(PHOTO OF GUILLAUME DOUCET BY DEREK DRUMMOND)

MONTREAL - Guillaume Doucet of Anjou, Que., scored twice, including the game-winner as the No.2-ranked McGill men's hockey team blanked the UQTR Patriotes 4-0 at McConnell Arena, Friday.

McGill outshot UQTR 36-31 in a convincing victory that clinched first place, their first OUA East Division title since 2006 and only their third since 1946. The Redmen now sit atop the standings with 44 points (21-0-2), which ties the school record established last year when they finished the campaign at 22-6-0. The second-place Patriotes dropped to 14-7-1. It was McGill's fifth lifetime goose-egg over the Pats in 222 lifetime meetings and their first since Oct. 14, 2006, a span of 26 games.

Doucet connected on the power-play at 5:36 of the opening period and made it 2-0 just 45 seconds into the middle frame.

"He was all over the ice tonight and gave us good energy," said McGill head coach Kelly Nobes of the senior centre who has nine goals this season after scoring 19 last year. "Douce has been moved around on a number of lines (because of injuries to three forwards) and it is difficult to get some consistency when that happens. It was great to see him score two key goals."

Alex Picard-Hooper of Boucherville, Que., drew assists on both of Doucet's goals, extending his point-scoring streak to nine games and improving his grip on the CIS scoring race to an eight-point margin with a 10-40-50 dossier in 23 contests. It marked a personal best in both assists and points for Picard-Hooper, a third-year centre who is chasing the school's regular-season record of 52 assists set by George Burnett in 1982-83.

Francis Verreault-Paul, who was a surprise starter in the lineup after missing three games with a leg injury, assisted on the second goal and added one of his own, at the 31-second mark of the final period. The third-year left-winger from Mashteuiatsh, Que., now leads the nation with 28 goals in only 18 games. He needs eight more markers in his five remaining contests to break the McGill and OUA single-season records for league play.

Rounding out the scoring for McGill was team captain Evan Vossen of Swift Current, Sask., whose power-play goal with just over three minutes remaining snuffed out any hopes of a last-ditch onslaught by the Patriotes.

Sophomore goalkeeper Hubert Morin of St. Georges de Beauce, Que., kicked aside 18 shots for the win, improving his record to 14-1. Morin was not credited with a shutout, however, as he left the game after the second period, a few minutes after his head was sandwiched in a collision between Pats forward Pierre-Alexandre Joncas and the goalpost.

Morin, who leads all CIS goaltenders in victories, lay motionless on the ice for about three minutes before recuperating sufficiently to finish the period. He was relieved in the final stanza by Antoine Tardif a 6-foot, 185-pound freshman from Daveluyville, Que., who played for the Quebec Remparts in the QMJHL last year. Tardif saved all 13 shots fired his way in the final stanza.

McGill went 2-for-6 on the power-play, compared to UQTR, which failed to click on any of their four manpower advantages.

The Pats play at Ottawa (10-8-3) on Saturday and McGill will host Concordia (11-10-1) Wednesday at 7 p.m.

REDMEN RAP: McGill won their season series against UQTR with a 3-0-1 record...  McGill is now 64-141-17 lifetime against the Pats, including an impressive 11-3 record in the last 14 confrontations and a 26-15-3 mark in the last 44 matchups... Among the fans in attendance was the parents and grandmother of head coach Kelly Nobes, who took the train in from Toronto. It was the first time they had been at McConnell Arena to see their son in action since his playing days between 1993 and 1997... In 262 career games as a head coach with three CIS institutions, Nobes now owns a 135-116-11 coaching record.

SOURCE:

Earl Zukerman

McGill Athletics & Recreation

514-398-7012 (Tel.)

m.athletics.mcgill.ca (mobile website)

www.mcgill.ca/athletics

earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca

SCORING SUMMARY

UQTR 0 at McGill 4

(Friday, January 21, 2011 - McConnell Arena)


1st Period-
1, McGill, Guillaume Doucet 8 (Alex Picard-Hooper, M.A. Dorion), 5:36 (PP).

Penalties-

Levesque UQTR (holding), 4:45;
Wright Mcg (hooking), 12:41;
Wright Mcg (roughing), 18:20.


2nd Period-
2, McGill, Guillaume Doucet 9 (Francis Verreault-Paul, Alex Picard-Hooper), 0:45.

Penalties-

Breton UQTR (high sticking), 8:07;
Chicoine UQTR (hooking), 11:57;
Lessard UQTR (high sticking), 12:53;
Chabot-Maltais UQTR (hooking), 17:16.


3rd Period-
3, McGill, Francis Verreault-Paul 28 (Hubert Genest), 0:31.
4, McGill, Evan Vossen 15 (Nicolas Biniek, Ryan McKiernan), 16:51 (PP).

Penalties-

Biniek Mcg (diving), 3:01;
Wright Mcg (tripping), 9:22;
Chabot-Maltais UQTR (checking from behind, 10-minute misconduct), 15:10.


GOALS BY PERIOD:
UQTR 0-0-0 -- 0
McGill 1-1-2 -- 4


Shots on Goal-
UQTR 10-8-13 -- 31.
McGill 12-13-11 -- 36.


Power Play Opportunities-
UQTR 0 / 4;
McGill 2 / 6.


Penalties (No/Mins):
UQTR 7 / 22;
McGill 4 / 8.

Goalies-
UQTR,
Jean-Christophe Blanchard (L, 12-7-0; 36 shots-32 saves; 60:00).

McGill,
Hubert Morin (start, W, 14-1-0, 18 shots-18 saves; 40:00);
Antoine Tardif (13 shots-13 saves; 20:00).

Attendance-343

Referee-Dominic Franc.


Start: 7:02 PM

End: 9:09 PM

Length: 2:07

MOLSON CUP THREE STARS:
1. MCG - 22 Guillaume Doucet
2. MCG - 18 Francis Verreault-Paul
3. MCG - 11 Evan Vossen