The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's hockey team battled hard in their 4-3 loss to the No. 2 nationally ranked Concordia Stingers on Friday (Oct. 20) night at Varsity Arena. 

In the first period, the Stingers capitalized first with forward Charles-Antoine Paiment scoring back-to-back goals in the first half of the period. Samuel Desgroseilliers added to the Stingers lead late in the first period. 

With under a minute left and the Blues on the power play, second-year forward Zack Smith carried the puck past centre and found first-year defencemen Owen Luik, who set up second-year forward Nicholas Wong up with a perfect pass to find the back of the net. 

In the second period, momentum was in favor of the Blues and fourth-year captain Cole Purboo tapped in the rebound from Wong minutes into the period. 

The Stingers scored their fourth and final goal of the game early into the third period, leaving the Blues open with opportunity for scoring. Halfway through the period Billy Moskal put the Blues within one, and although they had many chances through the remainder of the period, the Blues fell 4-3 to the Stingers.  

Blues goalie Jett Alexander recorded 28 saves through the 60 minutes. 

The Blues are back in action next Friday (Oct. 27) night at Varsity Arena, where they will face off against the Lakehead Thunderwolves. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m., with tickets available online at varsityblues.ca/tickets. The game will also be streamed online via oua.tv.