Final Results
Feb 18, 09 - 19:00

Redmen 5 - Ottawa (OUA East Quarterfinal, Game 1) 1
OUA East Best-of-three Quarterfinals -- Non-conference Game

Game Report by Earl Zukerman

=====================================
Redmen roar through Gee-Gees door in playoff opener
=====================================

MONTREAL -- Rookie Alexandre Picard-Hooper of Boucherville, Que., scored once and set up the game-winner as McGill dumped Ottawa 5-1 to open their OUA Eastern Conference best-of-three quarterfinal series in men’s hockey at McConnell Arena, Wednesday.

It was McGill’s fifth playoff win in six games against the Gee-Gees, dating back the 2005 post-season.

McGill outshot Ottawa 37-23, including a lopsided 15-2 margin in the opening period.
The Redmen jumped into a 3-0 lead in the first on goals by Picard-Hooper at 5:08, senior Sam Bloom of Toronto at 14:02 and defenceman Yan Turcotte of Laval, Que., at 19:06.

“We wanted to have a good start after a slow start in our last game in Ottawa,” said head coach Martin Raymond. “It allowed us to take control of the game. We just need to fine tune that so we are a little more consistent throughout the whole game. We know Ottawa well enough to expect a much tougher game on Friday.”

Dan McDonald of New Liskeard, Ont., replied for the Gee-Gees in the middle period but McGill bounced back with a pair of unanswered third period markers from Marc-Andre Dorion, a rookie rearguard from St. Hubert, Que., and co-captain Eric L’Italien of Ste. Foy, Que., who was playing for the first time since suffering a lower body injury on Jan. 31 and missed five games.

Freshman netminder Kevin Desfossés of Beauport, Que., earned his first CIS playoff victory and improved to 7-2-0 overall since joining the club early last month. Gee-Gees goalie Riley Whitlock, a native of Calgary, was credited with 32 saves in a losing cause.

McGill’s power play connected on 3-of-8 chances, ending an 0-for-9 slump, including 0-for-7 against Ottawa last Saturday.

The Redmen could wrap up the series in Ottawa on Friday at 7 p.m. If necessary, Game 3 is slated for Sunday at McConnell Arena (3 p.m.). The winner of this series will advance to play Toronto in a best-of-three conference semifinal. Should McGill knock off the Gee-Gees, they would host U of T at McConnell in the opener on Feb. 25, with Games 2 and 3 tentatively slated to be held at Varsity Arena, Feb. 27 and 29.

REDMEN RAP: McGill is 9-1 in their last 10 playoff contests, dating back to last year… The Redmen are 13-1 when leading after one period this season and 15-1 when ahead after two… Former Redmen Mike Farmer and Brent Bannerman were among the faces in the crowd for the playoff encounter. Bannerman, a teammate of Coach Raymond in the late 1980s who now works in the Boston area, had been in Toronto on business and stopped in to see the game before heading up to join his family for a ski vacation in the Eastern Townships… Rugged rearguard Yan Turcotte, who has scored in consecutive post-season games including McGill’s 3-0 win over Moncton at the CIS championships last spring, was whistled for another debatable check-from-behind penalty and will have to serve at least an automatic one-game suspension. He has taken over the team’s seasonal lead in penalties with 166 minutes in 31 games overall… He surpassed Francis Verrault-Paul, a 5-foot-9, 169-pound spark-plug who has accumulated 129 PIMs in 26 contests… The team’s single-season record is 194 by Dave Grenier in 24 games during the 1999-00 season… Turcotte, a senior who is expected back for a fifth campaign, upped his all-time school record career total to 558, leaving the old mark of 530 by Dan Jacob in the dust.

SCORING SUMMARY

(Game 1, OUA East Quarterfinal)

Ottawa 1 at McGill 5
(Feb 18, 2009 - McConnell Arena)

FIRST PERIOD:
Scoring -
1. McGill, Alex Picard-Hooper (1) (E. Stilling, M. Kovacevic) 5:08
2. McGill, Sam Bloom (1) (A. Picard-Hooper, M.A. Dorion) 14:02 (PP)
3. McGill, Yan Turcotte (1) (G. Doucet, F. Verrault-Paul) 19:06 (PP)

Penalties -
W. Shariff Ott (interference) 13:42,
G. Houde Ott (tripping) 18:38

SECOND PERIOD:
Scoring -
4. Ottawa, Dan McDonald (1) (Y. Charron, G. Houde) 8:35

Penalties -
K. Morin Mcg (holding) 5:28,
Bench Ott (too many men; Served by D. Jarrett) 12:10,
A. Scott Ott (high sticking) 12:24,
Y. Turcotte Mcg (checking from behind, GM-50) 14:17,
R. Gove Ott (interference) 17:32

THIRD PERIOD:
Scoring -
5. McGill, Marc-Andre Dorion (1) (F. Verrault-Paul, G. Doucet) 1:14
6. McGill, Eric L Italien (1) (S. Marcotte-Legare, V. Lambert) 19:49 PP

Penalties -
F. Verrault-Paul Mcg (interference) 7:35,
R. Gove Ott (roughing) 9:04,
G. Doucet Mcg (hooking) 11:37,
A. Picard-Hooper Mcg (hooking) 14:44,
D. Dhillon Ott (roughing) 18:40,
D. Jarrett Ott (roughing) 18:40,
D. McDonald Ott (10-minute misconduct) 18:40,
G. Houde Ott (slashing) 19:08

SHOTS BY PERIOD:
OTT: 2 14 7 -- 23
MCG: 15 13 9 -- 37

GOALS BY PERIOD:
OTT: 0 - 1 - 0 -- 1
MCG: 3 - 0 - 2-- 5

POWER PLAY CONVERSION:
Ottawa 0-5.
McGill 3-8.

PENALTIES (No./Mins.):
Ottawa 10-28.
McGill 6-20.

GOALTENDERS:
Ottawa
Riley Whitlock [L, 0-1-0, 60:00, SV: 32, GA: 5]

McGill
Kevin Desfosses [W, 1-0-0, 60:00, SV: 22, GA: 1]

Start : 7:03 PM

End : 9:15 PM

Attendance : 373

Referee: Jonathan Trudel

MOLSON CUP THREE STARS:
----------------------------------
1. Alex Picard-Hooper, McGill
2. Marc-Andre Dorion, McGill
3. Ben Gazdic, McGill

McGILL LINEUP
------------------
Doucet - Verreault-Paul - Lambert
Kovacevic - Picard-Hooper - Bloom
Wright - Marcotte - L Italien
Vossen - Langelier-Parent - Daneau

Morin - Stilling
Turcotte - Dorion
Valente - Gazdic

Kevin Desfosses

McGILL LINEUP SCRATCHES:
-----------------------------------
G: Danny Mireault (dressed but DNP)
G: Hubert Morin
G: Jake Jarvis
D: Spencer Brennan (injd)
D: Glenn Tindle
D: Ben Morse
F: Benoit Arsenault (injd)
F: Leonard Verrilli
F: Tim Drager

SOURCE:

Earl Zukerman
Communications & Publications Officer
Dept. of Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
475 Pine Avenue West
Montreal, QC H2W 1S4
CANADA
514-398-7012 (tel.)
514-398-1956 (fax)
www.athletics.mcgill.ca