News

Redmen win season finale in Ottawa, await unknown playoff opponent

Published: 10 February 2012

(McGill sniper Francis Verreault-Paul tallied his 21st marker in 23 games and moved into OUA goal-scoring lead for third straight year. Photo by Andrew Dobrowolskyj)

OTTAWA - Team captain Evan Vossen of Swift Current, Sask., scored the game-winner as the No.3-ranked McGill Redmen closed out the regular season with a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Gee-Gees at the uOttawa Sports Complex, Friday.

It was the 16th consecutive decision over the Gee-Gees for the Redmen who finished atop the OUA East with a 22-4-2 record, matching the second-best win total in school history.

"We played a sold 60-minute effort given the fact that we had already clinched first place before the game," said Redmen bench boss Kelly Nobes, who registered his 199th career win as a CIS coach, including 58 over his two seasons with McGill. "It was good to see our power-play click for another two goals. We had a pretty good effort from everybody and I feel that we are peaking at the right time."

After a scoreless opening frame, McGill jumped into a 2-0 lead with second-period power-play markers by defenceman Ryan McKiernan (at 4:14) of White Plains, N.Y., and forward Francis Verreault-Paul (11:32). It was the 21st goal of the season for Verreault-Paul, a senior from Mashteuiatsh, Que., who moved into the league lead in that department for the third consecutive year. He has tallied 87 career goals in 93 regular season contests, six shy of the school record held by Tim Iannone, who netted 93 markers in 86 games between 1986 and 1990.

Maxime Chamberland of Chateauguay, Que., put the Gee-Gees back in the game six minutes later to make it 2-1 after two.

Vossen's goal, his 13th of the season, was scored at 3:51 of the third period, capping a nifty three-way passing play with Alex Picard-Hooper of Boucherville, Que., and Marc-Andre Dorion of St. Hubert, Que. It put the Redmen ahead 3-1 but Ottawa again narrowed the gap, less than five minutes later when Matthieu Methot of Ottawa connected on the power-play.

Ottawa appeared to score the equalizer with 70 seconds remaining in regulation but the goal was waived off, emphatically, by referee Chad White, who penalized Gee-Gees forward Stephen Blunden for goalie interference on the play.

Both teams ended up going 2-for-7 on the power-play and McGill had a 30-24 edge in shots.

Goaltender Mark Segal of Vancouver, B.C., made his first start in five games and registered the win, improving his impressive rookie record to 9-2-0. Russell Abbott of Mill Bay, B.C., took the loss for the Gee-Gees, dropping to 9-11-0.

Ottawa, which dropped to sixth in the OUA East with a 14-12-1 record, can finish anywhere from fifth to ninth. They close out their schedule on Saturday with a critical home game against second-place UQTR (18-7-2).

The Redmen will have to wait for Saturday's results before knowing who they will face in the OUA best-of-three quarter-final series, which is slated to begin Wednesday. McGill will play the eighth-place team, which could be Ottawa, Ryerson, Queen's or Concordia. Should Ryerson finish eighth, the series would open on the road for McGill, due to long-distance travel rules in the OUA by-laws.

REDMEN RAP: McGill finished the campaign with a stingy 2.20 goals-against average, tops in the OUA and the second-best defensive record in the nation... Goaltender Hubert Morin leads the league and is ranked fourth in the nation with a 2.04 goals-against average... He also shares the CIS lead in shutouts with four... Forward Max Langelier-Parent leads the country with a school record six shorthanded goals... Marc-Andre Dorion, who became the first defenceman in McGill history to lead the Redmen in scoring, collected a pair of assists and now leads all CIS blueliners in points with a 7-32-39 record in 28 games. It's also the second-best point total by a rearguard in team history and only ranks behind Alain Cusson, who registered 42 points in 26 games back in 1988-89... The Redmen improved their lifetime record against Ottawa to 93-77-10 overall.

SOURCE:

Earl Zukerman

Communications Officer

Athletics & Recreation

McGill University

514-398-7012 (Tel.)

m.athletics.mcgill.ca (mobile website)

www.mcgill.ca/athletics

earl.zukerman [at] mcgill.ca?subject=E-mail%20hyperlink%20for%20Earl%20Zukerman"> earl.zukerman [at] mcgill.ca

SCORING SUMMARY

McGill 3 at Ottawa 2

(Friday, February 10, 2012 - Sports Complex Arena)

GOALS BY PERIOD:
McGill 0-2-1 -- 3
Ottawa 0-1-1 -- 2

1st Period-
(No Scoring).

Penalties-
Wright Mcg (slashing), 5:04;
Ireland Ott (slashing), 6:33;
Langelier-Parent Mcg (hooking), 11:54;
Blunden Ott (interference), 13:05;
Foucher Ott (roughing), 14:09;
Langelier-Parent Mcg (interference), 15:02.

2nd Period-
1, McGill, Ryan McKiernan 5 (C. Longpre-Poirier), 4:14 (PP).
2, McGill, Francis Verreault-Paul 21 (A. Picard-Hooper, M.A.Dorion), 11:32 (PP).
3, Ottawa, Maxime Chamberland 4 (G.Donovan, K.Ireland), 17:46 (PP).

Penalties-
Forster Ott (elbowing), 2:14;
Laporte Mcg (tripping), 5:44;
McGill served by Levesque Mcg (bench minor), 8:34;
Jalbert Ott (holding), 10:38;
Laporte Mcg (slashing), 16:27;
Voyer Ott (10-minute misconduct), 18:52.

3rd Period-
4, McGill, Evan Vossen 13 (A. Picard-Hooper, M.A.Dorion), 3:51.
5, Ottawa, Matthieu Methot 14 (D.Jalbert, L.O.Blain), 8:46 (PP).

Penalties-
Daneau Mcg (roughing), 4:27;
Wright Mcg (roughing), 4:27;
Carnevale Ott (roughing), 4:27;
Hayes Ott (inter. on goaltender, roughing), 4:27;
McKiernan Mcg (cross checking), 8:21;
Blunden Ott (inter. on goaltender), 18:50.

Shots on Goal-
McGill 13-7-10 -- 30.
Ottawa 6-11-7 -- 24.

Power Play Opportunities-
McGill 2 / 7;
Ottawa 2 / 7.