Redmen set to break undefeated record Nov 26, 05 Ice Hockey (M)

By RANDY PHILLIPS, The Gazette

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PHOTO CAPTION: Redmen goalie Mathieu Poitras makes a save last night en route to his sixth win of the season.
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Redmen set to break undefeated record
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McGill 4, York 1. Special teams click for three goals

by RANDY PHILLIPS
(reprinted from The Gazette)

It wasn't a shutout, but McGill remained the only undefeated team in Canadian university men's hockey.

The No. 3-ranked Redmen skated to a 4-1 win over the York Lions at McConnell Arena last night to improve to 9-0-1 and tie a team record for the longest unbeaten streak to start a season.

McGill went 10-0 in league play in 1939-1940 and can break the record with a win or tie against the visiting Guelph Gryphons tonight. Game time is 7 p.m.

Centre Mathieu Leclerc scored a shorthanded second-period goal and added an assist as McGill took sole possession of first place in the OUA Far East Division with a solid performance against the Lions, who went into the game with a share of first in the Mid West Division.

Brock surprised the No. 4 Patriotes 2-1 in Trois Rivieres.

The Redmen also got goals from left-wing Shawn Shewchuk and centre Benoit Martin on power-play goals in the first and second periods, respectively, and right wing Eric L'Italien, who gave McGill a 3-0 lead at 8:48 of the second.

Special units showed the way last night. McGill was 2-for-6 on the power play and the Redmen also killed off nine shorthanded situations, in addition to Leclerc's third goal of the season with defencemen Ken Davis, who had a strong outing, off for slashing.

McGill's penalty-killing unit has killed off 65 of 68 power plays this season.

The Redmen went into the game having scored 50 per cent of their goals on special teams and have 19 power-play goals and three shorthanded goals.

"It really doesn't matter whether it's power play or PK, we have a lot of guys who can score on this team," said Shewchuk, a third-year veteran from Lloydminster, Alta. "We've got four lines up front that are capable of doing anything."

Shewchuk, with his seventh of the season, opened the scoring at 5:44 of the first period and Martin added his third at 3:28 of the second.

A goal by York centre Sean Langdon at 11:07 of the second cut McGill's lead to 3-1, but also spoiled McGill's bid to eclipse their own CIS record for the longest shutout sequence. The Redmen fell four minutes, 41 seconds short of bettering it.

With seven shutouts this season, McGill shares the CIS single-season record set by Trois Rivieres in 1997-1998.

"We know we're not going to win by a shutout every time," Shewchuk said. "But it's still a bit disappointing that we didn't get another one tonight."

McGill outshot York 39-23 and second-year goalie Mathieu Poitras notched his sixth win of the season.

Notes - With Concordia heading to Europe for a holiday exhibition tour, McGill has been designated host for the Montreal University Cup, Dec. 27-30 in Pierrefonds. Joining the Redmen will be Queen's, Waterloo, Ottawa, Brock and Royal Military College. ...

McGill hockey's first annual blood donor drive will be held Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the sports centre's Tomlinson Fieldhouse.

rphillips@thegazette.canwest.com

© The Gazette (Montreal) 2005