ICE HOCKEY - Varsity Match 2010
Saturday 27 February 2010
The ice hockey Varsity Match was held at Oxford Ice Rink. More than 500 supporters packed the arena to see the match, which marked the 125th anniversary of the foundation of both clubs. The atmosphere was electric, expectations were high, and what followed was surely one of the most dramatic Varsity Matches in any sport in recent memory.
Oxford was first on the scoresheet with a goal three minutes into play, but Cambridge replied immediately with a goal from centre Dan Tavana. Tavana’s pace and determination were simply too much for the Oxford defenders to handle and ten minutes later Tavana had notched his second tally to give Cambridge a 2-1 lead. The Cambridge defensive pairing of Luc St-Pierre and David Waterman were effective in shutting down Oxford’s top line for the remainder of the period, and Waterman set the tone with a thundering body check that sent an Oxford attacker to the locker room for repairs.
At the beginning of the second period, Cambridge took two penalties and Oxford was able to capitalise on the powerplay, tying the game at two. But less than a minute later, Cambridge regained their one goal lead when Dan Tavana scored his third of the game. The teams exchanged tallies before Oxford tied it at 4-4 with only a minute remaining in the period.
After having led most of the game, Cambridge fell behind early in the third and final period when Oxford scored on a rapid counter attack. Fast and furious hockey ensued as Cambridge pushed for the tying goal and netminder Carl Mazurek stood tall to keep the Light Blues within one. With five minutes remaining, Cambridge forward Tom Whillier beat the Oxford goalie with a hard wrist shot to tie the game and bring Cambridge’s travelling supporters roaring to their feet. The ‘Cambridge’ chants were still filling the rink a minute later when Peter Morelli took a perfect pass from Adrian Fielding and scored to regain Cambridge’s lead at 6-5. In the dying minutes Oxford applied continuous pressure to the Cambridge defence. In a desperate attempt to tie the game Oxford pulled their goalie in favour of an extra skater. Their strategy paid off as a mad scramble in front of the Cambridge net resulted in an Oxford goal with only 30 seconds left to play. The game finished even at 6-6 and after a short break the teams retook the ice for a five-minute sudden-death overtime.
Carrying the momentum from their late-game heroics, Oxford pressed offensively in the overtime period. After two minutes of extra time the title slipped through Cambridge’s hands when Oxford scored quickly after a faceoff. It was a remarkably strong effort from Cambridge, but unfortunately the final result went in favour of Oxford. Captain Luc St-Pierre was named Cambridge’s man-of-the-match for his consistent defensive presence.
