Fifth-year forward Dan Brewer scored two goals and added one assist in leading the Varsity Blues men’s hockey team to a narrow 4-3 victory over the RMC Paladins on Friday night (Jan. 27) at Varsity Arena.

The win lifts Toronto (12-8-3) two spots from sixth to a tie for fourth place with the Carleton Ravens in the OUA East division.

Brewer scored the first and game-winning goals en route to U of T’s third win in four games.

"I thought for parts of the game we were very good," said Varsity Blues head coach Darren Lowe. "However we took too many penalties and lost our momentum. I give a lot of credit to RMC.  Dan Brewer had a very strong game and provided us with excellent leadership."

The Paladins struck early, as rookie defenceman Alex Pym (Winnipeg) made good on the first powerplay opportunity of the game.  Toronto answered back six minutes later as Brewer evened the score with his fifth goal of the season.

Three minutes later Brewer fed Blues leading scorer Byron Elliott (Burlington, Ont.) a pass from the point and Elliott wired the puck over the shoulder of RMC goaltender Andrew Flemming (Quispamsis, N.B.) for the go-ahead goal.

Toronto extended their lead midway through the second frame with a powerplay marker from rookie forward Paul Van De Velde (Mariapolis, Man.).  The Blues controlled the play for the majority of the second period, outshooting the Paladins 17-8.

Down but not out, RMC brought the game back within one late in the period on their second powerplay opportunity of the night.  Paladins rookie forward Colin MacLean (Brockville, Ont.) wired a shot to beat Blues goalie Garrett Sheehan short side and the game remained 3-2 at the second intermission.

The Paladins opened the third period with a 5-on-3 advantage for the first minute, but the Blues held off the attack. Brewer notched his second goal of the game on the man advantage eight minutes into the frame, assisted by Matt Walters and Anthony Bergin.

With Flemming out of his net, the Paladins again brought the game within reach with 53 seconds remaining after Patrick Pinder found a hole through Sheehan.  Brewer almost secured the hat trick performance on the ensuing play with a 2-on-1, but Flemming slid across the crease to deny the veteran forward. The final buzzer would sound in favour of the home team.

Sheehan made 17 saves in the win, while Flemming added 43 on the night.

The Varsity Blues return to the ice tomorrow night as they host the Queen’s Gaels at Varsity Arena. The game will be streamed lived on SSN Canada via varsityblues.ca with the puck scheduled to drop at 7:30 p.m.

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