KINGSTON - Forward Francis Verreault-Paul of Mashteuiatsh, Que., scored a natural hat-trick as the No.2-ranked McGill Redmen hockey team escaped unblemished from a wild weekend in Kingston with a 4-1 victory over Royal Military College, Saturday, extending their win streak to 13 straight games overall.

 

The streak is the best start in school history - surpassing the previous mark of 10 straight wins - and next in their sights is the school record for most consecutive victories (17), which was accomplished during the 1936-37 season.

 

Rookie rearguard Ryan McKiernan of White Plains, N.Y., tallied McGill's other marker and added a pair of assists as the Redmen outshot RMC 51-20. The two teams combined for 120 minutes in penalties, including 66 to the Redmen.

 

On Friday, McGill outlasted Queen's 6-4 in a rock 'em, sock 'em affair that featured 146 minutes in penalties, including 84 to the Redmen.

 

Verreault-Paul, who has racked up hat-tricks in three of his last four games, is currently ranked second in the nation with 19 points in eight games, including a CIS high 13 goals. He was assaulted time and time again with few, if any, penalties called against his aggressors. He eventually lost his cool, racking up 32 penalty minutes over the weekend after drawing only eight PIMs in his first six games.

 

"No comment," said the normally talkative Kelly Nobes, head coach of the Redmen, when asked about the officiating which had the Redmen shorthanded 20 times in the two games compared to only 12 by the two opposing teams combined.

 

"Both Queen's and RMC played a very physical game and the referees allowed them to get away with things that they would be penalized for in Quebec, where we use refs from the QMJHL," offered Redmen alternate captain Marc-Andre Dorion, who had four assists over the weekend. "It was very frustrating to avoid retaliating but we survived without any major injuries or suspensions and hopefully, came away with another experience learned. However, the calibre of refereeing in Ontario needs to improve and the league needs to protect the best players if they want to recruit more skilled talent."

 

Dorion, who leads all CIS rearguards in scoring for the second straight season - with 16 points in eight games - collected 16 penalty minutes over the two contests and is only eight PIMs shy of his season total from last year, when he was named CIS defenceman of the year.

 

Andrew Wright, a normally mild-mannered sniper who had only 26 PIMs over his first two seasons, has already matched that total this year. He hadn't been penalized this season until the team arrived in Kingston. Ben Morse, a third-year blueliner, picked up 18 of his season total of 20 PIMs on the weekend, which puts him six short of a career-high.

 

Against Queen's, McGill had a 32-28 edge in shots and had built up a 6-2 lead but were then saddled with three 5-on-3 shorthanded scenarios which led to a pair of late power play goals by the Gaels to make the score somewhat respectable. On the first two-man disadvantage, Evan Vossen, a junior from Swift Current, Sask., became the first McGill player in school history to score while short two men. He later added another goal and now has an 8-2-10 record in eight OUA games.

 

Other marksmen against the Gaels were sophomores Jean-Francois Boisvert and Christophe Longpre-Poirier, plus junior Maxime Langelier-Parent and senior Guillaume Doucet.

 

Hubert Morin a third-year goaltender from St. Georges de Beauce, Que., registered 24 saves on 28 shots for the win, improving to 5-0 on the season. Rookie Antoine Tardif of Daveluyville, Que., got the starting assignment against RMC and made 19 saves as his record improved to 3-0.

 

This weekend, the Redmen (8-0) return to the friendly confines of McConnell arena, where they will play host to the Toronto Varsity Blues (2-2-3) and Nipissing Lakers (3-3-2) on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Both games are slated to start at 7 p.m.

 

SOURCE:

Earl Zukerman

McGill Athletics & Recreation

514-398-7012 (Tel.)

m.athletics.mcgill.ca (mobile website)

earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca

 

 

SCORING SUMMARY

McGill 4 at RMC 1

(Saturday, October 30, 2010 - Constantine Arena)

 

1st Period-

1, McGill, Ryan McKiernan 5 (B. Morse, S. Marcotte-Legare), 11:41 (PP).

2, McGill, Francis Verreault-Paul 11 (A. Picard-Hooper, M.A. Dorion), 19:37.

 

Penalties-

Casper RMC (hooking), 9:51;

M. Pinder RMC (slashing), 11:57;

Picard-Hooper Mcg (slashing), 13:12;

P. Pinder RMC (high sticking), 13:35;

Picard-Hooper Mcg (high sticking), 17:06.

 

2nd Period-

(no scoring)

 

Penalties-

Langelier-Parent Mcg (roughing), 9:32;

Anthony RMC (roughing), 9:32;

McKiernan Mcg (high sticking, high sticking), 11:42;

Verreault-Paul Mcg (roughing after the whistle), 11:42;

M. Pinder RMC (roughing after the whistle), 11:42;

Sullivan RMC (check from behind, rough after whistle, 10-min. misconduct), 11:42;

Dorion Mcg (kneeing), 15:33;

Verreault-Paul Mcg (tripping), 19:42.

 

3rd Period-

3, RMC, Shawn Cox 1 (J. Lacey, L. Lavictoire), 3:53 (PP).

4, McGill, Francis Verreault-Paul 12 (A. Picard-Hooper, R. McKiernan), 7:38 (PP).

5, McGill, Francis Verreault-Paul 13 (G. Doucet, R. McKiernan), 14:11 (PP).

 

Penalties-

Smith RMC (holding), 2:04;

Picard-Hooper Mcg (roughing after the whistle), 2:58;

Verreault-Paul Mcg (slashing), 2:58;

Casper RMC (roughing), 6:09;

Wright Mcg (interference, 10-minute misconduct), 6:14;

Dorion Mcg (roughing, roughing after the whistle, 10-minute misconduct), 6:37;

Lim RMC (slashing, roughing after the whistle, 10-minute misconduct), 6:37;

P. Pinder RMC (interference), 6:37;

Levesque Mcg (unsportsmanlike cnd.), 8:47;

Anthony RMC (unsportsmanlike cnd.), 8:47;

Matthewson RMC (hooking), 13:30;

Boisvert Mcg (roughing), 14:47;

Pinder RMC (roughing, roughing), 14:47;

Verreault-Paul Mcg (high sticking, 10-minute misconduct), 17:07;

P. Pinder RMC (high sticking), 17:07;

Boisvert Mcg (hooking), 18:53;

Longpre-Poirier Mcg (hooking), 19:27.

 

GOALS BY PERIOD:

McGill 2-0-2 -- 4

RMC 0-0-1 -- 1

 

Shots on Goal-

McGill 18-12-21 -- 51.

RMC 9-8-3 -- 20.

 

Power Play Opportunities-

McGill 3 / 8;

RMC 1 / 10.

 

Penalities (No./Mins.):

McGill 21 / 66;

RMC 19 / 54.

 

Goalies-

McGill,

Antoine Tardif (W, 3-0-0, 20 shots-19 saves, 60:00).

 

RMC,

Matt Beirnes (start, L, 0-3-0, 18 shots-16 saves, 20:00);

Andrew Flemming (ND, 33 shots-31 saves, 40:00).

 

Att-200

 

Referee: Scott Brown

 

Start: 7:04 PM

End: 9:30 PM

Length: 2:26

 

MOLSON CUP THREE STARS:

1. MCG - 18 Francis Verreault-Paul
2. MCG - 8 Ryan McKiernan
3. RMC - 17 Shawn Cox