NORTH BAY, Ont. – The UOIT men's hockey team picked up their third straight victory with a 4-3 shootout win over the Nipissing Lakers on the road.
Despite giving up another third period lead, UOIT managed to earn two points with their second consecutive shootout win. The Ridgebacks beat Ottawa 5-4 last weekend in Oshawa after giving up a three-goal lead in the third period.
Ben Blasko (Kingston, Ont.), who scored the shootout winner against the Gee-Gees, got the lone goal on Friday as he found the back of the net in the second round. In goal,
Tyson Teichmann (Belleville, Ont.) would stop all three Nipissing shooters to pick up the win.
Teichmann earned his fourth win of the year, making 35 saves including three in the overtime period. Former Niagara IceDog Brent Moran matched Teichmann's 35-save performance in the losing effort.
Blasko would score the final goal in the shootout to go along with the game's first, scoring four minutes into the opening period with captain
Danny Elser (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) picking up an assist. Elser returned to the line-up after missing the previous four games with an injury.
Elser would pick up his second assist late in the first period, as
Mike Robinson (Stouffville, Ont.) scored his eighth goal of the year off a rebound from a point shot by
Jesse Baird (Brampton, Ont.). Robinson is in the top five in OUA goal scoring this season and is on a five-game point streak.
North Bay would battle back with goals from Brett Hargrave and Deverick Ottereyes in the second period, but UOIT would regain the lead when
Ryan Doucette (Waterloo, Ont.) would whack home a rebound from the slot with just under five minutes to go in the frame.
Anthony Latina (Scarborough, Ont.) and
Loren Ulett (Port Perry, Ont.) recorded assists.
Nipissing managed to tie the game once again as Guillaume Naud converted on a power play with seven minutes to go in the third, setting up overtime and a shootout.
With the win, UOIT (5-5-1) moves into seventh place in the OUA eastern conference, one point ahead of the Lakers (4-5-2).
The Ridgebacks will finish up their weekend road trip up north with a Saturday night match up against the Laurentian Voyageurs. The Voyageurs have struggled so far this season posting a 2-9-0 record and have lost four straight.
QUICK LOOK AT THE RIDGEBACKS
Overall Record: 7-8-1
Conference Record: 5-5-1
Next game: Saturday, Nov. 18 at Laurentian Voyageurs (Sudbury, Ont.)
