Kyle Ventura tallied three points to lead the Varsity Blues men’s hockey team to a 5-2 victory over the Ryerson Rams on Thursday, February 3 at George Bell Arena.

With the win, the Blues (9-10-6) secure a playoff spot with three games remaining in the regular season. Toronto currently sits in seventh place, one point ahead of the Queen’s Gaels (10-11-3).

Ventura (Scarborough, Ont.) scored two goals and added one assist, while rookie forward and Toronto native Michael Markovic had two goals, including the game-winner, as Toronto held Ryerson scoreless after the first period of play.

Markovic opened the scoring on U of T’s first powerplay opportunity of the contest, with a goal assisted by fellow rookies Anthony Bergin and Blake Boddy.

After Ryerson’s David Harris evened the score five minutes later, Ventura netted his first of the game, also on the powerplay, to put the Blues up by one. Troy Murray netted what would be the Rams final goal of the game to leave things tied at 2-2 heading into the second period.

Markcovic tallied the game-winner with three minutes remaining in the second, assisted by defenceman Tyler Turcotte and Bryden Teich. The Blues would go on to add two more in the third – an early goal by veteran forward David Mooney and a late marker by Ventura to secure the three-goal win.

The Varsity Blues return to the ice on Saturday, February 5 when they travel to North Bay, Ont., to take on the Nipissing Lakers. The puck drops at 7 p.m.

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