The York University Lions hosted the McGill Redbirds in the final game of the season on Saturday afternoon at Canlan Ice Sports. Celebrating senior athletes Lucas Theriault and Owen Gilhula in a pre-game ceremony, the Lions were looking to finish their season on a high note and earn their eighth win of the year.
We had some 4-on-4 hockey early on due to coincidental roughing penalties just 1:05 in. The Lions went to a power play near the midway mark, but struggled to get anything going. Carter Serhyenko kept the Lions in the game with a variety of saves, including stopping a McGill breakaway. His performance came in a period that McGill mostly controlled, as they out-shot York 15-5 in a scoreless first.
A turnover in the middle of the ice led to a McGill two on one, where a wrist shot from Maxime Pellerin bounced off the post and into the net past Serhyenko, giving the Redbirds the 1-0 lead 6:16 into the second. However, the Lions found a two on one of their own, and they made the Redbirds pay. Olivier Lamothe fed Keeton Oakley a perfect pass that allowed him to fire a slapshot top shelf to tie it at 1-1. In a game where physical play began to build up, two more roughing penalties led to more 4-on-4 play midway through the period. The Lions were able to kill off another penalty, and then went on a power play of their own 17 seconds later that strattled the intermission, with the game still tied 1-1 after 40.
After failing to convert on their power play to open the third, York then allowed a power play goal to give McGill the lead. A feed in front of the net from Pellerin found the stick of Brandon Frattaroli, who snapped it over the shoulder of Serhyenko. Pellerin's second point of the day gave the Redbirds took a 2-1 lead. Following this, McGill maintained most of the puck possession. York could not put together any sustained offensive zone time until late with Sehyenko out for the extra attacker, but a near-miss at the horn allowed the visitors to hold on for the 2-1 victory.
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Lions finished their season 7-16-5, a four-win improvement over last season. Although they will miss the OUA playoffs for the third straight year, all but Theriault and Gilhula are eligible to return next season as the Lions look to take the next step in a stacked OUA East Division.
