NORTH YORK, Ont. - In a wide-open, high-scoring affair that swung wildly from start to finish, the Golden Hawks (9-3-0-1) came up short in a 7-6 shootout loss to the York Lions (3-9-0-1) in OUA men's hockey action Saturday night.
The Lions struck twice in the opening two minutes, when Harry Clark scored 52 seconds in and again just under a minute later to give York a quick 2–0 lead.
Laurier pushed back about two minutes later with Ryan Pryce finishing a feed from Alec McDonald and Luke Della Croce, but a Mason Svarich marker with less than five minutes to go in the frame restored York's two-goal cushion and sent the Lions into the first intermission up 3-1.
The second period turned into a track meet, combining for seven goals and multiple lead changes.
Laurier surged early when Kallaway Mercer scored just two minutes into the period followed by a power-play goal from Lucas Chard at the midway point to bring the game level.
York responded 91 seconds later through Jag Phangura, but the Golden Hawks countered with another power-play goal from Max-Antoine Melancon.
Laurier grabbed its first lead when McDonald scored at 17:41 off a setup from Joshua Kavanagh and Thomas Lenart, capping a run of four goals in just over 15 minutes.
But the advantage lasted only 11 seconds; Ryder Ringor tied the game 5-5 seconds later to close a chaotic period that saw both teams exchange momentum repeatedly.
Laurier finished the night 2-for-2 on the power play, while York went 1-for-3.
Melancon struck again 42 seconds into the third period, giving the Golden Hawks a 6-5 lead and his second of the night.
From there, Laurier appeared to stabilize defensively, but a too-many-men penalty midway through the frame opened the door for York. Ethan Strik capitalized on the ensuing power play at 8:29, tying the game 6-6 before the end of regulation.
With overtime not solving anything, the game was settled in the shootout with York's Phangura coming up with the winner as the only scorer.
Melancon paced Laurier with two goals, while McDonald, Mercer, Chard, and Pryce added singles. Della Croce recorded two assists, and Lenart also posted a multi-point night with a pair of helpers.
With now 10 goals on the season, Melancon leads the OUA in that category through 13 games played.Â
Sitting atop the OUA West division standings, the Golden Hawks host a pair of tough match-ups this weekend.Â
First up are the Toronto Varsity Blues (6-3-2-1), who sit fourth, on Friday night. They will be followed by the second-place Lakehead Thunderwolves on Saturday.
Puck drop for both games is scheduled for 7 pm at the Waterloo Memorial Rec Complex and tickets are available for purchase at tickets.laurierathletics.com
All the action will also be streamed live on OUA.tv
