Having twice conquered one of the two Oxford teams in Division One of the British University Ice Hockey Association, the Cambridge Men’s Blues ice hockey team ventured back to the other place on Saturday 29th November, to take on the defending Varsity champions.

Over 400 Oxford supporters flocked to the arena to witness what would be the most physical contest to date. In addition to fan support, the match also raised nearly £500 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. 

As expected, Oxford were quick off the mark with fast and aggressive play.  It took a little while for some of the debuting Cambridge players to adjust, but they quickly rallied and fired back with some forcible checks of their own.  Canadian Simon Rodier, a Cambridge ice hockey first-timer but also a Blues triathlete, was mighty from the outset. 

Oxford opened the scoring early on by capitalising on sloppy play in front of the Cambridge net.  Both sides continued to battle, firing pucks at the net and sending bodies flying, which further ignited the crowd.

The scoring remained deadlocked until near the end of the period when a Dark Blue attacker again crept past the Cambridge defence to put in his own rebound. 

The end of the first frame saw Cambridge having fallen 2–0 behind.

Committed to fight back into the game, the men in light blue came out gunning in the second.  Swedish star Oscar Wilsby broke through the Dark Blue defence before sliding the puck home to bring Cambridge within touching distance of equalising.

Oxford quickly responded, but Julien Gagnon got his eighth goal of the season for Cambridge by weaving around two defenders before lifting the puck over the goalie’s shoulder.

But on the verge of surging to a comeback, cracks emerged in the Light Blues’ defence.  Oxford fired a shot home from the top of the circle to up the score to 4-2, and quickly followed this with two more goals within four minutes.

With Oxford ahead 6-2 after three unanswered goals in close succession, the Cambridge captain called timeout to rally and refocus the troops. 

The Light Blues came out flying at the restart and managed to close the gap by one thanks to BUIHA leading scorer, Christopher Finch.

The second period came to a close with the score 6-3 in Oxford's favour.

Solid defence on both sides and excellent goalkeeping by Cambridge’s Romain Tourenne kept the puck out of the net for most of the last 20 minutes. 

More undisciplined play led to two more Dark Blue goals just as the game ground down to an end, leaving the final score Cambridge Light Blues 3-8 Oxford Blues.

Despite the defeat, some notable performances were seen from Oscar Wilsby, who grabbed a goal and an assist, Player of the Match Jaason Geerts and the Team-selected Player of the Game Vaclav Baranek. Goaltender Romain Tourenne also put in an imperious display, making nearly 60 saves on the night.

The result leaves Cambridge with a record of three wins and two defeats so far this seaosn. Next up for the Light Blues sees them travel to Zuoz, Switzerland, for their annual training camp in January.