No. 1-ranked Redmen rally to tie No. 10 UQTR 2-2 Feb 01, 06 Ice Hockey (M)

By Earl Zukerman

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No. 1-ranked Redmen rally to tie UQTR 2-2
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TROIS-RIVIERES -- Right winger Ken Davis of Calgary scored on a slapshot with 3:42 remaining in the third period as No. 1-ranked McGill rallied from a 2-0 deficit and settled for a 2-2 overtime tie in university hockey action at Trois-Rivieres, Tuesday.

The tie was critical for the Redmen as it maintained their three-point lead over UQTR with two games in hand. McGill’s magic number to clinch a first-place bye for the second straight year is three points, with five games remaining on their schedule.

The 10th-ranked Pats led 2-0 after two periods on goals by Frederic Lavoie, on a powerplay at 2:54 of the first, and Nicolas Pelletier at 1:30 of the second.

But McGill roared to life in the third period, outshooting the Pats 13-7.

Sophomore Charles Gauthier of Sillery, Que., scored at 2:41 of the third.

That put McGill in position for the late period heroics by Davis, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound right winger and a 1999 draft pick of the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings, who scored on a 20-foot slapshot to the short side of goaltender Dany Dallaire.

UQTR, which held a 17-9 lead in shots after two frames, outshot the Redmen
26-24 in the game.

Mathieu Poitras made 24 saves as his record improved to 11-1-2. However, he had to do so after being forced to wear backup netminder Jean-Michel Filiatrault’s facemask for most of the first period.

Only 19 seconds into the game, referee Pascal St. Jacques ruled that Poitras’ mask did not meet CAHA specifications and made him change his headgear.

After suitable modifications between periods, Poitras was permitted to use his regular mask for the remainder of the game.

McGill will host Ryerson and Toronto on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

REDMEN RAP: The game marked the 129th anniversary of the founding of McGill’s men’s hockey team...The CIS rankings, released earlier in the day, had McGill at No. 1 for the first time in school history... UQTR extended theie home-ice unbeaten streak against McGill to 9-0-2 since the Redmen road win on Jan. 25, 2002... The Molson Cup 3 Stars were all from McGill: 1. Ken Davis, 2. Charles Gauthier and 3. Yan Turcotte... Junior cenre Mathieu Leclerc was shaken up midway through the game and did not return... Redmen lineup scratches were Doug Orr (injured), Sam Bloom, Benoit Lessard, Daniel Pharand and David Gasser.

SCORING SUMMARY

FIRST PERIOD:
1. UQTR - Frédéric Lavoie (Y. Gaudette, M. Thibodeau) - 2:54 (PPG)

Penalties:
McGill - Y. Turcotte (Tripping), 0:59
UQTR - T. Poudrier (Holding), 3:50
McGill - B. Martin (Cross-checking), 5:46 McGill - Bench (Too Many Men), 08:29 UQTR - J. Bergeron (Boarding), 11:51 McGill - C. Gauthier (Elbowing), 13:42 UQTR - J. Boutin (Slashing), 17:06

SECOND PERIOD:
2. UQTR - Nicolas Pelletier (E. Beaudin) - 1:30

Penalties:
McGill - C. Gauthier (High-sticking), 2:53 UQTR - M. Gravel (Roughing), 3:46 McGill - D. Urquhart (Slashing), 7:19 McGill - S. Shewchuk (Roughing), 9:31 UQTR - M. Thibodeau (Interference), 10:38 UQTR - S. Nadeau (Slashing), 16:51

THIRD PERIOD:
3. McGill - Charles Gauthier (B. Martin, S. Shewchuk) - 2:41 4. McGill - Ken Davis (G. Demers, T. Kyres) - 16:18

Penalties:
McGill - L. Madill (Roughing), 4:59
McGill - C. Gauthier (10-min. misconduct), 4:59 UQTR - Bench (Too Many Men), 6:31 McGill - M. Kovacevic (Charging), 13:34

OVERTIME:
(no scoring)

Penalties:
(none)

GOALTENDERS:

McGill:
(Mathieu Poitras, T, 11-1-2; 65:00, 2GA, 24 saves)

UQTR:
Dany Dallaire, T, 10-5-2; 65:00, 2GA, 22 saves)

GOALS BY PERIOD:
McGill: 0 0 2 0 (2)
UQTR: 1 1 0 0 (2)

SHOTS BY PERIOD:
McGill: 3 6 13 2 (24)
UQTR: 8 9 7 2 (26)

PENALTIES (No./Minutes):
McGill: 10/28
UQTR: 7/14

POWER PLAYS (goals/chances):
McGill: 0/7
UQTR: 1/9

MOLSON CUP 3 STARS:
1. Ken Davis, McGill
2. Charles Gauthier, McGill
3. Yan Turcotte, McGill

ATTENDANCE: 461

REFEREE: Pascal St-Jacques

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Happy birthday, Redmen
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Hockey team No. 1 on 129th anniversary
 
RANDY PHILLIPS
The Gazette
Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Men's hockey at McGill celebrated its 129th birthday with the No. 1 ranking in Canada for the first time.

In the CIS weekly top-10 poll released yesterday, the Redmen moved up from No. 2 after a pair of record-setting shutouts in OUA conference games during the weekend and are tied for top spot with the reigning national champion Alberta Golden Bears.

McGill, which marked its 129th men's hockey birthday yesterday, and Alberta moved ahead of the previously No. 1-ranked Saskatchewan Huskies, who lost during the weekend. This week's rankings mark only the second time since Dec. 7, 1998, that two teams have shared No. 1.

McGill, 15-1-3 in league play (20-5-3 overall), got third-period goals from Charles Gauthier and Ken Davis to battle back for a 2-2 tie against the 10th-ranked Patriotes in Trois Rivieres last night.

The Redmen never had been ranked higher than fifth before Nov. 15, when they reached No. 3 in the fifth week of the season. McGill had been ranked second from Dec. 6 until yesterday.

Head coach Martin Raymond said the top ranking is recognition of the commitment by his players this season.

But it's also a reflection of the growth in the quality of the school's hockey program in recent years.

He was quick to point out, however, that No. 1 doesn't mean much until the end of the season.

"It's flattering. Our players have worked really hard to be there, so I don't feel ashamed that we're there," Raymond said. "Guys have worked really hard for us to have the kind of season we've had so far.

"At the same time, you have to keep things in perspective. You want to be No. 1 when it's all over."

Raymond is in his 11th season at McGill and became the 18th coach in CIS history to reach the 200-win plateau with the team's 8-0 victory over the Queen's Golden Gaels Friday.

The shutout by rookie Jean-Michel Filiatrault and another by second-year goalie Mathieu Poitras, a 2-0 win over Royal Military College Saturday, gave McGill a CIS-record nine shutouts this season.

Raymond credited former and current players for having made great strides to make the program better every year and "now it's being recognized at the national level."

"(The No. 1 ranking) is a bit of a reward for the work so far," Raymond said. "But our work isn't finished yet."

Students from McGill were instrumental in the development of hockey. They founded the first organized hockey club in the world and played their first game on Jan. 31, 1877, according to an article published Feb. 1, 1877 in the McGill University Gazette.

The Redmen host Toronto Friday and Ryerson Saturday. Both games at McConnell Arena are 7 p.m. starts.

rphillips@thegazette.canwest.com

(c) The Gazette (Montreal) 2006