prolonged win streak this season, never winning more than two games in a row at any point. Their hottest month of the season came in January as they won four of five games to close out the month. 
• U of T goalies stopped the fourth most rubber in the OUA this season as they made 941 total saves in 28 games.
• The Varsity Blues finished the regular season ranked 14^th in OUA in goals per game (2.89) and 16^th in goals against average (3.75).

 
PLAYERS TO WATCH
 
York
 
F Justin Larson – The fifth-year law school student averaged a point a game in the regular season, finishing third on the team with 28 points (7 goals, 21 assists). He picked up a season-high four points in a game against Ryerson earlier this season.
 
G Chris Perugini – Netminder Perugini is coming off his best season in the OUA with a 14-11 record and a 2.31 goals against average and .920 save percentage. He also picked up three shutouts.
 
U of T
 
F Christian Finch – The senior forward lead the Varsity Blues in scoring with 31 points (8 goals, 23 assists) good for 17^th overall in the OUA.   
 
F Patrick Marsh – Finished first on the Varsity Blues in goals (14) and second in points (29). He picked up three points in the last game of the regular season against the Lions.