Coming off of a three-game winning streak to start the preseason, the UBC men’s hockey team split a doubleheader against the Ryerson Rams to end its streak at four.
The T-Birds won the first game by a score of 4-1 and saw goals from Kyle Becker, John Connolly, Raymond Grewal and Joe Antilla. Thanks to a solid performance by veteran goalie Matt Hewitt, the ’Birds allowed only one goal despite being outshot 33-30.
“With the success we had in the first four games, we might have thought it might come easy and we got away from playing our style,” said UBC head coach Sven Butenschon.
After four straight victories, the T-Birds dropped the second game by a 6-3 decision. Seven minutes into the first frame, UBC got into a deficit on an odd-man rush by the Rams. Ryerson forward Aaron Armstrong fed a centering pass to teammate Landon Schiller, neatly setting him up for the goal.
A little over two minutes later, Ryerson’s Jamie Lewis and Alex Basso received penalties for tripping and roughing only 23 seconds apart. On the ensuing 5-on-3 play, the ’Birds equalized the game as Nick Bounassisi tallied the power play goal from the slot.
Rams forward Erick DeLaurentis then retook the lead for Ryerson two minutes later, putting the biscuit in the basket from the left circle.
Tempers then flared in the T-Birds zone between UBC’s Antilla and Ryerson’s Alex Leader, resulting into roughing penalties for both players. Antilla received a double minor, which put the Rams on power play. Devon Paliani then extended Ryerson’s lead, tapping the puck past T-Bird goalkeeper Derek Dun to finish off a shot by John Carpino.
“I think we weren’t doing stops and starts and we’re turning too many pucks over. We made an ample amount of mistakes today and that really cost us,” said Buonassisi.
With the Rams leading 3-1, Ryerson defenceman Matt Nosella received a tripping penalty four minutes into the second frame. On the ensuing UBC power play, Lewis had a scoring chance on a shorthanded breakaway, but his shot deflected off the blocker of Dun.
It wasn’t until the 9:45 mark that the game saw scoring again with Schiller’s second goal of the game, which came along with another assist by Armstrong. As the second period winded down to the final two minutes, Ryerson’s Daniel Clairmont and UBC’s Joe Carvahlo scored only 32 seconds apart, giving the Rams a 5-2 lead.
Eight minutes into the final frame, Buonassisi received a tripping penalty, which Ryerson again capitalized on, this time with a goal from Josh Sterk. Less than two minutes after leaving the penalty box, Buonassisi netted his second of the game on a backhand shot that went five-hole through Rams goalkeeper Taylor Dupuis, ending the game 6-3 in favour of Ryerson.
“It’s good to see [Buonassisi] get rewarded. I still think he’s got tons of potential and he’s the kind of guy that could be one of the best players in the league,” said Butenschon.
UBC will play its last preseason game at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 1 against Trinity Western University before beginning the regular season play.