Badgers fend off Varsity Blues in 2-1 Victory

TORONTO - The Brock University men's hockey team (7-6-0) participated in a regular season match up against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues (5-7-2) at Varsity arena. The Badgers entered the game after a disappointing 5-2 loss against the Ryerson Rams on Thursday, while the Varsity Blue are attempting to break a three game losing streak.

It was a hard fought first period, with both teams playing a defensive, hard-hitting game. As a result the majority of the shots were kept to the outside allowing Brock's Mark Yetman (Mount Pearl, NL) and Toronto's Andrew Martin (Mississauga, Ont.) to see everything. Brock was on the power play twice in the period and capitalized quickly on the second effort as Vince Scott (Mississauga, Ont.) shot a puck off the end boards and write on the tap of Derek Brochu (Welland, Ont.) giving Brock a 1-0 lead.

The Badgers found themselves on the defensive during the second stanza. The Varsity Blues went on the power play on four separate occasions during the period; it was only the stellar play of Yetman that limited Toronto to one goal. Toronto's Byron Elliot (Burlington, Ont.) jumped on a loose puck in the corner and made a nice move to the front of the net, scoring on the far side.

The Badgers fought back, as the Vince Scott charged the offensive zone, and found the trailer Joe Tolles (Toledo, OH) who hammered the one-timer past Martin to regain a one-goal lead.

\The third period was Martin's turn to shine, and he was up to the challenge turning away all of Brock's opportunities. Martin's play was critical ensuring that Toronto was only a goal behind heading into the final minutes of the game, when they began to press for a tying goal. Yetman and the Brock defense held strong, blocking shots and containing the Varsity Blues offensive efforts. Brock exits the game with a 2-1 victory and moves up into a tie for 5th place in the Western Conference.

Brock's next home game will take place on November 27, 2009 against the Laurier Golden Hawks, 7:35 pm at the Seymour-Hannah Centre.

Scoring Summary

First Period
17:33 Brock - Brochu (Scott, Toonders) PP

Second Period
6:39 Toronto - Elliot (Mooney, Kay) PP
11:24 Brock - Tolles (Scott, Mullin)

Third Period
No Scoring