McGill seeks daily double, on cusp of hockey final Feb 29, 08 Ice Hockey (M)
By RANDY PHILLIPS, The Gazette
McGill seeks daily double
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Redmen, Martlets on cusp of hockey finals
By RANDY PHILLIPS
(reprinted from The Gazette)
Both McGill hockey teams could punch tickets for trips to national championships
tonight.
If the Redmen beat the fifth-ranked Trois Rivières Patriotes in Game
2 of the OUA Eastern Conference best-of-three final at McConnell Arena, they
will advance to the OUA final for the Queen's Cup March 8 and also to the CIS
championship at the University of Moncton, March 20-24.
The No. 1-ranked unbeaten Martlets will be going to the women's national tournament,
March 7-10 at the University of Ottawa, with a win over the Carleton Ravens
in the second game of the Quebec women's hockey conference final best-of-three
in Ottawa.
The 10th-ranked Redmen shocked the Patriotes 4-1 in the first game of the series
Wednesday in Trois Rivières. The three-goal margin of victory was McGill's
largest playoff win in Trois Rivières and matched the spread of their
previous best at home, a 6-3 decision over the Pats on March 9, 2005.
With a win tonight, the Redmen will capture their second conference title in
three years and advance against the winner of the Western Conference final,
where the Brock Badgers have a 1-0 series lead over the Lakehead Wolves, for
the Queen's Cup. Both Cup finalists have automatic berths in the six-team national
tournament.
The Redmen are buoyed by a solid start to the series against a team that, for
years, has been their nemesis in the postseason.
"It was a strong start. Everybody played a strong game," said Sam
Bloom, a third-year centre from Toronto. "We held down their scoring chances
and buried ours, so yeah, it was a very good way to get things going.
"We expect them to come out a lot better (tonight). They're going to be
desperate and will want to win, so we expect a tough game," Bloom said.
"But it's been a good playoff run for us so far and we'd like it to continue."
Ticket prices for tonight's game are $10 for adults, $5 for students with ID,
and admission is free for children age 12 and younger.
If the Pats stave off elimination, the deciding game will be Sunday, at 7 p.m.
in Trois Rivières.
McGill got a leg up in the women's conference final with a 3-0 win over the
Ravens Wednesday at McConnell Arena and extended its win streak to 29 games.
The Martlets can capture the league's Dr. Ed Enos trophy for the third consecutive
year and fifth time in school history with a win tonight and will head to the
nationals for the fifth year in a row and ninth overall.
"My expectations are that Carleton will work hard. They do that every
game," McGill head coach Peter Smith said. "I expect we will continue
along the same line we've playing and that's working hard to outwork them."
"We're a talented team, but our players know they have to work hard and
I think they've done a pretty good job of that," Smith added.
The Martlets are hitting on all cylinders offensively and defensively and Smith
stressed it will be essential to completing a sweep of the series.
"I like our balance. It's what I talk about more than anything with our
team," he said. "We've got real good balance. We got good depth and
I think that's what makes our team real solid.
"We've got players who can score, players who can keep the puck out of
our own end and out of our net, and we've got great leadership," said Smith.
"You're going to win with that formula."
If necessary, Game 3 will be back at McConnell Arena Sunday at 1 p.m.
HOME-COURT COMFORT: Home court could be a huge factor when the Concordia Stingers
entertain the Université du Québec à Montréal Citadins
in a men's Quebec University Basketball League sudden-death semifinal tonight
at 7.
The Stingers and Citadins split four games during the regular season, each
winning twice at home, before finishing second and third in the league at 9-8
and 8-8, respectively.
"I think they're the most athletic team in the league. They're very physical
and quick," said Stingers head coach John Dore. "But we feel we're
coming together at this time of the year, so it should be interesting to see
what happens."
Tonight's winner will face the Laval Rouge et Or or the McGill Redmen in the
conference final March 6 for a trip to the national championship tournament,
hosted by Carleton March 14-16.
Laval (13-3) and McGill (8-8) tip-off in the other semifinal, 2 p.m. Sunday
in Quebec City.
Stingers all-star forward Dwayne Buckley, out all season with a knee injury,
will undergo surgery Monday morning to repair torn ligaments.
WOMEN'S FINAL SET: Laval plays host to UQÀM for the conference women's
title tomorrow at 1 p.m. The winner heads to the nationals at the University
of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, March 7-9. Laval advanced with a 69-51 win over
the Bishop's Gaiters in a sudden-death semi-final. UQAM outlasted Concordia
77-67 in the other.
rphillips@thegazette.canwest.com
© The Gazette (Montreal) 2008
