TORONTO — A third-period tap-in goal from Matthew Andreacchi proved to be the difference on Saturday afternoon, as the sophomore capitalized on a scramble play in front of Western's net to send Ryerson past the Mustangs by a score of 2-1 at Mattamy Athletic Centre.
 
Greg Dodds was spectacular once again for Western, turning aside 33 of 35 shots, but was unable to contain the rebound on Andreacchi's goal as he dealt with some traffic in his crease. The referees deliberated before ultimately deciding that the goal would count, giving Ryerson their fifth win of the season and first in two meetings against Western this year. 
 
Western and the Rams now share an identical record at 5-3-0, putting the two teams in a tie for second in the OUA West as they both sit six points back of undefeated Windsor. The two teams will not meet again this season unless that meeting should come in the playoffs.
 
Regardless of the nature of the game-winning marker, Ryerson largely outplayed Western in the game, dominating possession for large periods of time and keeping the Mustangs' potent power play off the board for the most part. After finishing on all three of their opportunities on Friday against Toronto, Western was just one for seven on the power play on Saturday.
 
Six of those opportunities came in a second period that saw Ryerson take five consecutive penalties within a span of less than four minutes. As a result, the Mustangs were given an extended five-on-three that saw them score just one goal. Matt Marantz made a nifty play for that tally, scooping up a Noah Schwartz rebound from beside the net and tucking it around the post for Western's first and only goal of the game.
 
Ryerson's goalie Troy Passingham was a big contributor to the Rams' penalty kill and overall success, making a number of flashy stops to keep the game close and finishing with 26 saves. On a team known for their offence, Passingham has quietly been putting together a spectacular season and now owns the OUA's fourth-best save percentage at .928.
 
Ryerson's second-period penalties represented a complete turnaround from the first period, which saw Western take both of the infractions as they struggled to get their offence going. The Mustangs seemed to be relying on the dump-and-chase game during the frame— a strategy that might have come up in response to Ryerson dressing just five defence men for the match— but rookie Alex Basso and Keevin Cutting seemed to handle their extra shifts well.
 
The only offence of the first frame would come off the stick of Domenic Alberga, who faked a pass on the goal line before sliding through the legs of an unsuspecting Dodds on the power play. That would be the only power play goal that Ryerson would manage on four opportunities Saturday, as Western was able to shut the Rams out for the remainder of the game.
 
Notes
 
Ryerson's broadcasting crew identified "containing Steve Reese" as one of the things that the Rams would have to do to be successful on Saturday and they did just that, keeping him off the board for the first time this season. Western's captain still leads the team in points with 11… Schwartz's (2-7-9) assist on the Marantz goal extends his point streak to eight games… On that note, Marantz has now scored in three consecutive games after scoring the opener against Toronto and an empty-netter against Queen's last week…