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Depleted Redmen run out of steam as Blues rally for upset

Published: 28 November 2009

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TORONTO - Joe Rand, a fifth-year senior from Hamilton, Ont., scored shorthanded midway through the final period as the Toronto Varsity Blues took advantage of a depleted ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ lineup and rallied with three unanswered goals in the final period to upset the fifth-ranked Redmen in men's hockey at Varsity Arena, Saturday.

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The result snapped ±«ÓãÖ±²¥'s win streak at five games and dropped their record to 10-2 in OUA play. The U of T victory avenged their 5-0 loss at McConnell Arena on Nov. 8 and snapped a four-game losing streak to ±«ÓãÖ±²¥.

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Blues captain Brendan Sherrard opened up the scoring 4:32 into the game as he came out of the penalty box, picked up a loose puck and found himself all alone with ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ goaltender Hubert Morin. The Etobicoke, Ont., native fired a hard snapshot past Morin into the back of the net.

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The Redmen led 2-1 after the opening period and had jumped into a 3-1 lead by the midway mark of the middle stanza on goals by centre Simon Marcotte-Légaré of Longueuil, Que., defenceman Yan Turcotte of Laval, Que., and centre Alexandre Picard-Hooper of Boucherville, Que.

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But the Blues came to life in the second stanza, failing to score but outshooting ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ 16-3 in the period. In the final frame, U of T was sparked by two goals in 40 seconds.

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Centre Robert Kay of Orono, Ont., narrowed the gap to 3-2 on the power-play at 7:28 and Joel Lenius from Markham, Ont., evened the scoreboard at 3-3 with his marker at 8:08 to set the stage for Rand's heroics.

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After Rand's go-ahead goal, the Blues ran into some penalty trouble and found themselves down 5-on-3 for 36 seconds. Toronto stood tall and played some solid defence, keeping ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ ±«ÓãÖ±²¥s to the outside and blocking numerous point shots to walk away with their first win in six games.

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Blues goaltender Andrew Martin, a junior from Mississauga, made 27 saves and improved his record to 5-4-1.

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It was the first loss of the season for ±«ÓãÖ±²¥'s Morin, a sophomore from St. George de Beauce, Que., who was credited with 33 saves and fell to 7-1.

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Already short two ±«ÓãÖ±²¥s lost during the previous night's 7-2 win over Nipissing in North Bay, the Redmen suffered two more casualties during the game with U of T.

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Sophomores Andrew Wright and Maxime Langelier-Parent suffered facial lacerations on the same second-period shift and were sent to the hospital for stitches. Francis Verreault-Paul, the team's scoring leader who was cut for five stitches from a cross-check received the previous night, sat out the U of T contest while serving an automatic one-game suspension in the wake of a fighting major. Also scratched was rookie Patrick Belzile with an upper body injury.

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Three games into a nine-game road trip, ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ returns to Toronto next weekend to close out the first semester with a pair of rare back-to-back affairs against Ryerson at George T. Bell Arena on Dec. 4 (7:30 p.m.) and Dec. 5 (2 p.m.).

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REDMEN RAP: Yan Turcotte, a fifth-year senior who has already surpassed his previous single-season best in goals and points, is the third-leading rearguard in the OUA with 6-8-14 in 12 games... Teammate Marc-André Dorion, who had a pro try-out with the NHL's Dallas Stars last year, sits second among OUA blueliners with a 4-11-15 record, one point behind York's Kyle Searle who has 1-15-16 in three more games played... In a rivalry that dates back a century to their first meeting in 1899, the Varsity Blues lead the lifetime series with a 119-79-15 record overall against ±«ÓãÖ±²¥... However, since 1985, the Redmen have owned U of T with a 32-18-5 head-to-head record.

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SCORING SUMMARY

±«ÓãÖ±²¥ 3 at Toronto 4

(Nov 28, 2009 - Varsity Arena)

1st Period-
1, Toronto, Brendan Sherrard 1 (B. Elliott, J. Lenius), 4:32.
2, ±«ÓãÖ±²¥, Simon Marcotte-Legare 4 (Vossen, G.Doucet), 8:39.
3, ±«ÓãÖ±²¥, Yan Turcotte 6 (S. Marcotte-Legare, G. Doucet), 14:17 (pp).

Penalties-
Sherrard Tor (hooking), 2:25;
Dupont Tor (interference), 13:50;
Boisvert Mcg (elbowing), 15:09.

2nd Period-
4, ±«ÓãÖ±²¥, Alexandre Picard-Hooper 5 (G. Tindle, T. Drager), 11:03.

Penalties-
Lenius Tor (slashing), 1:48;
Cowdrey Tor (high sticking), 15:22;
Turcotte Mcg (tripping), 16:04;
Doucet Mcg (slashing), 19:07.

3rd Period-
5, Toronto, Robert Kay 9 (B. Teich, A. Kizito), 7:28 (pp).
6, Toronto, Joel Lenius 3 (E. Snetsinger, B. Sherrard), 8:08.
7, Toronto, Joe Rand 3 (unassisted)Ìý 11:34 (sh).

Penalties-
Drager Mcg (hooking), 5:44;
Elliott Tor (tripping), 9:41;
Kliewer Tor (roughing), 15:11;
Elliott Tor (interference), 16:35.

GOALS BY PERIOD:
±«ÓãÖ±²¥ 2-1-0 -- 3
Toronto 1-0-3 -- 4

SHOTS BY PERIOD:
±«ÓãÖ±²¥ 13-3-14-30.
Toronto 11-16-10-37.

POWER PLAY OPPORTUNITIES-
±«ÓãÖ±²¥ 1 of 7 (plus 1 SHG against);
Toronto 1 of 4.


GOALTENDERS-

±«ÓãÖ±²¥,
Hubert Morin (L, 7-1-0, 37 shots-33 saves. 59:13);
Empty-net (0 goals; 0:47).

Toronto,
Jeff Martin (W, 5-4-1, 30 shots-27 saves; 60:00).

START: 7:34 pm


FINISH: 940 pm

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ATTENDANCE-350


REFEREE-Ed Munroe.


MOLSON CUP THREE STARS

1. Jeff Martin, Toronto
2. Simon Marcotte-Legare, ±«ÓãÖ±²¥
3. Maxime Langelier-Parent, ±«ÓãÖ±²¥

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SOURCE:

Earl Zukerman

±«ÓãÖ±²¥ Athletics & Recreation

514-398-7012

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