Final Results
Feb 22, 06 - 19:00

Redmen 1 - Ottawa (OUA Eastern Semifinal, Game 1) 2
Playoff Game

Game Report by Earl Zukerman

MONTREAL -- A pair of first-period goals from defenceman Michael Barrett and forward Kevin Glode held up as the visiting Ottawa Gee-Gees did what no team could do this season -- beat McGill at home in men’s university hockey.

The upstart Gee-Gees pulled off a 2-1 upset over the No.1-ranked Redmen in the opening game of an OUA Eastern Conference best-of-three semifinal playoff series, Wednesday. UQTR defeated visiting Toronto 2-1 in the other OUA East series opener.

McGill, which saw their 8-0-1 undefeated streak come to an end, face a must-win affair in Ottawa on Friday night (7 p.m.) in order to force a third and deciding game in the series, scheduled for McConnell Arena on Sunday at 7 p.m.

It was the first loss of the season on home ice for McGill, now 12-1-2 at McConnell Arena, and playing its first game in 10 days after receiving a first-round bye. The Redmen looked lethargic for the first 30 minutes and uncharacteristically drew 44 of the 68 penalty minutes assessed by referee Nicolas Dutil. Playing without two injured starters (F Doug Orr and D Yan Turcotte), McGill lost two more players when Benoit Martin and Charles Gauthier, both veterans from the QMJHL, received automatic ejections for hitting-from-behind infractions in the first and third periods, respectively.

Barrett, a sophomore from Markham, Ont., scored off a faceoff won by Glode, firing a 50-foot rocket past McGill netminder Mathieu Poitras only one minute and 57 seconds into the opening period. Glode, a freshman from Quebec City, made it 2-0 at the 14-minute mark with his fourth post-season goal in as many games.

McGill finally came to life in the third period, outshooting the Gee-Gees 11-6 and hitting the scoreboard at 8:35 on a power-play goal from Guillaume Demers, a rookie from Baie Comeau, Que. But it was too little, too late as Ottawa beat McGill for the first time in seven meetings (5-1-1) dating back to a 4-3 Gee-Gees win on Feb. 19, 2005.

Mathieu Blanchard of St. Ambroise, Que., who missed two-thirds of the season to injury, made 20 saves for the victory as McGill outshot the Gee-Gees 23-21.

REDMEN GAME NOTES: McGill owns a 25-6-3 record overall, three victories short of the single-season school record for most wins, accomplished in 38 games during the 1999-00 campaign… The Gee-Gees are one of only three teams to hold a lead over McGill during a game this season and have led in four of the five meetings but the Redmen are 3-1-1 in those contests… Ottawa is 32-30-7 lifetime on the road at McConnell Arena, while the Redmen own a 36-35-3 lifetime record in the nation’s capital… Ottawa is 12-7 in 19 lifetime playoff games with the Redmen… The Gee-Gees have won five of the previous eight post-season series versus McGill… Forward Ken Davis saw his six-game point-scoring streak come to an end… Healthy lineup scratches for McGill included rookie forwards Sam Bloom and Daniel Pharand... D Yan Turcotte, who suffered a leg injury at Concordia on Feb. 8, missed his third straight contest… F Doug Orr, who was leading the Redmen in scoring with 9-12-21 when injured on a hit-from-behind penalty against Concordia on Jan. 20, missed his ninth straight game and is considered a doubtful starter for the coming weekend… He finished second in the nation with nine power play markers… In the nine games since Orr when down, the Redmen PP has gone 6-for-59 (10.2%)… In the nine games leading up to the injury, the PP unit was 18-for 75 (24.0%).

SCORING SUMMARY

Gee-Gees 2, Redmen 1
(@ McConnell Arena)

FIRST PERIOD:
1. Ottawa - Michael Barrett 2 (K. Glode) - 1:57
2. Ottawa - Kevin Glode 4 (J. Robert, D. Dhillon) - 14:00

Penalties:
Ottawa - K. Glode (tripping), 8:40
McGill - B. Martin (hit from behind minor, game), 12:04
Ottawa - M. Barrett (hooking), 12:56
Ottawa - M. Barrett (hooking), 16:28
McGill - E. Stilling (interference), 18:17
Ottawa - P-A LeBlanc (interference), 19:14
McGill - C. Churchill-Smith (goaltender interference), 19:34

SECOND PERIOD:
(no scoring)

Penalties:
Ottawa - Bench (too many man), 7:12
McGill - B. Lessard (holding), 10:33
Ottawa - P-A LeBlanc (roughing), 13:37
McGill - K. Davis (roughing), 13:37
Ottawa - M. Nicoletti (hooking), 14:00
McGill - S. Shewchuk (interference), 14:21
McGill - K. Morin (holding), 18:09

THIRD PERIOD:
3. McGill - Guillaume Demers (S. Pearce, P.A. Paquet) - 8:35 (PP)

Penalties:
Ottawa - M. Blanchard (roughing), 2:08
McGill - S. Shewchuk (slashing), 2:08
McGill - L-S Allaire (holding), 3:18
Ottawa - C. MacDonald (roughing), 6:55
McGill - C. Gauthier (hit from behind minor, game), 17:30
Ottawa - M. Nicoletti (interference), 18:54
Ottawa - D. Dhillon (spearing double minor), 19:49
McGill - M. Leclerc (goaltender interference), 19:49
McGill - S. Shewchuk (roughing), 19:49

GOALTENDERS:
OTTAWA:
Mathieu Blanchard (W, 3-1; 1GA, 22 saves; 60:00)

McGILL:
Mathieu Poitras (L, 0-1; 2GA, 19 saves; 59:39)
Empty-net (0GA, 0:21)

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

SHOTS BY PERIOD
McGill: 8 4 11 (23)
Ottawa 10 5 6 (21)

PENALTIES (No./Minutes):
Ottawa: 12/24
McGill: 14/44

POWERPLAY (goals/chances):
Ottawa: 0/7
McGill: 1/7

MOLSON CUP 3 STARS
(selected by Randy Phillips of The Gazette)

1. Kevin Glode, Ottawa
2. Mathieu Blanchard, Ottawa
3. Guillaume Demers, McGill

OFFICIAL SCORER: Tara Findlay

REFEREE: Nicolas Dutil

ATTENDANCE: 702