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
Â
2. McGill, Sam Bloom (1) (A. Picard-Hooper, M.A. Dorion)
14:02Â (PP)
3. McGill, Yan Turcotte (1) (G. Doucet, F. Verrault-Paul)
19:06Â (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
Â
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
Â
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:Â 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
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