The Brock Badgers men's hockey team kicked off the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) playoffs with a huge 6-1 win over the host Windsor Lancers on Thursday, Feb. 22 at the Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex.
With the victory, the Badgers now hold a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three quarter-final series with the Lancers.
"We remain composed even though they scored the early power-play goal," said head coach TJ Manastersky. "Our power play helped us gain some momentum back, and Connor made some big saves for us throughout the contest."
Cole Tymkin led the Badgers with two goals while Zachary Taylor, Ryan Stepien and Jordan Stock also got on the score sheet. Rookie goaltender Connor Ungar was rock solid between the pipes in the win.
Brock was a force to be reckoned with in the first period, scoring five consecutive goals against Windsor. The Lancers were quick to get on the board with Grant Spence taking the first goal of the game, but it was all Badgers from there. Taylor responded with a goal less than a minute later to tie up the score. A power play for Brock gave the team a chance to take the lead, which was found by Stepien. It didn't take long for the Badgers to get further ahead as Stock found the back of the net shortly afterward. Tmykin helped the Badgers build more momentum with back-to-back goals, leading Brock to hold a massive four-goal lead over Windsor after 20 minutes of play.
In the second period, the Badgers continued to impress. Roach earned the team's sixth goal within the first several minutes. Ungar stood tall as Windsor could not take advantage of a 5-on-3 power play near the midway point. Brock managed to kill off all five penalties to hold on to the large five-goal lead at the end of the frame.
The Lancers were looking for chances to close the gap in the third period; all of which were shot down by Ungar. Neither team found another goal, and the game closed with Brock taking a 6-1 win.
With the first game now in the books, Manastersky has the team focused on Game 2.
"We're going to focus on recovery tonight and tomorrow," he said. "We'll take the time to watch the video and identify opportunities for the upcoming game."
Up next, the No. 1 OUA West seed Brock Badgers (21-7-0) will face the No. 4 OUA West seed Windsor Lancers (15-13-0) again in Game 2 of the OUA quarter-final round. The matchup takes place at Canada Games Park on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 4 p.m. Purchase tickets at https://brocku.universitytickets.com/ or catch the action live on OUA.tv.
