Men's Hockey 1/14/2011 10:30:00 PM

Carnivorous Redmen eat crows before capacity Carnival crowd

MONTREAL -- Evan Vossen, a senior from Swift Current, Sask., scored twice and added a helper as No.3-ranked McGill rallied for a 5-4 victory over the visiting Carleton Ravens in men's university hockey before a Winter Carnival Weekcapacity crowd of 1,355 at McConnell Arena, Friday.

It was the largest home crowd for the Redmen since March 5, 2010 when they drew 1,656 to see McGill eliminate UQTR 7-4 in the OUA East finals.

The division-leading Redmen improved to 19-0-2 and clinched a playoff berth for the fifth time in six years. Third-place Carleton fell to 11-6-2.

The pesky Ravens, who took 1-0 and 2-1 in the opening period, outshot McGill by a surprising 41-30 margin, the most shots allowed by the Redmen in their 21 games this season.

Alex Picard-Hooper of Boucherville, Que., also had a three-point night, improving his CIS-leading points total to 9-38-47 in 21 games overall. The 38 assists matches his season output from last year and is 14 shy of the single-season school record set by George Burnett in 1982-83.

Vossen, the team captain, set up Ryan McKiernan's goal midway through the first period to tie the score at 1-1, then knotted the score at 2-2 at 14:12 of the middle period. He tallied what proved to be the game-winner with his 14th marker of the season, into an empty net with just 52 seconds remaining in the final stanza to give McGill a 5-3 lead.

"Vossen was outstanding as usual," said Redmen head coach Kelly Nobes. "He is Mr. Consistency, game in, game out; a great two-way player."

Carleton's Brandon MacLean then replied with his second goal (and third point) of the soiree at 19:57 to make it a close-but-no-cigar finish.

The Redmen found themselves playing shorthanded seven times for a total of 12 minutes and 27 seconds, including a pair of two-man disadvantages. Carleton ended up going 2-for-7 on the power play, while McGill went 1-for-5.

The other McGill marksman was rookie defenceman Hubert Genest of Quebec City, who put the Redmen ahead 4-3 on the power play at 10:14 of the third.

"We didn't get off to a great start," acknowledged Nobes. "But our penalty-killing unit was very good over the last two periods and our power-play unit got the job done with a key goal in the third period. It was a good character win."

Rounding out the scoring for the Ravens was Joey Manley of Ottawa and Joe Pleckaitis of Toronto.

Goaltender Hubert Morin of St. Georges de Beauce, Que., made 37 saves for the win, improving his record to 12-1 on the season. The third-year civil engineering major now owns a 46-16-1 lifetime record in 67 games overall.

Carleton's Matthew Dopud, a freshman from Pointe Claire, Que., registered 25 saves as his record dropped to 8-4. He continues to lead the league with a 1.92 goals-against average.

The two teams will clash once again at McConnell Arena on Wednesday (Jan. 19) at 7 p.m.

REDMEN RAP: It marked McGill's fourth straight conquest over Carleton and improved their lifetime record to 17-12-1 against the Ravens... Eight Redmen players are currently averaging at least one point per game... Simon Marcotte-Legare was credited with a pair of assists and owns a 24-73-97 record in 124 career games... Redmen sniper Francis Verreault-Paul, who leads the CIS in goals with 27 in 17 games, was scratched for the second straight game with a leg injury... His status is considered doubtful for the next game... Other injured scratches included J.F. Boisvert (shoulder; four games missed) and Patrick Belzile (hand; five games missed).

SOURCE:

Earl Zukerman

McGill Athletics & Recreation

(514-398-7012)

earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca

SCORING SUMMARY

Carleton 4 at McGill 5

(Friday, January 14, 2011 - Winter Carnival Game at McConnell Arena)

1st Period-
1, Carleton, Joe Pleckaitis 6 (Self, Hayes), 6:08.
2, McGill, Ryan McKiernan 6 (Marcotte-Legare, Vossen), 11:13.
3, Carleton, Joey Manley 11 (Berard, MacLean), 13:39 (PP).

Penalties-
Caruana Car (slashing), 2:20;
Hyde Car (boarding), 7:21;
Dupont Mcg (interference), 12:25;
Langelier-Parent Mcg (charging), 17:24;
Good Car (roughing), 20:00;
Hayes Car (roughing), 20:00;
Pleckaitis Car (roughing), 20:00;
Genest Mcg (roughing), 20:00;
Picard-Hooper Mcg (roughing), 20:00.

2nd Period-
4, McGill, Evan Vossen 13 (Marcotte-Legare, McKiernan), 14:12.

Penalties-
Albert Car (holding), 4:22;
Dorion Mcg (slashing), 18:09;
Vossen Mcg (roughing), 20:00.

3rd Period-
5, McGill, Alex Picard-Hooper 9 (Wright), 6:28.
6, Carleton, Brandon MacLean 10 (Klassen, Manley), 9:02 (PP).
7, McGill, Hubert Genest 4 (Doucet, Picard-Hooper), 10:14 (PP).
8, McGill, Evan Vossen 14 (Langelier-Parent, Picard-Hooper), 19:08 (EN).
9, Carleton, Brandon MacLean 11 (Manley, Berard), 19:57.

Penalties-
Morin Mcg (delay of game), 1:16;
Picard-Hooper Mcg (hooking), 6:54;
Bench Mcg (too many men), 8:36;
Good Car (high sticking), 9:33.

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

Shots on Goal-
Carleton 12-10-19 -- 41.
McGill 6-11-13 -- 30.

Power Play Opportunities-
Carleton 2 / 7;
McGill 1 / 5.

Penalties-
Carleton 7 / 14;
McGill 9 / 18.

Goalies-