York University Lions men’s hockey team hosts its annual Movember game tonight against the visiting Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks.
Puck drop is set for 7pm at Canlan Ice Sports and the game can also be seen live online at SSN Canada.
Plenty of Movember activities will be part of tonight’s festivities. Sport a moustache (real or not) at the game and be entered to win a one-night stay and breakfast for two at the Holiday Inn Express North York. All proceeds from the gate, puck toss and prize draws will go towards prostate cancer and male mental health initiatives.
Several members of the team have already grown tremendous moustaches for the cause.
The Lions have had an up and down season through the first 12 games and hold an even .500 record at 6-6-0 for 12 points. The two squads are tied for sixth place in the division standings.
The Lions were in Windsor last weekend to face the nationally ranked Lancers and dropped both games despite outplaying the home team for large stretches of each contest. Friday night’s game ended in a 2-0 score with just one goal allowed, as the other was scored on an empty net. The following night the Lancers won 4-1, with three of their goals coming within a seven-minute span early in the second.
Team captain Jesse Messier continues to be the squad’s best player, leading all Lions with seven goals, nine assists and 16 total points. He has two power play goals and one shorthanded goal. His 16 point total has him tied for 12th in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) league scoring.
Also having a big offensive season is second-year forward Troy Barss, who is second on the team with 11 total points, eight assists and is third with three goals.
At the other end of the rink, goaltender Andrew Perugini has picked up his game significantly in the month of November and is up to eighth in the OUA with a 2.80 goals against average after sitting outside the top 20 just a few weeks ago.
The Golden Hawks have not lost a game in regulation since the first of the month. After recording just one win in their first seven games, the Golden Hawks have earned points in five straight contests, boasting a 4-0-1 mark in that stretch. They began the streak with a trio of wins over Royal Military College, Carleton University and Concordia University, dropped a 4-3 decision to the Western University Mustangs in overtime and, in their most recent contest, upset the nationally ranked Lakehead University Thunderwolves by a score of 4-2.
Last year’s team leader in scoring, Mitchell Good, has continued that trend again this year with a team-best 13 points in just 11 games. He leads all Golden Hawks with nine assists and is tied for fourth with four goals.
The Lions won the season series between the two squads last year, taking two of three from the Golden Hawks. York won the first two meetings by scores of 4-1 on the road and 1-0 at home, and was defeated in the last match-up by a score of 3-1 at Laurier.
The Lions have one more home game on the schedule before the December break, on Thursday, Nov. 29 against the Mustangs. They will return to action on Friday, Jan. 4 against the Waterloo Warriors on the road and will play their first home game of 2013 on Saturday, Jan. 5 against the University of Windsor Lancers at 7pm.