Hockey Redmen rally too little too late in Maritimes
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ANTIGONISH, N.S. - Sophomore Bryce Swan of Alder Point, N.S., netted a hat-trick, including the game-winner on the power-play at 8:03 of overtime as the St. Francis Xavier X-Men upset the No.3-ranked McGill Redmen in men's hockey to capture the fifth annual Keating Cup Challenge at Antigonish, N.S., Wednesday.
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The two-game tournament was shortened to a one-game showdown as a winter storm battered the Maritimes and created havoc with McGill's travel plans, resulting in the cancellation of the tourney opener, which had been slated for Tuesday.
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The Redmen, who were playing for the first time since Dec.4, rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the third period and forced the sudden-death stanza when forward Nicolas Biniek, a freshman from Montreal, tallied his second and third markers of the season, including the tying goal midway through the period, which knotted the score at 5-5. Biniek, who also assisted on Alex Picard-Hooper's goal, had a chance for the hat-trick late in the game but was foiled by X-Men goalie Bryan Gillis.
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McGill defenceman Marc-Andre Dorion also had a glorious opportunity when he waltzed in unmolested but was stoned by Gillis with just over five minutes remaining in overtime. Gillis ended up with 32 saves on 37 shots for the win.
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Christophe Longpre-Poirier and Francis Verreault-Paul rounded out the scoring for McGill and Picard-Hooper ended up with three points on the soiree.
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Josh Day, Kevin Undershute and Eric McKenna also connected for the X-Men, who scored half of their goals on rebounds against Redmen backup netminder Antoine Tardif, who kicked aside 31 of 37 shots.
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"I was disappointed with our lack of jump in the first period," said McGill head coach Kelly Nobes. "But we iced a depleted line-up and improved as the game wore on. We moved the puck better in the second period came on strong with four goals in the third and had some good scoring chances in overtime."
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Three injured Redmen who made the long trip but are not expected to play include penalty-kill specialists Maxime Langelier-Parent (4-18-22; lower body injury) and Marc-Andre Daneau (4-9-13; lower body), in addition to Patrick Belzile (4-6-10; broken hand). Adding to that list is forward Jean-Francois Boisvert who was dispatched to hospital in the second period after injuring his upper torso in a heavy collision. Boisvert has a 4-9-13 record in 23 games overall.
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McGill, which fell to 21-0-3 overall, will play No.2-ranked UNB in Fredericton, Thursday.
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REDMEN RAP: Rookie rearguard Keven Dupont, who had missed the entire first semester to injury, suited up for his first CIS game with the Redmen... McGill is now 1-1 lifetime vs. St. FX... The X-Men are now 5-0 in the Keating Cup Challenge, which is named after the late Charles Keating, a prominent alumnus who donated $5 million to the St.FX Athletics department.
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SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
McGill Athletics & Recreation
514-398-7012
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SCORING SUMMARY
McGill 5 at St. Francis Xavier 6 (OT)
(Wednesday, December 29, 2010 - Keating Centre @ Antigonish,
NS)
1st Period-
1, McGill, Christophe Longpre-Poirier 9 (J.F. Boisvert, Ryan McKiernan), 2:15.
2, StFX, Josh Day (Phil Mangan, Brett Morrison), 9:36.
3, StFX, Eric McKenna (Derek Claffey, Murdock MacLellan), 11:29.
4, StFX, Kevin Undershute (Spencer McAvoy, Jason Bast), 16:00 (PP).
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Penalties-
McKenna StFX (interference), 7:11;
McAvoy StFX (hooking), 11:59;
Longpre-Poirier Mcg (holding), 15:07.
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2nd Period-
5, StFX, Bryce Swan (Kevin Undershute), 6:02.
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Penalties-
Genest Mcg (roughing), 0:52;
Bragg StFX (roughing), 0:52;
Warner StFX (tripping), 3:42;
Picard-Hooper Mcg (roughing), 5:54;
Pageau StFX (roughing), 5:54;
McKenna StFX (roughing), 8:24;
Picard-Hooper Mcg (hooking), 9:30;
McKenna StFX (interference), 15:46;
Wray StFX (roughing), 19:51.
3rd Period-
6, McGill, Alex Picard-Hooper 13 (Andrew Wright, Marc-Andre Dorion), 0:42 (PP).
7, McGill, Francis Verreault-Paul 28 (Andrew Wright, Nicolas Biniek), 1:16 (PP).
8, StFX, Bryce Swan (Phil Mangan), 4:28 (PP).
9, McGill, Nicolas Biniek 2 (Alex Picard-Hooper, Marc-Andre Dorion), 5:44 (PP).
10, McGill, Nicolas Biniek 3 (Francis Verreault-Paul, Alex Picard-Hooper), 9:51.
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Penalties-
Picard-Hooper Mcg (roughing), 0:42;
Louis StFX (roughing, roughing), 0:42;
Verreault-Paul Mcg (roughing, slashing), 3:58;
Hulit StFX (roughing), 3:58;
Louis StFX (roughing), 5:27;
Morse Mcg (interference), 10:27.
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OVERTIME
(sudden-death; 10 mins., 4-on-4):
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11, StFX, Bryce Swan (Nick Pageau, Phil Mangan), 8:03 (PP).
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Penalties-
McKiernan Mcg (tripping), 6:19.
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GOALS BY PERIOD
McGill 1-0-4-0 -- 5
ST FX 3-1-1-1 -- 6
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Shots on Goal-
McGill 8-15-10-4 -- 37.
ST FX: 12-6-12-7 -- 37.
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Power Play Opportunities-
McGill 3 / 8;
St. FX: 3 / 5.
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Penalties No/Mins):
McGill 9 / 18;
St. FX: 12 / 24.
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Goalies-
McGill, Antoine Tardif (L, 7-2, 37 shots-31 saves, 68:03).
StFX, Bryan Gillis (W, 37 shots-32 saves, 68:03).
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ATTENDANCE-500
Referee-Mark Hulshof.
Linesmen-John MacDonnell, Brian MacDonald.
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Start: 6:01 PM
End: 8:30 PM
Length: 2:29
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MOLSON CUP THREE STARS:
1. STFX - 16 Bryce Swan
2. MCG - 9 Alexandre Picard-Hooper
3. STFX - 77 Phil Mangan
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