OSHAWA, Ont. – The UOIT men's hockey team is through the preseason and is looking forward to starting their conference play next Friday night.
 
They closed out exhibition play with a 5-1 loss to the York Lions at the Campus Ice Centre on Thursday, giving the Ridgebacks just over a week to prepare for the RMC Paladins on Friday, Oct. 13.
 
Brendan O'Neill (Ilderton, Ont.) took the loss for UOIT between the pipes, finishing the night with 37 saves.
 
York's Mack Shields started the game and allowed the lone Ridgebacks goal, making 12 saves on 13 shots. Alex Fotinos played the second half of the game and made 17 saves.
 
Trevor Petersen opened the scoring for the Lions at the 7:37 mark of the first. Stefano Pezzetta made it 2-0 for York with 3:19 to go in the period. The Lions led 2-0 after one and were outshooting the host Ridgebacks 12-9.
 
York, who finished 2-for-7 on the power play, converted for the first time 20 seconds into the second period with Colton Vannucci beating O'Neill. The Lions scored again on the power play at the 3:10 mark off the stick of Josh LaFrance to take a commanding 4-0 lead.
 
UOIT's Spencer Roberts (Stouffville, Ont.) finally knocked the goose egg off the scoreboard at the 6:52 mark of the second, giving the Ridgebacks life. Under a minute later the Lions took a penalty, giving UOIT the opportunity they wanted to get back into the game. Unfortunately for the Ridgebacks Shields stood tall and at the end of the second York led 4-1 and were outshooting UOIT 31-17.
 
Kyle Campbell scored the lone goal of the third period for the Lions as York got into penalty trouble, but held the Ridgebacks off the board.
 
Now the Ridgebacks wait until October 13 when the will welcome RMC to Oshawa for their season opener. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Campus Ice Centre.
 
QUICK LOOK AT THE RIDGEBACKS
Overall Record: 2-3-0
Conference Record: 0-0-0
 
Next Game: Friday, Oct. 13 vs. RMC Paladins (7:30 PM @ Campus Ice Centre)