The OUA West top-seeded University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's hockey team hosts the Western Mustangs in a best-of-three OUA Round 1 playoff series starting this Wednesday night at Varsity Arena.
 
Series Schedule:
Game 1: Wednesday, February 12 | Western at Toronto | 7:00 p.m. | Varsity Arena
Game 2: Saturday, February 15 | Toronto at Western | 3:00 p.m. | Thompson Arena
Game 3*: Sunday, February 16 | Western at Toronto | 7:00 p.m. | Varsity Arena
(*if necessary)
 
Tickets are on sale now – click here to purchase! Alumni rates are available online in advance at varsityblues.ca/alumni.
 
 "We're excited to get the playoffs started," said Ryan Medel, who is in his third season as Varsity Blues head coach. "The regular season is really just a trial run for this part of the year. We expect a fast-paced but tight-checking series. Western is a well-structured team and our last two games against them have been extremely close. Our focus is on our energy and execution heading into Game 1 at home on Wednesday night."
 
The resurgent Blues finished the 2019-20 regular season atop the OUA West division with a 21-5-2 record, marking their second-most regular season wins in program history (22, 1983-84). Toronto boasts the top-ranked powerplay (30.8%) in the OUA, while also allowing the fewest goals against (71) in the OUA West and the second-most goals for in the entire province (125). 
 
U of T, who is in search of their first OUA title since 1992-93, went 2-0-1 with the Mustangs this season. The Blues defeated Western 6-3 on Nov. 16, before dropping a narrow 3-2 overtime decision on Jan. 22. Toronto bounced back with a 4-3 victory in London on Jan. 29.
 
The two teams are also 5-5 in 10 post-season matchups, dating back to 1971-72.
 
Second-year forwards David Thomson and Joey Manchurek have led the Blues offensively this season. Thomson, who helped Canada to a bronze-medal finish at the 2019 FISU Winter Universiade in Russia, ranked second in league scoring with 17 goals and 23 assists for 40 points. He also led the OUA with seven powerplay goals this season.
 
Manchurek, a former captain of the Oshawa Generals and 2015 Memorial Cup winner, sat sixth in OUA scoring with 14 goals and 22 assists for 36 points in 27 games.
 
The Blues offensive prowess does not overshadow their defensive dominance, however. Sophomore netminder Alex Bishop led the OUA with 19 wins between the pipes and held a .922 save percentage and 2.41 goals against average.
 
The Western Mustangs finished the regular season in eighth place with an 11-13-4 record. First-year forward Franco Sproviero led the team in scoring with 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points.
 
Veteran goalie Luke Peresinni suited up in 20 games for the Mustangs, holding a .893 save percentage and 3.83 goals against average.
 
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