University of Toronto Athletics

The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's hockey team fell 2-1 in overtime to the Brock Badgers at Canada Games Park on Thursday (Oct. 29) night in St. Catharines, Ont.

Fourth-year goalie Jordan Fairlie was excellent between the pipes for U of T, making a season-high 37 saves, playing a major role in the Blue and White picking up a point in the standings.
The first period saw the Blues and Badgers battle it out for an icebreaker. The Badgers were able to sustain pressure in the offensive zone with 15 shots on net that were all turned aside by Fairlie. The Fort St. John, B.C., native brought his A-game, controlling rebounds and a strong glove hand. Defensively, Toronto's forwards were excellent in helping out their defencemen to break up plays with strong stick work from third-year forward Ryan Gillespie and second-year forward Ryan Evenhuis. Toronto nearly got a breakthrough late in the frame but Scott Miner got in front of second-year forward Alexander Dimitriadis' shot to send the two sides into the first intermission scoreless.

Toronto had a stronger second period, outshooting the Badgers 11-9 in the middle frame but after the five-minute mark, Joshua Brady's first goal of the season gave Brock the advantage with Eric Barnard drawing the assist.

The Blues began the third period by generating momentum from the penalty kill, killing off a five-on-three power play in what was a standout performance when the Blues were down a man. As the period progressed, U of T continued to push for an equalizer and tilted the ice late as they were making their presence felt. With Dimitriadis creating traffic in front of Badgers goaltender Will Hambley, second-year defender David Brandes' shot beat Brock's netminder as U of T drew even on his third goal of the season with Dimitriadis picking up the helper. At the other end of the ice, Fairlie continued to keep his composure and shine between the pipes as neither side was able to pull ahead before time expired, sending the game to overtime.

In overtime, Nathan Ethier found Jacob Hoffogge in front of the net for the overtime winner, sealing the 2-1 victory for the Badgers.  

Up next, the Blues return to Varsity Arena to host the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday (Oct. 31) afternoon. Puck drop is scheduled for 4 p.m., with tickets available at varsityblues.ca/tickets. The game will also be live streamed on oua.tv.