(PHOTO OF ANDREW WRIGHT BY ANDREW DOBROWOLSKYJ)

MONTREAL - Five different players scored as No.2-ranked McGill drew first blood in the OUA Eastern Conference men's hockey opener at McConnell Arena, Wednesday. The Redmen came away with a 5-3 victory over eighth-ranked UQTR to take a 1-0 series lead.

It was McGill's ninth straight playoff win over the Patriotes since losing in 2005 and improved their overall home record to an unblemished 20-0 on the season, a school record for wins at home.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS AT: http://ssncanada.blip.tv/file/4838308/

"I'm real happy with our effort tonight," said first-year head coach Kelly Nobes, whose troops improved to 34-3-3 overall, matching the single-season school record for most wins, established last year. "We played a full 60 minutes, skated well and our discipline was good. The biggest thing has been our depth. We're getting a different guy to be a momentum changer every night. Our plan was to skate well, show will-power and play with discipline. I thought we accomplished that tonight."

After a scoreless first period, the Redmen jumped into a 2-0 lead on power-play goals by Francis Verreault-Paul of Mashteuiatsh, Que., and Simon Marcotte-Légaré of Longueuil, Que., both of whom tallied their fourth of the post-season. Francis Charland of Victoriaville, Que., replied late in the period for the Pats, on the power-play, to make it 2-1 after two. But McGill, which led the nation in scoring, struck twice in 21 seconds before the final period was five minutes old. Andrew Wright of Toronto potted his fifth of the playoffs with the man-advantage at 3:45 and Maxime Langelier-Parent of Lery, Que., netted what proved to be the game-winner on a nifty wrap-a-round from behind the net at 4:06.

"We had a game plan, especially with their goalie who kicks out a lot of rebounds, to get pucks on net," said Wright, who finished with two points on the night and leads the OUA playoff scoring race with a 5-7-12 record in five games. "We had 15 shots in the first period and couldn't bury the puck but just stuck to our guns and it paid off."

The Pats rallied to make it 4-3 in the final seven minutes on goals by Pierre-Alexandre Joncas of Matane, Que., and Etienne Bellavance-Martin of St. Jean de Chrysostome, Que.,  but OUA East player of the year Alex Picard-Hooper of St. Hubert, Que., iced the contest with an empty-netter at 19:43.

McGill, which went 3-for-5 on the power-play and snuffed out 4-of-5 shorthanded situations, had a decided 42-18 edge in shots on net. Goaltender Hubert Morin, a sophomore from St. Georges de Beauce, Que., improved his playoff record to 5-o on the season and 12-3 lifetime. Jean-Christophe Blanchard of Trois-Rivieres was credited with 37 saves in a losing cause and dropped to 4-3 in post-season play.

After losing the first 11 playoff series with UQTR dating back to 1978, the Redmen will attempt to go for their fifth straight series sweep over the Pats at Le Colisée in Trois-Rivieres, Friday (7:30 p.m.).  A win would clinch a berth in the league's centennial edition of the Queen's Cup championship but more importantly, would qualify the Redmen for a berth at the CIS national championships in Fredericton, March 22-27. Game 3 of this series, if necessary, is slated for Sunday at McConnell Arena, with a 7 p.m. puck drop. All remaining playoff games would be on the road.

REDMEN RAP: Coach Nobes was sporting a new lucky charm behind the bench. A family member from the west coast had sent him a large, hand-carved McGill belt-buckle, fashioned from a B.C. maple tree... McGill has a 12-3 record in their last 15 meetings with UQTR, a team that once owned the Redmen and still holds a 141-65-17 lifetime record in 223 confrontations... Among the faces in the crowd was injured Habs left-winger Mathieu Darche, who took in the contest with his father and two young sons... Darche dropped by the Redmen dressing room after the game and addressed the team... Other Redmen grads spotted included Dave Gourde, Mike Richards, Dr. Skip Kerner, Mike Nelson, Chris Churchill-Smith and Mike Farmer, to name a few.

OUA EAST CONFERENCE BEST-OF-THREE FINAL (Game 1)

UQTR 3 at McGill 5 (ENG)

(Wednesday, March 2, 2011 - McConnell Arena)

1st Period-
(No Scoring).

Penalties-
Wright Mcg (tripping), 4:27;
Breton Uqtr (holding), 5:21.

2nd Period-
1, McGill, Francis Verreault-Paul 4 (Andrew Wright, Guillaume Doucet), 9:25 (PP).
2, McGill, Simon Marcotte-Legare 4 (Evan Vossen, Randy McKiernan), 14:48 (PP).
3, UQTR, Francis Charland 1 (Felix Petit, Pierre-Luc Lessard), 18:56 (PP).

Penalties-
Levesque Mcg (interference), 4:25;
Chicoine Uqtr (hooking), 8:34;
Joncas Uqtr (high sticking), 13:17;
Picard-Hooper Mcg (roughing), 17:30.

3rd Period-
4, McGill, Andrew Wright 5 (Marc-Andre Dorion, Alex Picard-Hooper), 3:45 (PP).
5, McGill, Maxime Langelier-Parent 4 (Marc-Andre Daneau, Patrick Belzile), 4:06.
6, UQTR, Pierre-Alexandre Joncas 5 (Guillaume Chicoine), 13:37.
7, UQTR, Etienne Bellavance-Martin 5 (Guillaume Chicoine), 15:13.
8, McGill, Alex Picard-Hooper 3 (unassisted),  19:43 (EN).

Penalties-
Donovan Uqtr (tripping), 2:12;
Verreault-Paul Mcg (cross checking), 6:30;
Demers Uqtr (roughing), 8:30;
Desilets Uqtr (roughing), 8:30;
Daneau Mcg (roughing), 8:30;
Langelier-Parent Mcg (roughing), 8:30.

GOALS BY PERIOD:
UQTR 0-1-2 -- 3
McGill 0-2-3 -- 5

Shots on Goal-
UQTR 5-6-7 -- 18.
McGill 15-15-12 -- 42.

Power Play Opportunities-
UQTR 1 / 4;
McGill 3 / 4.

Penalties (No/Mins)-
UQTR 6 / 12;
McGill 6 / 12.

GOALTENDERS:

UQTR,

Jean-Christophe Blanchard (L, 4-3, 40 shots-36 saves; 59:01);
Empty-net (1 shot-1 goal).

McGill,
Hubert Morin (W, 5-0, 18 shots-15 saves; 60:00).

Attendance: 471

Start: 7:03 PM

End: 9:13 PM

Length: 2:10

Referee-Frederic Leblanc.

MOLSON CUP THREE STARS:

1. MCG - 19 Andrew Wright
2. MCG - 22 Guillaume Doucet
3. MCG - 16 Max Langelier-Parent