Redmen special teams spells doom for sinking Lakers

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Redmen special teams spells doom for sinking Lakers

Published: 24 January 2010

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MONTREAL - No.5-ranked McGill jumped into a 4-0 lead with four special team markers, then held on for a 5-3 conquest over the visiting Nipissing University Lakers in men's hockey at McConnell Arena, Sunday.

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The result snapped a rare two-game losing streak for the Redmen and improved their record to 17-4-0 as they reclaimrd first-place in the OUA East, one point ahead of idle UQTR (16-3-1) and 17 more than the seventh-place Lakers, who fell to 8-13-1.

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McGill freshman Christophe Longpre-Poirier of Longueuil, Que., set the special-teams tone for the evening when he netted his fifth goal of the season, a shorthanded effort at 19:10 of the opening period. It was the third time that Longpre-Poirier had tallied while killing off a penalty.

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The Redmen PK unit registered a clean slate, erasing all six Lakers' PP chances and is now ranked second of 19 OUA squads with an .887 success rate. They have snuffed out 110 of 124 shorthanded situations in regular-season play, scoring six SHGs.

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McGill exploded for three PP goals in the middle stanza, led by sophomore defenceman Ben Morse of Toronto, sophomore Francis Verreault-Paul of Mashteuiatsh, Que., and junior Guillaume Doucet of Anjou, Que.听 Verreault-Paul, who also added a helper, continues to lead the OUA in scoring with a 19-20-39 record. He is just two goals shy of the national lead and only one point shy of the CIS scoring leader, Hunter Tremblay from UNB.

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Blueliner Sean Ryan then replied for the Lakers, followed by a McGill goal less than a minute later by Maxime Langelier-Parent, a sophomore from Levy, Que., to make the score 5-1.

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Nipissing battled back in the final stanza on goals by team captain Matt Lahey (his 10th) and rookie Nathan Breukelman (his 1st).

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The Redmen had a 39-31 edge in shots as sophomore goalie Hubert Morin improved to 14-2, while Nipissing rookie Billy Stone was saddled with a 34-save loss in his CIS debut.

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McGill now embarks on a four-game road excursion, with stops at Carleton (Jan. 29 and Feb.5), Concordia (Jan. 31) and at Ottawa (Feb. 6), before returning to the friendly confines of McConnell Arena, where they own a 10-1 record overall.

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REDMEN RAP: McGill grad Mathieu Darche has been the talk of the media since being called up to the NHL's Montreal Canadiens... He has a 1-2-3 record in three games and was picked twice as one of the three stars... Centre Alex Picard-Hooper had one assist and leads the nation with 29 helpers; he is also second in the OUA points race with 36 in 21 games... High-scoring defenceman Marc-Andre Dorion (6-19-25) missed his third consecutive contest with an upper-body injury but is expected to return for the next game... With seven contests remaining before playoffs, McGill (17-4-0) is one victory shy of last year's 18-win season. The school record is 21, set in 1999-00... The Redmen continue to lead the CIS in scoring with 117 goals... UNB ranks second (113), followed by Alberta and Lakehead (108 each) and Western (104).

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SOURCE:

Earl Zukerman, McGill Athletics & Recreation (514-398-7012)

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SCORING SUMMARY

Nipissing 3 at McGill 5

(Jan 24, 2010 at McConnell Arena)

1st Period-
1, McGill, Christophe Longpre-Poirier 5 (Vossen, Valente), 19:10 (sh).

Penalties-
Doucet Mcg (high sticking), 11:49;
Simms Nip (roughing), 13:49;
Rioux Mcg (roughing), 13:49;
Turcotte Mcg (roughing), 13:49;
Gray Nip (interference), 16:39;
Marcotte-Legare Mcg (inter. on goaltender), 18:28.

2nd Period-
2, McGill, Ben Morse 3 (Verreault-Paul, Wright), 6:23 (pp).
3, McGill, Francis Verreault-Paul 19 (Rioux, Picard-Hooper), 8:25 (pp).
4, McGill, Guillaume Doucet 16 (Vossen, Gazdic), 12:38 (pp).
5, Nipissing, Sean Ryan 1 (unassisted),听 16:33.
6, McGill, Maxime Langelier-Parent 6 (Daneau, Boisvert), 17:30.

Penalties-
Jarick Nip (roughing), 5:35;
Lahey Nip (roughing), 5:35;
McKinnon Nip (roughing), 5:35;
Longpre-Poirier Mcg (roughing), 5:35;
Turcotte Mcg (roughing), 5:35;
Gauley Nip (hooking), 6:58;
Doucet Mcg (high sticking), 8:47;
Gauley Nip (holding), 10:53;
Vossen Mcg (roughing), 18:41.

3rd Period-
7, Nipissing, Matt Lahey 10 (unassisted),听 1:23.
8, Nipissing, Nahan Breukelman 1 (Marcoux, Beard), 7:21.

Penalties-
Valente Mcg (holding), 13:09;
Beard Nip (hooking), 15:12.

GOALS BY PERIOD:
Nipissing 0-1-2 -- 3
McGill 1-4-0 -- 5

Shots on Goal-
Nipissing 11-6-14 -- 31.
McGill 12-14-13 -- 39.

Power Play Opportunities-
Nipissing 0 of 6 (plus one SHG against);
McGill 3 of 5.

Penalties (No./Mins.)
Nipissing 8/16;
McGill 9/18.

Goalies-
Nipissing, Billy Stone (L, 0-1-0, 39 shots-34 saves; 60:00).
McGill, Hubert Morin (W, 13-2-0, 31 shots-28 saves; 60:00).

Attendance-264

Referee-Pascal St-Jacques.