The comeback fell short for the York University Lions men's hockey team as they fell to the No. 6 nationally ranked Toronto Varsity Blues 3-2 during their Thursday matinee on the road.
 
Scoring came early for the Blues after forward Joey Manchurek capitalized on a powerplay only 7:44 into the first period to put the home side up 1-0. Manchurek would double his scoring and Toronto's lead seven minutes later, tipping teammate Riley Bruce's point shot past Lions goaltender Mack Shields to head into the first intermission up 2-0.
 
Toronto looked out of reach for the Lions in the second period after Hunter Atchison put away the Blues third unanswered goal of the game. Coming off a faceoff with 12:16 on the clock, first-year forward Kyle Potts slipped a pass right in front of net for Atchison who looked to have put the game away for the home team that was now up 3-0.
 
But the Lions would not go away as the third period started. Lions forward Peter De Coppi stayed active on the offensive end with 15:25 on the clock, picking the puck and finding teammate Sal Filice with open ice. Filice skated effortlessly round the Blues defence, ripping a shot that rebounded towards De Coppi who fired home for the Lions first goal of the game.
 
With just over 2:00 left in the third, the Lions added an extra attacker with the empty net, an effort that would pay off immediately. Forward Alex Mowbray found himself with the puck in front of net in the midst of a cluster of Blues players, but his shot would bounce to defenceman Jack Goranson who couldn't miss, making it 3-2 with 1:41 left in the game.
 
The Blues looked to seal the game with a couple of narrow misses, dumping the puck towards the empty net. But the Lions maintained possession in the Blues zone thereafter with seconds remaining. Shots from Granson, Filice, and Xavier Pouliot would not hit as the game ended nerve-rackingly in favour of the Blues.
 
The Lions outshot Toronto 33-27 and 16-11 in the third period alone, with Shields saving 24 shots and Blues goaltender Alex Bishop making 31 saves in the win for his side.
 
Having played their second game in just over 36 hours, the Lions continue their busy week with their third game in five days scheduled for Saturday afternoon against the Guelph Gryphons at 2:15pm at Canlan. The game will also serve as the annual Dahlgren Diabeauties event established by Lions forward Kaleb Dahlgren with all proceeds going to JDRF Canada.