Badgers’ men’s hockey returned to Canada Games Park this past weekend with two more games, looking to add to their sparkling record.
They were slotted against two lower-rung teams (Windsor Lancers and Ontario Tech Ridgebacks), leaving with a good chance to add to their hold on first place in the OUA.
Windsor was the Badgers’ first opponent, playing on Friday, Nov. 3rd. The Lancers, despite having the third-lowest goals-for in the OUA, struck first and quickly.
Windsor’s David Jesus found the back of the Brock net only 1:14 minutes into the first period.
On the other hand, the Badgers have one of the OUA’s highest-powered offences with only Queen’s having scored more goals than Brock’s 46. Brock demonstrated their offensive pressure throughout the first, and freshman Cale Sanders was eventually rewarded with his first career OUA goal.
The second goal came near the first’s midway point, and remained the final goal of the frame, sending the two teams to the first intermission tied at one apiece.
Brock got at it in the second just as quickly as Windsor had in the first. On a feed from Ethan Simms, Matt Duarte banked his second goal of the season to give the Badgers the lead. Though there were almost two-thirds of the game remaining, the Badgers didn’t have to expend much down the stretch to secure the win.
Penalty trouble to both sides opened up the ice, but not the score.
Tyler Burnie notched his team-leading seventh of the season six minutes into the third, but by then, the Badgers had mostly turned off the gas.
After outshooting the Lancers 12-8 in the first, they maintained only a slight 11-10 shot edge in the second and dropped all the way to a 5-12 disadvantage in the third. This hardly seemed to matter as the Badgers went on to secure a 3-1 win.
It was both the Badgers’ and starting goaltender Connor Ungar‘s eighth win of the season, a statistic that both the Badgers and Ungar lead the OUA in.
On Nov. 4th at 4 p.m., both the Badgers and Ungar would look to tack on a ninth win against the 4-4 Ridgebacks.
The Badgers controlled the run of play early, and thanks to some undisciplined play, the Badgers found themselves with two powerplays less than a minute apart. On both man-advantages, the Badgers snapped the puck around until they found a cross-seam shot, finding the red-hot Tyler Burnie for the game’s first goal, and Jacob Roach for the game’s second 35 seconds later.
Shortly after the second powerplay ended, the Badgers pinned Ontario Tech in their own end, generating a turnover that landed squarely on the stick of Zach Taylor in the slot, who rifled Brock’s third goal of the night past the goalie’s outstretched glove.
Just as it seemed that Brock had stretched the game out of hand, Ontario Tech scored 12 minutes in, and then again with less than a minute remaining in the first.
The Ridgebacks wouldn’t stop there either. Both teams traded rush chances for the first 15 minutes of the second, with neither side able to find the net until net-drive produced a rebound goal for Ontario, tying the game at three.
Brock put the pressure right back on after the goal. A powerplay generated a ton of momentum for the Badgers, culminating in Jacob Roach earning and delivering on a penalty shot.
Less than two minutes later, Brock’s electric powerplay got yet another look, and Jacob Roach got yet another goal, securing a hat trick.
Brock extended their lead further in the third period, with goals from Justin Brack and Jonah Boria, rounding out the final score at 7-3.
Following Saturday’s match, Burnie is tied for fourth in the OUA with eight goals in 10 games. Jared Marino is second in the OUA in assists with 11 over eight games, while Brack is tied for fifth with nine in 10 games. Roach is tied for sixth in the OUA in overall points.
Connor Ungar also continues a season that is phenomenal by all accounts. Ungar is first in the OUA in wins (9), Goals Against Average (1.79) and Save Percentage (0.942), positioning him as the clear top goalie in the league and one of the best in Canadian University hockey.
The Badgers play in two more games next weekend, one at the University of Waterloo against the Warriors on Nov. 10th, and then at home on Nov. 12th against Wilfrid Laurier University. For more information, visit gobadgers.ca.
