LIONS LOOKAHEAD: HOCKEY HOSTS PRIDE GAMES ON PENUTLIMATE WEEKEND OF REGULAR SEASON PLAY, WRESTLING HEADS NORTH FOR OUA CHAMPIONSHIPS

Varsity Athletics | 2/4/2025 5:00:00 PM

With the calendar now flipped to February, several York University Lions varsity teams are making their final pushes towards the postseason with just two more weeks of regular season play remaining.

The two teams appearing poised to make the postseason are men’s volleyball, which clinched a spot Saturday with a win over RMC, and women’s hockey, which is six points up on the Brock Badgers with four games left (including one at Brock on Feb. 14). for the fifth playoff spot and a chance to play in the OUA West play-in game on Feb. 19.

The women’s basketball and volleyball teams are on the outskirts of the playoffs, with both teams currently holding down the final spots in their respective leagues. It will likely come down to the final weekend – perhaps even the final game – to determine whether they qualify for the playoffs.

York’s hockey programs will host their annual Pride Games this weekend, with the women’s team battling the Toronto Varsity Blues Friday night at 7:00 pm and the men hosting the Carleton Ravens on Saturday at 3:15 pm. Partnering with the Lions for this year’s event is Alphabet Sports Collective, a Canadian queer-led non-profit with a “focus on creating a safer environment for people of all sexual orientations and expressions of gender in hockey. Alphabet’s mission statement reads, “Alphabet Sports Collective creates a safe and inclusive environment in hockey for folks of all sexual identities and gender expressions through education, community building, and mobilization,” while its vision reads, “We are creating a thriving Queer community in hockey, one shift at a time.” To learn more about Alphabet Sports Collective’s values, click here.

Here’s what’s going on in the den this week:

WRESTLING

The Lions wrestling team makes the long trek to Sault Ste. Marie for the OUA championships on Saturday. Being hosted in the Steel Ci ty for the second straight year, York, which has been a solid squad all season, looks to improve on its 2024 championship performances. They come into these championships off finishing ninth on the women’s side and tenth on the men’s side a year ago. Ali Dahcha and Prabhleen Randhawa will be athletes to watch for the red and white, as they have been some of the most consistent wrestlers on the mat this year. You can watch the championship on OUA TV with each mat having an individual stream.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 

The 6-12 Lions continue their battle for the final playoff spot in the OUA when they host the McMaster Marauders on Wednesday night before visiting the TMU Bold in the first of a home-and-home on Saturday night. The Lions hung with the Marauders in their first meeting of the year just last Friday in an 87-80 loss. York held the lead late in the third quarter before McMaster went on a run that created the separation they needed to take the victory. That performance bodes well for the Lions coming into this one as victories are paramount late in the season. The Lions will also visit a TMU team currently pacing the OUA Central at 14-4 in what is another tough test. The Bold are currently winners of seven straight and can make it eight with a win over Brock on Wednesday night. Both games this week begin at 6:00 pm. You can purchase tickets to Wednesday’s game here and stream both contests here. 

MEN’S BASKETBALL

The Lions will look for the sweep of the Marauders when they welcome their foes down the QEW to Tait McKenzie Centre Wednesday night. York earned a hard-fought 72-63 win last Friday in Hamilton, sparked by male athlete of the week Liam Rietschin, who posted a double-double with 18 points and 13 boards in the victory over the maroon and white. The Lions will play the Bold on Saturday night at Mattamy, a team currently sitting at 11-7 and in third spot in the OUA Central, firmly in playoff position and looking to improve their matchup in round one.  Both games this weekend begin at 8:00 pm. You can purchase tickets to Wednesday’s game here and stream both games here.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

The Lions head to St. Catharines for another tough test this weekend against the Brock Badgers. York enters play this weekend 9-7, on a four-game winning streak (in which they haven’t lost a set), and in sole possession of the eighth and final OUA playoff berth thanks to Toronto’s loss to Guelph on Saturday. If the Lions and Varsity Blues finish tied, the winner of the tiebreaker will come down to record against common opponents, as the teams did not play each other this year. As of publication, the common opponents for each team are Queen’s, Ottawa and Waterloo. Currently, Toronto would win that tiebreaker with a 3-3 record to York’s 2-4 mark. However, by the end of the season, RMC, TMU, Trent and Brock will also become common opponents. Toronto’s final four games are against Trent and RMC, four likely victories, meaning York will need at least a split with Brock and/or have teams above them, namely Windsor and Nipissing, fall below them in the standings over the final two weeks. You can stream both matches this weekend here.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

The men’s volleyball team knows it will be in the playoffs for the second time in three years after Saturday’s straight-sets victory over the RMC Paladins. Now, they’ll look to extend their winning streak to five when they battle the 6-10 Badgers this weekend. York can finish anywhere from second to sixth, but if they win out (at Brock, at TMU), they’ll finish no lower than third, and would finish second with at least one Queen’s loss (at MAC, at Trent). If they were to lose one game and have Toronto win out (vs. Trent, at RMC), the Lions would lose the tiebreaker to Toronto and finish fourth. However, in the unlikely event Toronto passes Queen’s for second, meaning Toronto wins out and the Gaels lose three of their final four York would finish third with at least two wins. Lastly, if York and Nipissing end up tied, York could finish as low as fifth after losing the tiebreaker to the Lakers. Lastly, if York loses out and Western wins out (vs. Windsor, at Guelph), the Lions could finish as low as sixth. Many of these scenarios will be cleared up following this weekend’s matches. You can stream both Lions games here.

TRACK & FIELD 

The Lions will send athletes to Windsor for the annual Windsor Team Challenge and to Geneva, Ohio for the Spire Midwest Open beginning Friday. These events serve as the final meets before Last Chance meets at Toronto, Carleton and Guelph the following weekend. The Lions are coming off a weekend at the York Open in which they set 19 more OUA championship standards, while Tamarri Lindo automatically qualified for the U SPORTS championships in Windsor with his 60-meter hurdle gold medal.

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

The Lions women’s hockey team will host the Toronto Varsity Blues Friday night in the first of a home-and-home series at Canlan Ice Sports. The Lions come in off a 2-1 win over Laurier, backstopped by female athlete of the week Emma Wedgewood, who made 81 saves on 85 shots over a pair of games last weekend. The Lions have won six of eight games since the don of 2025, going 2-2-3-0 over that span. York is currently fifth in the OUA and in a play-in position. As it currently stands, they would travel to Windsor for the play-in game on Feb. 20, but Windsor and Laurier are separated by just one point in the standings. The Lions finish with perhaps their toughest stretch of the season, with only one of their final four games coming against a team not in the top two in their division. You can get tickets to Friday night’s game here and can stream both games here.

MEN’S HOCKEY

The men’s hockey team will host its Pride Game Saturday afternoon at 3:15 pm against the Carleton Ravens. The Lions are coming off another competitive weekend, despite a lack of results. They hung right with two playoff teams, including the West-leading TMU Bold in which they earned a point in a shootout loss, despite only earning one of a possible four points. York will play Carleton at home Saturday afternoon and, in a strange scheduling quirk, travel to the nation’s capital to face the Gee-Gees on Super Bowl Sunday at 3:00 pm. The game in Ottawa will serve as the final road game of the season and end a stretch of eight of 11 away from Canlan Ice Sports. You can get tickets to Saturday’s Pride Game here and stream both games here.