Redmen raring to go
McGill sets sights on CIS men's crown

By RANDY PHILLIPS
The Montreal Gazette
March 20, 2008

McGill goaltender Mathieu Poitras couldn't predict whether the CIS men's hockey national championship would be low- or high-scoring, and said it didn't make a difference in any case.

"High-scoring or low-scoring, the only thing that matters is that you score one more goal than the other team," Poitras said.

The all-Canadian fourth-year senior from Gatineau will be in goal for the Redmen, who are back at Cavendish University Cup for the second time in three years.

The six-team tournament starts today in Moncton, but third-seeded McGill won't see action until tomorrow, when it meets the No. 2 Alberta Golden Bears or the sixth-seeded tournament host Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus in Pool B play.

Alberta and Moncton meet tonight at 7, while the top-ranked, defending champion New Brunswick Varsity Reds face the fifth-seed Brock Badgers in the tourney opener at 2 p.m.

The Saskatchewan Huskies, seeded fourth, will play the loser of the New Brunswick-Brock Pool A game at 2 p.m. tomorrow.

Poitras backstopped the Redmen's seven-game unbeaten streak in the playoffs, including a 4-1 win over Brock on March 8 as McGill captured the OUA final Queen's Cup - its first conference title since 1946.

Poitras has allowed only eight goals on 161 shots for a 1.14 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage in the playoffs.

The team hasn't played a game since the Queen's Cup, but Poitras said he everyone should be rested and ready rather than rusty.

"It would have been good to play a game or two the week before coming into the tournament, but at least the situation is the same for all teams and all goalies in the tournament. Most haven't played in more than 10 days," Poitras said. "But I really don't think not playing for such a long time is going to be a big factor."

McGill head coach Martin Raymond expects Poitras to continue playing "the best hockey of his career at McGill," but said his team's potential for success won't be based solely on goaltending and defence.

"We need to be as complete as possible," he said. "When you get to this tournament, you need to have jump, in terms of speed. You need to be aggressive and go get 'em. You certainly don't want to be on your heels.

"Defence and goaltending is only half the battle. We have to go after them, too, make sure we construct offensively," he said. "I don't want us to be passive hanging back and trying to wait for opportunities. We want to create opportunities."

McGill lost 5-1 to Alberta in the semifinal of the nationals two years ago, the only time the teams have met.

Award winners: Mathieu Gravel, a third-year forward from Greenfield Park was the only player from a Quebec school named a first-team all-Canadian at the CIS men's hockey awards presentation last night. Gravel's teammate, Frédéric St-Denis, a first-year defenceman also from Greenfield Park, made the all-rookie team.

© The Gazette (Montreal) 2008