The York University Lions men's hockey team kicked off their 2024-25 campaign against on the road against the RMC Paladins Friday evening, looking to beat RMC in the season opener for a second straight year.  

Little separated the two teams early, until the Paladins were the beneficiaries of a point shot from Devin Pimm that pinballed off Fischer O'Brien and in. That gave RMC the lead. The Paladins had three first-period power plays, but Carter Serhyenko stood tall in goal to keep it a one-goal game.  

The Lions broke through late in the period, tying the game with just over 4:00 left in the first off a turnover that set up a pretty three-way passing play between Harry Clark, Chase Sandhu and Mason Svarich, as all three Lions earned their first OUA points on the play. The game remained tied at 1 after the season's opening period.  

Play remained tight throughout the first ten minutes of the second, with the best scoring opportunity being a failed breakaway chance from Owen Gilhula.  

 RMC re-took the lead off another unfortunate break for the Lions, as Wade Bolton's shot went off Klim Georgiev and past Serhyenko, putting the Paladins back on top 2-1. The Lions power play continued to stall out, going 0-for-3 in the middle frame and 0-for-5 through 40 minutes, as they trailed by a goal heading into the third period.  

The Lions put forward a consistent offensive press in the third, out-shooting the Paladins 10-5 in the final 20, but RMC goalie Michael Davis thwarted all 10 shots he faced in the third and 31 of the 32 he saw in the game, solidifying a 2-1 RMC win. 

LOOKING AHEAD:  

The Lions will remain in the Kingston area to face off against the Queen's Gaels in the second game of the season-opening back-to-back Saturday night at 7:30pm, with coverage available on OUA TV.