Men's Hockey | 10/3/2025 4:00:00 PM

It was a step in the right direction for the York University Lions men's hockey team, more than doubling their win total and allowing 27 fewer goals year-over-year.

While a 7-19-5 record doesn't jump off the table, they doubled their point percentage from .214 to .428, and played a competitive brand of hockey, earning four of their seven wins against playoff opponents. Now, looking ahead to 2025-26, can they take that next step and return to the playoffs for the first time since 2021-22.

"That's kind of the million dollar question," head coach Russ Herrington said. "What you saw in those games (against playoff teams) was a team that managed the game well."

One of the key reasons the Lions were in a lot of games was their goaltending duo of Carter Serhyenko and Matt Tovell.

"The game of hockey comes down to goaltending and if you have good goaltending, that gives your team a chance, and in the second half of last year, our goaltenders provided us that."

With Serheyenko having departed the program, Tovell and Dawson Smith, a transfer from Robert Morris University in the NCAA, as well as second-year Alex Chu will be fighting for time between the pipes.

"It's always tough to lose someone who's got that type of experience," Herrington said of Serhyenko. "It's a tough league to play in when you're young, and Matt (Tovell) has gained some of that experience heading into his upperclassmen years.

"It's been a great competition between the three (current goaltenders). They all have attributes that, perhaps, the other one doesn't, so we're hopeful that those guys can find a new level in their game."

The last two seasons have seen the Lions enter a rebuilding phase. Now, the team is loaded with seniors whose development over the past two years can translate towards a potential postseason berth.

"That's kind of what we've been building towards," Herrington said of his veteran-laden team. "We've been really thrilled with the development and where our game has gone too, but when we get into tight games, can we show we've learned the lessons necessary to win those games, make that push and get into the top six."

While being a team that will depend on its veterans, the Lions do have a recruiting class of seven, plus the transfer in Smith, that will be competing to crack a line-up with postseason aspirations.

"We were pretty particular in the attributes we went after with our forwards, and it's nice when you need a goaltender to get someone who has experience at this level.

"We're happy with the group as a whole (which includes defenceman Raphaël Denis). They've already shown they're going to push for ice time, and they've served notice that they're going to challenge (our veterans) to keep those spots."

After spending two years in the OUA East, the Lions will move back to the West this season, where they had been stationed since the OUA's move to two divisions in 2009-10.

"(The move) will help us financially and with travel," Herrington said. "We'll spend more time in our own beds, which will help the guys with getting the rest and recovery they need, not only for the rink but for the classroom and everything else they do in their lives."

In terms of the style of play, Herrington says there isn't much difference between the two divisions, but that the skill is what sets them apart.

"You can't get away with shortcuts over there (in the East)," he said. "The day-to-day competitiveness isn't that much different, but the East has a bit more high-end talent."

Regardless, games in the West are going to be close, hard-fought battles.

"We expect every night to be a one or two-goal game," Herrington said. "A bounce here or are bounce there can determine the outcome, and we hope we're on the good side of those bounces more often than not."

For the Lions to reach their goal of ending that three-year playoff drought, it will take a high degree of effort – from everyone involved, coaches included – to move into the next phase with a keen eye on the little things.

"It's incumbent on us as coaches to pay more attention and focus on the finer details of the game," Herrington said. "The last couple years have been about the behaviours we need to exhibit to survive in this league and now we're trying to play to our strengths and hunt some outcomes."

The Lions will hunt their first outcome Sunday afternoon as they open the 2025-26 regular season against the Windsor Lancers. Puck drop is scheduled for 4:00 pm, and can be streamed live on OUA.tv.