The York University Lions men's hockey team began a two-game Southwestern Ontario road trip on Friday night against the Guelph Gryphons.
Guelph's Dylan Hudon scored unassisted at 1:52, giving the Gryphons a 1-0 lead The Lions were looking to equalize, and did just that when Olivier Lamothe got the puck past Gryphons netminder Oliver Ciarlo at 12:47 to even the game 1-1. Harry Clark – playing his first game of the year after missing the first six with an injury suffered in the preseason – and Spencer Thompson drew the assists on Lamothe's second. The game remained tied at a goal after 20.
Despite both teams looking to jump on top, neither was able to convert. A Thompson interferance call sent Guelph to the power play just over four minutes in, but York's penalty kill stood tall, keeping it a 1-1 tie. York broke the deadlock with just over three minutes to play when Keeton Oakley put one past Ciarlo, with the assists from David Mabey and Clark, to give the Lions their first lead of the night, 2-1.
Just over a minute later, Clark found himself in alone on Ciarlo after a steal at his own blueline, but lost an edge and collied with the Gryphons goaltender, keeping it a 2-1 game. Then, in the final minute, Guelph's Giordano Biondi narrowly missed the tying goal, and the period ended with York owning the 2-1 lead.
Into the final period of regulation time, the Gryphons come out onto the ice hungry to overtake the lead, while the Lions were hungry to keep it. It was a fierce battle, both teams knowing this may be their last chance to be on top. With just over seven minutes to go, Guelph's Nolan Dann buried a rebound off a Hudon point shot. Ethan Casper added the second assist, and the game was tied 2-2. The score remained that way through 60 minutes, sending this one into overtime.
After Guelph won the overtime faceoff, a quick chance was fired wide of Dawson Smith. Clark brought it back the other way and lost the handle, but York's Oakley was able to get it back, slid it down to Thomposon who quickly gave it back to Clark, and this time, the Lions top scorer from a season ago made no mistake for his first goal of the season. The overtime winner came at just 41 seconds of the additional session, giving the Lions a hard-earned 3-2 win.
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Lions will look to get back to the .500 mark when they take on the OUA West's top team, the Windsor Lancers, on Saturday night. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m., and you can watch it live and on demand on OUA TV.
