The Ontario Tech Ridgebacks men’s hockey team only played one game last week against the Queen’s Gaels in Kingston. Queen’s entered the game as the only team in the OUA that was undefeated, but the Ridgebacks won 4-3 in a shootout.
“We came off really strong off the start, obviously things didn’t go as planned near the end of the third period, but we definitely held on and it was a good feeling to win in a shootout,” said forward Cameron Hough, referring to Ontario Tech surrendering a 3-1 late in the final period before prevailing in the shootout.
Goaltending still hot
Micheal Bullion has a .929 save percentage, while Leif Hertz is at .961. The Ridgebacks’ goalie tandem leads the league in overall team save percentage at .934. It’s always ideal to have two great goalies that can give you a chance to win any given game, said head coach Curtis Hodgins.
Points galore
Forward Austin Eastman is still leading the team in points with 2-6-8 totals in five games. Linemate Matthew Barron is also averaging a point per game with five assists in as many games. Forward,Jack Patterson and defenceman Evan White lead the team in goals with three apiece.
“The goals have been coming recently, in my last year of junior I only had four goals so this is kind of like uncharted territory for me right now, but I don’t know, I’m just shooting the puck lot more,” said White.
Looking ahead
This week the Ridgebacks play twice. They will be facing the Nippising Lakers for the third time this season at the Campus Ice Centre at 3 p.m. on Friday. The first two games of the season were against the Lakers. The Ridgebacks took the first one 6-1 but dropped the second one in a shootout, 2-1.
The Ridgebacks also play Queen’s on Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Campus Ice Centre
Around the OUA
Queen’s (4-0-1) is still leading the East division, the Ridgebacks (3-1-2) are just behind them in second. Carleton (4-2-1) leads the Far East division. Windsor (5-2-0) leads the Far West division. Brock (4-1-1) leads the West division. Four of the top five point leaders across the OUA are on Queen’s with Matthew Needham leading the way with 12 points in four games.