Courtesy: Blake ChorleyTORONTO - Greg Payne scored two goals and added a pair of assists as the Ryerson Rams defeated the No. 10 UQTR Patriotes 9-2 in game one of the best-of-three OUA East quarter-final.
The Rams were dominant from the first face-off, quickly going up by two by the 1:40 mark of the opening frame on goals from Kelly Geoffrey (Newmarket, Ont.) and Jason Kelly (Toronto).
Two more tallies in the middle of the first had the Rams holding a 4-0 lead at the end of the first period. However, with UQTR being the highest scoring team throughout the regular season, averaging 4.5 goals per game, a four-goal lead did not ensure a victory for Ryerson.
But after a double-minor high-sticking penalty was taken by Maxime Robichaud at the beginning of the second, the Rams took full advantage by tallying back-to-back goals on the power-play to spread the lead to 6-0.
A short-handed marker by Payne (Thornhill, Ont.) after Ryerson killed off a 5-on-3 UQTR power-play iced the contest midway through the second.
Captain Andrew Buck (Newmarket, Ont.) tallied three assists, as 14 different Rams got on the scoresheet Wednesday night. Troy Passingham (Mississauga) stopped 36 of 38 shots in the victory. Ryerson went 3-for-9 with the power-play, while UQTR was 1-of-7.
"It was a 100 percent team effort," Rams head coach Graham Wise told the Ryerson Rams Network following his team's victory. "I'm really proud of our players."
The Rams take a 1-0 series lead, and will look to sweep the Patriotes this Saturday in Trois-Rivières, Que. on Saturday afternoon. The game will get underway at 2:00 p.m. Game three, if necessary, is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Sunday night in Trois-Rivières.
"There is still lots of hockey left to play in this series," added Wise. "Trois-Rivières is a great team and we know they will bring their 'A'-game on the weekend. We have to get prepared and be ready to match them."
