Garrett Sheehan made 38 saves and stopped a third-period penalty shot in leading the Varsity Blues men’s hockey team to a 3-2 win over the UOIT Ridgebacks on Friday night (Dec. 2) at Campus Ice Centre in Oshawa, Ont.

The Blues scored two first-period goals and third-year forward Kyle Ventura of Scarborough, Ont., notched the eventual game-winner 3:45 into the second to secure Toronto’s eighth win of the season.

In what proved to be a penalty-filled affair, the Blues went 0-for-12 on the powerplay, while UOIT converted on 1-of-6 attempts. 

After Toronto’s Byron Elliott (Burlington, Ont.) and Matt Walters (Winnipeg) gave the visiting team two-goal lead, Ventura added an unassisted tally, his 10th of the season, to put U of T up by three.

UOIT finally got on the board while on the man advantage with just over three minutes remaining in the second frame and Toronto maintained a 3-1 advantage heading into the third period.

After Sheehan came up with a penalty-shot stop midway through the third period, UOIT’s Mike Noyes found a way past the Cremona, Alta., native to bring the game within one.

The Blues would hold on for the final 5:54 to secure their third win in the past four games.

The Varsity Blues wrap up the first half of the 2011-12 season with an 8-5-3 record and sit tied for sixth in the OUA East division.  Toronto returns to the ice on Saturday, January 7 as they travel to Kingston, Ont., to take on the RMC Paladins at 7 p.m.

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