Nov. 28, 2009 - 7:30 PM
Redmen Ice Hockey at Toronto (Away)
Lost 3-4 at Toronto
Varsity Arena

TORONTO - Joe Rand, a fifth-year senior from Hamilton, Ont., scored shorthanded midway through the final period as the Toronto Varsity Blues took advantage of a depleted McGill lineup and rallied with three unanswered goals in the final period to upset the fifth-ranked Redmen in men's hockey at Varsity Arena, Saturday.

The result snapped McGill's win streak at five games and dropped their record to 10-2 in OUA play. The U of T victory avenged their 5-0 loss at McConnell Arena on Nov. 8 and snapped a four-game losing streak to McGill.

The Redmen led 2-1 after the opening period and had jumped into a 3-1 lead by the midway mark of the middle stanza on goals by centre Simon Marcotte-Légaré of Longueuil, Que., defenceman Yan Turcotte of Laval, Que., and centre Alexandre Picard-Hooper of Boucherville, Que.

But the Blues came to life in the second stanza, failing to score but outshooting McGill 16-3 in the period. In the final frame, U of T was sparked by two goals in 40 seconds.

Centre Robert Kay of Orono, Ont., narrowed the gap to 3-2 on the power-play at 7:28 and Joel Lenius from Markham, Ont., evened the scoreboard at 3-3 with his marker at 8:08 to set the stage for Rand's heroics.

Blueliner Brendan Sherrard of Etobicoke, Ont., had given Toronto a 1-0 lead when his shot from the top of the faceoff circle fooled McGill netminder Hubert Morin, a sophomore from St. George de Beauce, Que., who was credited with 33 saves, suffered his first loss of the season and fell to 7-1.

Blues goaltender Andrew Martin, a junior from Mississauga, made 27 saves and improved his record to 5-4-1.

Already short two forwards lost during the previous night's 7-2 win over Nipissing in North Bay, the Redmen suffered two more casualties during the game with U of T.

Sophomores Andrew Wright and Maxime Langelier-Parent suffered facial lacerations on the same second-period shift and were sent to the hospital for stitches. Francis Verreault-Paul, the team's scoring leader who was cut for five stitches from a cross-check received the previous night, sat out the U of T contest while serving an automatic one-game suspension in the wake of a fighting major. Also scratched was rookie Patrick Belzile with an upper body injury.

Three games into a nine-game road trip, McGill returns to Toronto next weekend to close out the first semester with a pair of rare back-to-back affairs against Ryerson at George T. Bell Arena on Dec. 4 (7:30 p.m.) and Dec. 5 (2 p.m.).

REDMEN RAP: Yan Turcotte, a fifth-year senior who has already surpassed his previous single-season best in goals and points, is the third-leading rearguard in the OUA with 6-8-14 in 12 games... Teammate Marc-André Dorion, who had a pro try-out with the NHL's Dallas Stars last year, sits second among OUA blueliners with a 4-11-15 record, one point behind York's Kyle Searle who has 1-15-16 in three more games played... In a rivalry that dates back a century to their first meeting in 1899, the Varsity Blues lead the lifetime series with a 119-79-15 record overall against McGill... However, since 1985, the Redmen have owned U of T with a 32-18-5 head-to-head record.

SCORING SUMMARY

McGill 3 at Toronto 4

(Nov 28, 2009 - Varsity Arena)

1st Period-
1, Toronto, Brendan Sherrard 1 (B. Elliott, J. Lenius), 4:32.
2, McGill, Simon Marcotte-Legare 4 (Vossen, G.Doucet), 8:39.
3, McGill, Yan Turcotte 6 (S. Marcotte-Legare, G. Doucet), 14:17 (pp).

Penalties-
Sherrard Tor (hooking), 2:25;
Dupont Tor (interference), 13:50;
Boisvert Mcg (elbowing), 15:09.

2nd Period-
4, McGill, Alexandre Picard-Hooper 5 (G. Tindle, T. Drager), 11:03.

Penalties-
Lenius Tor (slashing), 1:48;
Cowdrey Tor (high sticking), 15:22;
Turcotte Mcg (tripping), 16:04;
Doucet Mcg (slashing), 19:07.

3rd Period-
5, Toronto, Robert Kay 9 (B. Teich, A. Kizito), 7:28 (pp).
6, Toronto, Joel Lenius 3 (E. Snetsinger, B. Sherrard), 8:08.
7, Toronto, Joe Rand 3 (unassisted) 11:34 (sh).

Penalties-
Drager Mcg (hooking), 5:44;
Elliott Tor (tripping), 9:41;
Kliewer Tor (roughing), 15:11;
Elliott Tor (interference), 16:35.

GOALS BY PERIOD:
McGill 2-1-0 -- 3
Toronto 1-0-3 -- 4

SHOTS BY PERIOD:
McGill 13-3-14-30.
Toronto 11-16-10-37.

POWER PLAY OPPORTUNITIES-
McGill 1 of 7 (plus 1 SHG against);
Toronto 1 of 4.

GOALTENDERS-

McGill,
Hubert Morin (L, 7-1-0, 37 shots-33 saves. 59:13);
Empty-net (0 goals; 0:47).

Toronto,
Jeff Martin (W, 5-4-1, 30 shots-27 saves; 60:00).

START: 7:34 pm

FINISH: 940 pm

ATTENDANCE-350

REFEREE-Ed Munroe.

MOLSON CUP THREE STARS

1. Jeff Martin, Toronto
2. Simon Marcotte-Legare, McGill
3. Maxime Langelier-Parent, McGill