The York University Lions men’s hockey team clinched the fourth seed in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) West Division standings, and with it, home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, with a big 2-1 upset victory over the number one, nationally ranked Western University Mustangs in their season finale on Saturday, Feb. 11.
The men’s hockey team had a big weekend with back to back wins
Team captain Jesse Messier and rookie forward Troy Barss had the goals for the Lions, with Barss’ winner coming early in the third period.
Western was all over the Lions offensively, but rookie goaltender Andrew Perugini stood tall, stopping 30 of the 31 shots he faced in net to earn his 10th win of the season. The Lions managed just 19 shots on Mustangs netminder Josh Unice, but it was enough on this night as Unice made just 17 saves. More details on the York Lions website.
The win was the team’s second of the weekend as the Lions also defeated the University of Guelph Gryphons by a score of 5-3 on Friday night.
The result was a complete team effort as five different players scored goals and 11 recorded at least one point on the night. The squad’s leading scorer was veteran defenceman Matt Thomson, who had a goal and two assists after being honoured prior to the puck drop as one of three graduating players. More details.
Women’s volleyball Lions drop Marauders in regular season finale
The York University Lions women’s volleyball team dominated the McMaster University Marauders in a 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-14) victory during an afternoon game on Sunday, Feb. 12 in their regular season finale, snapping McMaster’s eight-game winning streak.
The York Lions women’s volleyball team in game action
The Lions had already clinched first place in the OUA standings and finish the regular season with a sparkling 16-2 mark. The loss for the Marauders drops them to 11-7 on the year and they finish with the same record as the Toronto Varsity Blues, but earn the tiebreaker thanks to a 3-1 head-to-head victory on Saturday.
The win also kept the Lions’ unbeaten streak at home intact, and the rest of the OUA playoffs will run through the Tait McKenzie Centre should the Lions win their quarter-final match next weekend. More details.
The previous day, the Lions got back to their winning ways with a 3-1 win over the Ryerson University Rams in an unexpectedly spirited tilt at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The Rams gave the Lions just about all they could handle, especially in the second set, but the Lions showed great poise down the stretch and were able to close things out, a skill that will certainly come in handy next Saturday when they begin their play-off journey. More details.
Thrilling five-setter ends in McMaster victory
The York University Lions men’s volleyball team nearly pulled off the upset before falling 3-2 to the visiting McMaster University Marauders on Sunday afternoon at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
Nothing was on the line for either team heading into the match as the Marauders had secured second place in the OUA standings and the Lions had locked down seventh, but that didn’t stop either team from playing its best on the court.
Seven different players recorded more than 10 points on the day, led by McMaster’s Tyson Alexander with 17 on 12 kills, one service ace and a total of three blocks (two solo, four assisted). York’s leading scorer was team captain Karim Khalil, who had 16 points on 13 kills and three blocks. More details.
The narrow defeat came one day after the Lions notched their second straight victory by knocking off the visiting Ryerson University Rams by a score of 3-1 at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The Lions made quick work of the Rams despite a shaky second set in which the Rams were firing on all cylinders and looked destined to take over the match. The Lions, however, would walk away with the pivotal third set and ultimately cruise to victory. More details.
Track and field Lions earn 14 medals in Windsor and Akron
The York University Lions track and field team was at the University of Windsor for the Windsor Team Challenge and the University of Akron (Ohio) for the Akron Invitational this past weekend (Feb. 10 to 11). The Lions earned two gold medals in Windsor and three in Akron, with a total of 14 medals combined at the two events.
The weekend was highlighted by Dontae Richards-Kwok, who won the male athlete of the meet at the Windsor Team Challenge. He won the gold in the 300m with a season best time of 33.99 seconds, which is a Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) qualification standard. He also added a silver medal in the 60m with another season best of 6.80 seconds.
Teammate Tyrone Halstead finished close behind in the 60m, winning the bronze with a time of 6.85 seconds. More details.
Women’s hockey Lions drop season finale against Mustangs
The York University Lions women’s hockey team closed the book on its 2011-12 regular season with a 4-1 loss to the Western University Mustangs on Saturday, Feb. 12 at Canlan Ice Sports.
The loss didn’t mean much, as the Queen’s University Gaels (14-9-3) won their final game on Sunday, meaning that even with a win against the Mustangs, the Lions would have finished the season no higher than fifth in the OUA standings.
Sydney McMurter, who is set to graduate this year and was, therefore, playing in her final regular season game with the Lions, made 25 saves in the loss. She was honoured in a pre-game ceremony. More details.
The previous day, the Lions allowed five unanswered goals to the visiting Windsor University Lancers in a 5-1 loss at Canlan Ice Sports.
Katrina Tollis scored her team-leading 12th goal of the season just 4:12 into the first period, but the Lancers got on the board midway through the frame on a goal by Jenny MacKnight and did not look back. More details.
Blues get revenge on men’s basketball Lions with 83-67 win
Fourth-year guard Arun Kumar knocked down eight consecutive points in the third quarter to widen the gap for good as the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men’s basketball team defeated the York University Lions 87-63 on Saturday night (Feb. 11) at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym.
The victory avenged an earlier loss to the Lions from two weeks ago, when York earned a 79-65 win on their home court at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
Kumar ended the night with 18 points, going 4-for-8 from beyond the arc. Toronto native Alex Hill of the Varsity Blues and guard David Tyndale of the Lions tallied a game-high 22 points each. Tyndale added four rebounds and three assists, while Hill had 15 of his points in the first quarter and went 5-of-10 from three-point land and added seven boards and five assists. More details.
The previous day, the Lions took a two-point lead into halftime against the Ryerson University Rams after a strong first half of play but surrendered 31 points in the third quarter alone before going on to lose 91-76.
Rookie point guard Richard Iheadindu had a stellar game for the Lions. He led the team with 21 points and registered a game-high eight rebounds for good measure. He was also the Lions’ hottest three-point shooter on the night, going 5-for-7 from beyond the arc. More details.
Women’s basketball Lions fall to Rams in battle for fifth
The York University Lions women’s basketball team found itself caught up in yet another low-scoring battle on Friday, Feb. 10 but could not close things out in the fourth quarter, as it went on to lose to the Ryerson University Rams by a score of 49-40 at Kerr Hall Gym in Toronto.
Despite the loss, the Lions clinched sixth place in the OUA East standings and will play against the third seed in the first round of the playoffs. More details.
The following night the Lions went down by a score of 58-27 to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues despite a strong eight points and 16 rebounds by Llyandra Kerr.
In that game, the Blues opened the first with a 14-0 run, with eight points coming from Sider, and held a dominant 22-3 lead after the first 10 minutes of play. A low-scoring second frame would see Toronto take a 33-12 lead into halftime. More details.