Weekend wrap: Men’s Hockey Lions upset No. 8 Lancers in comeback victory

Daniel Tulloch takes a shot

The York University Lions men’s hockey team kicked off its five game home-stand with a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory over the No. 8 nationally ranked University of Windsor Lancers on Saturday night at Canlan Ice Sports.

Tyler McGee scored two goals, including the game winner early in the third period, and team captain Jesse Messier scored the first to erase a two-goal lead the Lancers built less than two minutes into the second period.

Lions goaltender Andrew Perugini was sensational between the pipes, making a number of key saves throughout the game to keep his team in striking distance. He finished with 28 saves on 30 shots to help the Lions improve to 11-7-0 on the year and move into a tie for fourth place in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) West standings.  More details on York Lions website.

One night earlier, Messier scored the shootout winner to lead the Lions to a 4-3 victory over the host University of Waterloo Warriors at Columbia Ice Field.

Messier scored in the third round of the shootout after neither of Waterloo’s shooters could get the puck past goaltender Perugini. The fourth-year forward also netted the game’s first goal just 43 seconds into the opening period to add to his team leading total.

The Lions jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first period after Messier’s quick goal and another by McGee at 11:35 of the period, and the Lions carried that advantage into the second.  More details.

Track and field Lions open 2013 with successful Sharon Anderson Meet

Several members of the York University Lions track and field team were at the University of Toronto on Saturday, Jan. 5 to compete at the annual Sharon Anderson Meet, kicking off what promises to be an exciting 2013 season.

On the men’s side, three student-athletes reached the CIS qualifying standard while another eight hit the OUA qualifying standard.

Weight throwers Daniel Novia and Eric Brathwaite both reached the national standard in their event. Novia won the competition with a throw of 19.28 m, while Brathwaite was right behind him in second place with a toss of 17.75 m.

Umar Khan also reached the national standard in the shot put with a throw of 16.65 m to win the event, and Brathwaite qualified for the OUA championships in the shot put as well with a toss of 13.7 m to finish in fourth place on Saturday.  More details.

Tulloch shines in men’s basketball loss to No. 10 Gee-Gees

Rookie forward Daniel Tulloch dominated at both ends of the floor, but it wasn’t enough to stop the No. 10 nationally ranked University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, who defeated the host York Lions 93-74 at the Tait McKenzie Centre Friday night.

Tulloch of Mississauga led all Lions with 25 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks for one of the best games of his young career. He shot a stunning 10-of-13 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from behind the arc.

Daniel Tulloch takes a shotThe loss dropped the Lions to 4-5 on the season, while the Gee-Gees extended their winning streak to seven games and improved to 8-1 on the year.

Daniel Tulloch takes a shot

The Gee-Gees had two players score more than 20 points. Forward Warren Ward of London led all players in the game with 27 points and added seven rebounds, six assists and three steals, while Johnny Berhanemeskel of Ottawa finished with 22 points, five rebounds and five assists.

The game was tight through the first half of the opening quarter and the Gee-Gees led by just five, at 15-10, after the first seven minutes of action. But they quickly drained a series of threes while the Lions couldn’t get anything to fall, and closed with a 12-4 run that gave them a 27-14 lead after the opening 10 minutes.

Both teams played a sloppy second quarter, but the Gee-Gees increased their lead and took a 43-25 lead into the break. The Lions came out strong to start the second half but the Gee-Gees quickly took over once again and outscored the Lions 25-20 in the frame to grow their advantage even further.

The Lions edged the Gee-Gees 29-25 in the final frame, but it wasn’t nearly enough to eclipse Ottawa on this night.

The Gee-Gees went an impressive 15-of-38 from behind the arc, led by Ward and Berhanemeskel, who combined to drain 9-of-18 three-pointers.

Three other Lions reached double digits in scoring. Fifth-year point guard David Tyndale of Mississauga contributed 15 points, four rebounds and four assists, while fourth-year forward Aaron Rados of Ottawa chipped in 14 points against his hometown team and second-year guard Akeem Isaac of Scarborough added 11. More details.

The following night, the Lions lost a hard-fought game to the powerhouse Carleton University Ravens by a score of 112-62.

The Ravens have a dominant position, sitting first in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) national rankings and boasting a 9-1 record this season. The Lions dropped to 4-6 with the loss.

The Lions played a competitive first quarter, spurred on by the active and aggressive charges of guard David Tyndale, who scored two lay-ups and a three-point shot from Richard Iheadindu. York managed to keep competitive pace with the Ravens, trailing 23-15 at the end of the first quarter.  More details.

Women’s basketball Lions drop hard loss to No. 5 Ravens

The York University Lions women’s basketball team finished a tough first weekend of 2013 by dropping a hard loss to the No. 5 nationally ranked Carleton University Ravens on Saturday by a score of 87-49.

The Ravens opened with a dominant first quarter that saw them outscore the Lions 30-12. Carleton was comfortable shooting three-pointers, picking up four in the quarter, all the while minimizing York’s chances at the lay-up with a tight collapsing defense. The Lions were negligent to shoot from outside the field, and saw Kayla Pangos score the Lions’ only three-pointer.  More details.

The previous night, the Lions got off on the wrong foot to start the new year, falling to the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees 68-44 on Friday night at the Tait McKenzie Centre.

Offensively, the Lions were led by Courtney Osborne, who poured in 16 points; while Cyrielle Recoura scored 14 and also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and four assists.

Ottawa got off to a quick start scoring nine straight points early in the first quarter to gain a 9-2 advantage. The Lions tied the game mid-way through the quarter thanks to a 7-0 run highlighted by a pair of lay-ups by Osbourne and Recoura. However, the Gee-Gees would respond with a 12-0 run of their own, allowing them to take a 25-13 lead at the end of the opening quarter.  More details.