Lancers hockey picks up the pace on weekend
By Tanya Quaglia
Lance Writer
November 26, 2008
 The perfect winter hockey conditions this past weekend ended on a high note for both the men and women’s hockey teams. The Lancers men’s hockey team won both their games on Thursday and Friday night, extending their win streak to four games. The women’s team snapped a three-game skid, and defeated the Western Mustangs this past Saturday.
The Windsor Lancers Men’s hockey team won both their games against the Guelph Gryphons. The first game of the double header was won by a score of 2-1 on Thursday night.
After a scoreless first period, these two evenly matched teams looked to get on the board early in the second. Scott Gillis scored the first goal for the Lancers almost seven minutes into the period, after putting his own rebound behind Gryphons goalie Andrew Arklie.
Despite Guelph’s numerous shots on net, Windsor remained perfect. The Lancers held the Gryphons scoreless until the 13-minute mark of the second period, when an interference penalty to Tyler McKinley was costly, and Guelph tied the game.
With just over a minute left to play in the period, Jonathan Sciacca netted the eventual game-winning goal off passes from Josh Gaynor and Matt McCready.
Even though the Lancers were out shot 41-33, goaltender Jim Watt kept them off the board in the final period to earn the Lancers their third straight win.
The next night, Guelph was looking for some revenge, but were denied yet again by the red hot Lancers. Windsor went on to defeat the Gryphons in outstanding fashion, this time by a score of 5-2.
Jonathan Sciacca put the Lancers on the board early, scoring just four minutes into the game. However, the lead was short lived, as the Gryphons tied the game about one minute later on a power play goal.
Four back-to-back penalties put the Gryphons into serious trouble, and the Lancers took the lead when Mark Thorburn scored on the power play at the 13:59 mark of the first.
Tensions ran high in the second period, as both teams found themselves in the penalty box on numerous occasions. Lancer Shayne Taylor took advantage of the little even strength time during the period, and extended Windsor’s lead to 3-1, 5:10 into the second.
At the start of the third, Windsor found themselves in penalty trouble yet again as both Ryan Crouch and Josh Gaynor were in the box before the 20-second mark of the final period. The Lancers killed the 5-on-3 in spectacular fashion. Neither team was able to score, until Brock Zinken netted one for the Lancers at the 7-minute mark of the period.
A Gryphons goal five minutes later was not enough to close the gap, as the Lancers went on to win 5-2 after Lancer captain Kyle Nishizaki, scored on the empty net.
After a slow start to the season, the men’s hockey team has been outstanding, winning four straight games. They now head back home where they will play another head-to-head series, this time versus the Brock Badgers, on Friday and Saturday.
The Windsor Lancers women’s hockey team also found themselves successful this weekend. After losing three straight games, the Lancers needed a win to help keep the playoff dream alive. The Lancers went on to win spectacularly, in overtime, by a score of 5-4 over the Western Mustangs.
Candace Rapchak gave Windsor the early lead during the first period when she netted the puck over Mustangs goalie Danielle Le Ber’s shoulder. Windsor held on to the lead for a little while, before a body checking penalty proved costly, and the Mustangs scored on the power play to tie the game at one.
In the second period, Windsor came out flying. Rapchak scored her second goal of the game to give Windsor the 2-1 lead. Western tied the game again, with another power play goal, but the lead was short lived.
Windsor scored again to give the Lancers a 3-2 lead heading into the third period.
The Mustangs came out fighting in the third and quickly put a couple of goals behind Lancer goalie Celestine Manning to take a 4-3 lead. However, the Lancers were not going to go down without a fight and scored with just over a minute remaining, tying the game and sending it into overtime.
Ashley Kirby was the hero for the Lancers, as she netted a rebound past Le Ber, winning the game for Windsor.
Celestine Manning was strong in net, stopping all but four of the 36 shots she faced. In addition to Candace Rapchak’s two points, Ashley Kirby and Manon Davis also had multi-point nights, each recording a goal and an assist each.
The Lancers now head to Oshawa where they will face the UOIT Ridgebacks on Saturday night and then to Kingston to face the Queen’s Golden Gaels on Sunday afternoon.
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