(FRANCIS VERREAULT-PAUL CELEBATES SECOND GOAL. PHOTO BY DEREK DRUMMOND)

 

MONTREAL - Francis Verreault-Paul scored three times as No.2-ranked McGill rallied from a 3-1 deficit to dispose of the upstart Nipissing University Lakers 5-3 in OUA men's hockey at McConnell Arena, Saturday.

 

It was the 15th straight win overall for the undefeated Redmen who improved to 10-0 in OUA action, matching the team's best start ever in regular season play, dating back to the 1939-40 campaign, when McGill captured the league championship with a 10-0 record.

 

Verreault-Paul, who has notched four hat-tricks in his last six games, gave the Redmen a short-lived 1-0 lead only 63 seconds into the game.

 

Nipissing silenced the crowd with back-to-back-to-back goals by Kevin Rebelo, defenceman Paul Cianfrini and Conor O'Donnell. It marked only the third time in 10 OUA games this season that McGill had trailed. In fact, it was just the team's fifth period lost out of 31 periods played in OUA action thus far.

 

Verreault-Paul sparked the comeback when his second marker midway through the middle period, narrowing the gap to 3-2. After teammate Maxime Langelier-Parent evened the score at 9:47 of the final stanza, Verreault-Paul completed his hat-trick with the game-winner at 13:01 and then rearguard Marc-Andre Dorion added an empty-netter on the power-play to put the Lakers on ice. Dorion, who also added a helper, is the top-scoring blueliner in the nation with a 5-16-21 record.

 

Verreault-Paul, who was set-up by teammate Alexandre Picard-Hooper on all three markers, finished the game with 11 shots on net. He leads the nation in goals (18) and points (25). Last year, he posted a 25-29-54 record to finish tied for the CIS lead in goals and was second in points. The McGill regular-season record is 35 goals by Tim Iannone in 25 games during the 1987-88 campaign.

 

"We got off to a poor start and Nipissing played very well," said Redmen head coach Kelly Nobes. "We didn't panic, made some adjustments and were back on our game by the third. As a coach, it was good for me to see how we responded in the third. We were not having a good game and we still found a way to get the win."

 

McGill, which was outshot 12-9 in the first period, ended up with a 41-25 edge in shots.

 

Freshman goaltender Antoine Tardif of Daveluyville, Que., got the start but was yanked early in the second period after surrendering three goals on 13 shots. He was replaced by Hubert Morin, a junior from St. Georges de Beauce, Que., who improved to 7-0-0, kicking aside all 12 remaining shots, including several game-saving stops in the final frame.

 

Matt Hache, a sophomore from Guelph, Ont., made 36 saves in a losing cause, which evened his record at 3-3-0.

 

Nipissing (4-4-2), play Carleton in a home-and-home series next weekend. McGill will go for a record 11th straight regular-season victory when they host the Ryerson Rams for two games. The first meeting will be a rare Thursday (Nov. 11) night encounter at McConnell Arena, which is unavailable for the weekend due to a girls hockey tourney. Friday's rematch with the Rams will be played at McGill's Macdonald College campus in suburban Ste. Anne de Bellevue. Both contests are slated for a 7 p.m. start.

 

SCORING SUMMARY

Nipissing 3 at McGill 5

(Saturday, November 6, 2010 - McConnell Arena)

 

1st Period-

1, McGill, Francis Verreault-Paul 16 (A. Picard-Hooper, S. Valente), 1:03.

2, Nipissing, Kevin Rebelo 2 (S. Hopewell, D. Peca), 5:11.

3, Nipissing, Paul Cianfrini 2 (C. McQuaid, J. Gray), 6:42.

 

Penalties-

Marcoux Nip (interference), 12:25;

Beard Nip (spearing DBLE MINOR), 17:13.

 

2nd Period-

4, Nipissing, Connor O'Donnell 1 (S. Ryan), 3:44.

5, McGill, Francis Verreault-Paul 17 (A. Picard-Hooper, A. Wright), 12:08.

 

Penalties-

BENCH Mcg (too many men), 6:55;

Verreault-Paul Mcg (interference), 13:06;

Beard Nip (interference), 15:36;

McKinley Nip (cross checking), 19:39.

 

3rd Period-

6, McGill, Maxime Langelier-Parent 3 (M.A. Daneau, G. Doucet), 9:47.

7, McGill, Francis Verreault-Paul 18 (A. Picard-Hooper, M.A. Dorion), 13:01.

8, McGill, Marc-Andre Dorion 5 (M. Langelier-Parent, H. Genest), 19:46 (PP / EN).

 

Penalties-

Verreault-Paul Mcg (holding), 10:42;

Happeney Nip (tripping), 13:15;

McGee Nip (roughing DBLE MINOR), 18:40;

O'Donnell Nip (10-minute misconduct), 18:40;

Verreault-Paul Mcg (roughing), 18:40.

 

GOALS BY PERIOD:

Nipissing 2-1-0 -- 3

McGill 1-1-3 -- 5

 

Shots on Goal-

Nipissing 12-7-6 -- 25.

McGill 9-13-19 -- 41.

 

Power Play Opportunities-

Nipissing 0 / 3;

McGill 1 / 7.

 

Penalties-

Nipissing  8 / 16;

McGill  4 / 8.

 

Goalies-

Nipissing,

Matt Hache (L, 3-3-0, 40 shots-36 saves; 59:53);
Empty-net (1 shot, 1 goal; 0:07).

 

McGill,

Antoine Tardif (start, ND, 13 shots-10 saves; 23:44).
Hubert Morin (W, 7-0-0, 12 shots-12 saves; 36:16)

Att-312

Referee-Christian Gohier.

 

Start: 7:02

Finish: 9:06

Duration: 2:04

 

MOLSON CUP THREE STARS:

1. Francis Verreault-Paul, McGill

2. Hubert Morin, McGill

3. Alexandre Picard-Hooper, McGill

 

 

SOURCE:

Earl Zukerman

McGill Athletics & Recreation

514-398-7012

m.athletics.mcgill.ca (mobile website)

www.mcgill.ca/athletics

earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca