The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men’s hockey team earned their seventh consecutive victory as they defeated the RMC Paladins 6-2 on Friday, January 22 at Varsity Arena.

With the win, the Blues improve to 12-7-3 and sit tied for third place with the Carleton Ravens in the OUA East division.

First-year forward Brent McGrail (Mississauga, Ont.) opened the scoring10:59 into the first period when he skated around the net and sent a low shot between Paladins goaltender Alex Stewart’s (Stittsville, Ont.) legs for his fourth goal of the season.

RMC rallied with a couple of great scoring chances in the opening minutes of the second period. However, the Varsity Blues would strike next when assistant captain Ed Snetsinger (Ajax, Ont.) walked in off the blue line, pulled a nifty move around an RMC defenceman and wired a shot into the top corner of the net.

Forward Matthew Pindar of Calgary, Alta. would finally get the Paladins on the board when he picked up a Kurt Matthewson (Carnduff, Sask.) rebound and found the top corner of the Blues net.

Blues leading scorer Byron Elliott (Burlington, Ont.) extended Toronto’s lead to two on the powerplay when he shot through a screen to find the back of the net at the 12:22 mark of the second period.

Toronto held a 3-1 lead at the second intermission.

The Blues put the game out of reach with three goals in the first six minutes of the third frame. Second-year forward Robert Kay (Orono, Ont.) walked off the boards and found the five-hole just 1:15 into the period to put Toronto up by three.

Elliott potted his second of the game off a pass from linemate David Mooney (Toronto). Kyle Paige (Richmond Hill, Ont.) scored his fourth of the season just 29 seconds later.

Landon Lavictoire (Kirkland Lake, Ont.) would score on a Paladins powerplay midway through the third period, however, the visiting team would not find the back of the net again as Toronto earned their seventh straight win.

Blues goaltender Andrew Martin (Mississauga, Ont.) made 23 saves in the victory. Tyler Turcotte of St. Catharines, Ont. was named the Varsity Blues player of the game for his solid defensive play on the night.

The Varsity Blues return to action next Friday, January 29 when they host the Queen’s Gaels at Varsity Arena. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m.

For more information, scores and highlights on your favourite Toronto teams, please visit the home of the Varsity Blues at http://www.varsityblues.ca.