Final Results
Oct 31, 08 - 19:00

Redmen 3 - UQTR 7

Game Report by Michael Dean, The McGill Tribune

Hockey-UQTR 7, Redmen 3:
McGill remains winless in young hockey season; Woes continue for struggling Redmen

By Michael Dean
The McGill Tribune
Nov. 4, 2008

The UQTR Patriotes took control early and never looked back as they defeated the Redmen 7-3 at McConnell Arena on Friday night, dropping McGill’s record in the Ontario University Athletics league’s Far East division to 0-4.

The Redmen struck first in the opening period-which featured six goals and seven penalties-when forward Marko Kovacevic opened the scoring on a redirected slapshot by forward Alexandre Picard-Hooper during a power-play in the second minute. But UQTR responded with four goals in the next 12 minutes. The Patriotes took a commanding 4-2 lead into the first intermission, and the Redmen never got any closer.

"We were silly at times with our penalties," said McGill Head Coach Martin Raymond. "But you need to kill those penalties, and unfortunately our penalty killing tonight really struggled."

McGill’s penalty kill improved over the course of the game, as they killed off four of the last five power-plays, after allowing goals on three consecutive UQTR man-advantages in the first period. But their failure to capitalize on scoring opportunities plagued them throughout the contest, most notably in the third period, when rookie forward Francis Verrault-Paul was robbed on a breakaway by UQTR netminder Jean-Christophe Blanchard, who finished the game with 27 saves.

McGill’s power-play displayed early signs of life, going 2-3 in the first period, but was eventually shut down by a strong Patriotes defensive core which has allowed only 17 goals-second-best in the OUA-in seven games. McGill has also allowed 17 goals, but the Redmen have only played four games.

"We need to play better defensively," said Raymond. "Our strength has always been a good defence and we need to be able to do that to win games."

McGill’s shaky defensive performance was compounded by an ineffective breakout marred by fumbled puck movement. Redmen goaltender Danny Mireault faced a total of 41 shots-including 22 in the second period.

McGill took control of the pace of the game in the third period when the Redmen out-skated and out-shot the Patriotes, but were unable to solve Blanchard until the final minute of play. Fourth-year centre Sam Bloom got the energy flowing after some highlight-reel dekes through the entire UQTR defence, and snuck a shot over Blanchard’s right shoulder in the final minute. But Bloom was aware of the areas in which the Redmen need to improve.

"It comes from the defensive end," said Bloom. "We’ve got to be able to get pucks out faster and be more effective on the boards. Overall, I think it’s our awareness and our defensive game that has been a problem. We got the first goal and gave [the lead] up right away. We’ve got to be better after we score and after they score."

The Redmen have a chance to redeem themselves and turn their season around when they square off in a rematch against UQTR in Trois-Rivieres this Wednesday at 7 p.m.

© Copyright 2008 The McGill Tribune

SCORING SUMMARY

UQTR 7 at McGill 3

FIRST PERIOD:
Scoring -
1. McGill, Marko Kovacevic (1) (A. Picard-Hooper) 2:12 PP
2. UQTR, Mathieu Gravel (2) (J. Boutin, A. Demers) 3:39 PP
3. UQTR, Nicolas Desilets (1) (F. Charland, J. Breton) 7:13 PP
4. UQTR, Andre Joanisse (1) (M. Gravel, A. Demers) 12:26 PP
5. UQTR, Jonathan Boutin (7) (A. Demers, G. Chicoine) 15:27
6. McGill, Francis Verrault-Paul (1) (A. Picard-Hooper, V. Lambert) 17:46 PP

Penalties -
N. Desilets UQTR (interference) 0:57,
G. Doucet MCGLL (hooking) 2:23,
L. Verrilli MCGLL (interference) 6:39,
E. Beaudin UQTR (interference) 8:05,
E. Stilling MCGLL (high sticking) 11:14,
J. Breton UQTR (holding) 16:49,
N. Desilets UQTR (holding) 18:52

SECOND PERIOD:
Scoring -
7. UQTR, Nicolas Caouette (2) (A. Bellefleur, M. Laramee) 15:18
8. UQTR, Alexandre Demers (6) (M. Gravel, J. Boutin) 16:19 PP

Penalties -
S. Marcotte-Legare MCGLL (tripping) 7:05,
M. Kovacevic MCGLL (boarding) 10:07,
B. Gazdic MCGLL (hooking) 15:49,
J. Boutin UQTR (roughing) 19:40,
K. Morin MCGLL (roughing) 19:40

THIRD PERIOD:
Scoring -
9. UQTR, Ettienne Bellavance-Martin (1) (J. Breton) 17:58
10. McGill, Sam Bloom (2) (B. Morse) 19:01

Penalties -
M. Gravel UQTR (slashing) 0:26,
F. Verrault-Paul MCGLL (boarding) 1:45,
N. Caouette UQTR (roughing) 4:57,
Y. Turcotte MCGLL (high sticking) 10:47,
M. Simoneau UQTR (interference) 11:07,
B. Gazdic MCGLL (hooking) 12:09

SHOTS BY PERIOD:
UQTR: 10 22 9 -- 41
MCG: 10 9 11 -- 30

GOALS BY PERIOD:
UQTR: 4 2 1 -- 7
MCG: 2 0 1 -- 3

POWERPLAY CONVERSION:
UQTR 4-9.
McGill 2-6.

PENALTIES (No./Mins):
UQTR 8-16.
McGill 10-20.

Goaltenders

UQTR
Jean-Christophe Blanchard [W, 5-0-0, 60:00, SV: 27, GA: 3]

McGill
Danny Mireault [L, 0-2-0, 60:00, SV: 34, GA: 7]

Start : 7:02 PM

End : 9:13 PM

Attendance : 317

Referee: Pascal St-Jacques

MOLSON CUP THREE STARS:
1. Mathieu Gravel, UQTR
2. Alexandre Demers, UQTR
3. Alexandre Picard-Hooper

McGILL LINEUP SCRATCHES:

G: Hubert Morin* (dressed but DNP)
D: Spencer Brennen*
D: Marc-Andre Dorion*
F: Benoit Arsenault (eye)
F: Andrew Wright*
D: Glenn Tindle*
F: Timothy Drager*
F: Jeremy Burgess
G: Jake Jarvis