The York Lions men’s hockey team defeated both the Laurier Golden Hawks and the Guelph Gryphons last weekend to move into first place in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Mid-West Division.
York’s Blair Grennier scored twice, including the game winner, in Friday’s 5-2 victory over the Golden Hawks. Mike Mckenna, Jon Hedberg and Marcus Smith also finished the night with two points each. Hedberg scored the game-winner and added an assist in Sunday’s 3-2 win at Guelph. Second-year goaltender Kevin Druce recorded both victories, stopping 36 of 38 shots against Laurier and 32 of 34 shots against the Gryphons.
Right: York Lions men’s hockey team celebrates a goal in Friday’s win over Laurier (photo by Andrew Craig)
The Lions play a home-and-home with the Brock University Badgers this week. York will host the Badgers on Thursday at the Ice Gardens (7:30pm) before travelling to Brock on Saturday. The Lions lead their division by two points over second-place Laurier and three points over third-place Brock.
The Lions women’s basketball team remains in first place in the OUA East Division following a weekend split. Four players scored in double digits in Friday’s 71-59 victory at the University of Western Ontario. Kim Gibbs and Brenan Rurak each had 13 points, while Emily Van Hoof added 12 points. Laura MacCallum finished the night with 11 points. Gibbs scored a team-high 16 points, while adding three steals and a game-high nine rebounds in Saturday’s 72-59 loss to the University of Windsor. The Lions (9-2) host defending OUA Champion Guelph (8-4) on Friday and Brock (10-1) on Saturday. Both games are scheduled for 6pm at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The Lions men’s basketball team also earned a weekend split. Jordan Foebel recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds in Friday’s 57-54 win over Western. Tut Ruach also scored 17 points, while adding four assists. Ruach led the Lions with 16 points in Saturday’s 67-45 loss at Windsor. Rohan Steen recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Foebel had 13 rebounds. The Lions (5-6) host Guelph (8-2) on Friday and Brock (7-3) on Saturday. Both games are scheduled for 8pm at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The Lions track and field teams recorded 13 personal best performances, while qualifying 17 athletes for the OUA Championship at the Sharon Anderson meet at the University of Toronto on Saturday. In women’s competition, Ruth Weaver finished third in the 3000-metre run with a personal best time of 11:05.86. Michelle Rawlins finished third in the triple jump with a personal-best jump of 10.57 metres.
In men’s action, Marlon Nangle won the triple jump event with a Canadian Interuniversity Sport qualifying jump of 14.94 metres. Nangle’s performance is the best in the CIS this season. Last year’s CIS triple jump champion, Nangle has not lost to CIS competition since Jan. 6, 2005. Anthony Garber finished first in the 60-metre dash with a time of 6.91 and was second in the long jump with a performance of 6.61 metres.
The women’s hockey team lost 2-1 to Manhattanville College in an exhibition contest on Jan. 5. The Lions host an exhibition game against Carleton on Saturday before returning to league play at Toronto on Sunday.
The men’s volleyball team hosted the 27th Annual Killer Instinct Excalibur Classic last weekend. York finished the eight-team tournament in seventh place with one win and four losses. The Manitoba Bisons defeated the Laval Rouge et Or 3-1 to capture the tournament Championship. The Lions (5-5) host first place Ryerson (9-1) on Thursday (8pm) at the Tait McKenzie Centre before visiting the Waterloo Warriors (0-11) on Saturday.
The women’s volleyball team lost 3-1 to Winnipeg in the bronze medal match of the National Invitational Tournament at the University of Toronto on Sunday. The Lions (6-3) host Ryerson (2-7) this Thursday (6pm) at the Tait McKenzie Centre before visiting first place Toronto (10-1) on Sunday.
This article was submitted to YFile by Jim McLarty, sport & recreation information officer in York’s School of Kinesiology and Health Science.