The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's hockey team fell 6-3 to the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Saturday (Nov. 29) night at Varsity Arena.

The Blues fell behind early as the Thunderwolves struck twice in the opening five minutes. Nicolas De Grazia opened the scoring and Austin Peters followed up the goal to put U of T behind by a pair of goals. Despite the deficit, the Blues generated steady offensive pressure, outshooting Lakehead 17-7 in the first period.

The Blues were rewarded for their effort in the second period as third-year forward Rylee Hlusiak continued his strong season offensively with his eighth goal of the season. Linemates Brandon Santa Juana and Sean Clarke drew assists on the play. Less than two minutes later, first-year forward Ryan Evenhuis capitalized off of a turnover in the offensive zone and beat goaltender Carson Cherepak low for his second goal of the season. The Thunderwolves managed to retake the lead as Caden Drury finished off a feed from Peters. As the period neared its conclusion, the Thunderwolves restored their two-goal cushion as Olivier Pouliot scored a power play goal.

In the third period, the Blues fired 17 shots on goal as they left it all on the ice as they looked to mount a comeback. Third-year defenceman Aiden Reeves jumped into the rush and finished off a feed from Evenhuis, who notched his second point of the game and Reeves' second goal of the season. Late in the period, Peters scored his second goal of the game to make it 5-3 and Drury added an empty net goal for his second of the night to ice the game for the Thunderwolves.

First-year goalie Nick Surzycia made 26 saves.

The Blues will be back in action following the winter break when they host the Guelph Gryphons on Sunday (Jan. 4) afternoon. Puck drop is scheduled for 2 p.m., with tickets available at varsityblues.ca/tickets. U of T students receive free entry with a valid T-Card. The game will also be streamed live on oua.tv.