The Varsity Blues men’s hockey team dropped a 5-3 decision to the Nipssing Lakers on Friday, December 3 in North Bay, Ont.

With the loss, the Blues head into the holiday break with a 5-8-3 record in seventh place, while Nipissing improves to 8-6-3 and is in fifth place in the OUA East.

After a scoreless first period, Toronto native Bryden Teich and rookie forward Anthony Bergin of Scarborough, Ont., scored 58 seconds apart to give the visiting squad a quick 2-0 lead; However, the Lakers would rally and went on to score four unanswered goals to gain a two-goal advantage.

The Blues narrowed the gap and brought the game within one with a marker off the stick of assistant captain Byron Elliott (Burlington, Ont.). Nipissing again responded less than 30 seconds later to gain back their two-goal cushion.

U of T goaltender Andrew Martin of Mississauga, Ont., made 30 saves in the losing effort.

The Varsity Blues return to the ice for a pair of non-conference games, December 29-30, versus the Acadia Axemen and Saint Mary’s Huskies in Nova Scotia.

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