Ridgebacks battle till the end in overtime loss

OUA Men's Hockey: Carleton defeated UOIT 3-2 (OT)

OSHAWA, Ont. – The UOIT men's hockey team collected a single point after falling 3-2 in overtime to Carleton University Friday night at the Campus Ice Centre.

Registering a point in the standings puts the Ridgebacks (7-14-4) magic number at one, as they move eight points ahead of the Laurentian Voyageurs (5-19-0). UOIT also moves one point behind Concordia (8-12-3) for sixth place in the OUA eastern conference standings. The two teams will meet up in Montreal next weekend.

After falling behind by a goal in the first period, the Ridgebacks were able to even things up in the middle of the second. During a struggle in front of the Ravens net, the puck found its way through the crowd onto the stick of Nate Mitton (Kitchener, Ont.) who tipped it past the scrambling Carleton goaltender.

Carleton however would restore their one goal lead before the end of the period as Michael McNamee would record his second goal of the game.

Excitement ramped up at the midway point of the third period as the Ravens looked to extend their lead but saw several strong efforts denied by Ridgeback goaltender Colin Dzijacky (Thunder Bay, Ont.). Dzijacky would finish the game with 35 saves on 38 shots.

After a timely Ravens penalty in the final two minutes of the game, the Ridgebacks pulled Dzijacky to gain the six on four advantage. UOIT would be rewarded with the tying goal courtesy of a Jason Shaw (Belleville, Ont.) blast from the point. Ridgebacks captain Luke VanMoerkerke (Tillsonburg, Ont.) would record his second assist of the night on the game-tying goal.

With momentum on their side, UOIT continued to attack in the overtime period outshooting Carleton 5-3, however Ravens forward Damian Cross completed a three-point night with the game-winning goal.

The Ridgebacks will hit the road for their final three games with their next one taking them to McGill (18-5-2) on Friday, February 7 with puck drop at 7 p.m.

Prior to Friday's game, UOIT honoured Scott Baker (MacTier, Ont.), Jake Rattie (Niagara Falls, Ont.) and VanMoerkerke who are all graduating this spring.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE RIDGEBACKS
Overall Record: 7-20-4
Conference Record: 7-14-4

Next Game: Fri. Feb. 7 @ McGill (7 p.m.)