hockey

Shootout in Montreal – Redmen Down Mustangs in Penalty-Filled Affair

Published on The CIS Blog on November 10, 2013.

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It was a cold, brisk evening in the city of Montréal on Saturday night, but inside McConnell Arena things better resembled the Wild West, as an all-out barnburner took place between the #5 McGill Redmen and #7 Western Mustangs.

Western was entering the game coming off of a tough loss in Ottawa against the Gee-Gees the night before where they were held off of the scoresheet until over midway through the second. In this one, they got started quickly to try to remedy that as Steven Reese scored just three and a half minutes in to get the Mustangs out in front early.

Following the goal, both teams started a long and lengthy parade to the penalty box that endured throughout the entire game, as special teams became a crucial part of both sides’ strategies.

And just under seven minutes after Reese gave Western the lead, McGill’s Neal Prokop scored on the powerplay to even things up. The goal came after Julian Cimadamore took a cross-checking penalty, the first of three straight calls against Western.
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Rams Take Down Lions in Cross-City Clash

Published on The CIS Blog on November 4, 2013.

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The #9 York Lions and Ryerson Rams kicked off their cross-town rivalry on Halloween last week, in what looked to be a closely contested matchup with both teams entering the game at just one-loss apiece.

Strangely, the single loss for each team came courtesy the other team in the Toronto equation, the Varsity Blues.

Before the puck even dropped, there was a sense that this would be a heated game, as each team fought to catch #10 Lakehead at the top of the OUA’s West Division.

It didn’t take long for the scoring to get started, either. York’s Mike Lomba Continue reading →

Putting the “Fun” Back in Fundamentals

From The Sputnik – February 16, 2011. Also ran on the CUPWire.

It’s 6:30 a.m. on a Sunday and AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” is reverberating through the dressing room while the players discuss their Saturday nights.

Head coach Andrew Francella, a third-year concurrent education student, finishes filling up the team’s water bottles and comes out of the bathroom to try to motivate the 11 smiling faces waiting for him.

“Alright, guys, bring it in,” Francella says to his team, the Brantford Avengers. “We’ve been in the last few games we played and if we play hard and hustle, I think we can win this one.”

This morning, he’s wearing a navy hoodie, a pair of faded blue jeans and flashy grey Nikes as he lays out the strategy for the morning’s contest. He emphasizes that the team must continue working on clearing the puck off the boards in the defensive zone and setting up plays from the point on offence.

“But the most important thing today is what, guys?” Francella asks. “I’ll give you a hint: It starts with an ‘F.’”

“Fun!” shouts back one enthusiastic player.

Francella asks again, louder this time, and the whole team screams the answer back this time.

“You have to keep it light-hearted because when you’re learning you want to emphasize, ‘Yeah, you’re still learning, you’re not going to get everything right away,’” Francella said in an interview later. “That’s why making sure they’re having fun is the biggest thing so that when they make mistakes, they don’t get down on themselves.”

While most students are sleeping in, sometimes in an effort to get rid of a hangover, Francella has spent each Saturday and Sunday morning this year, waking up early to coach his team of eight- and nine-year-olds.

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