TORONTO - Rookie Mathieu Pompei of Laval, Que., scored once and added an assist, as McGill skated to a 4-2 victory over Ryerson in OUA men's hockey at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Maple Leaf Gardens, Friday.

It was the third straight win for McGill and third consecutive loss for the Rams, who are now 6-40-1 lifetime against the Redmen.

"It was real exciting for me to get the win at the Gardens," said McGill head coach Kelly Nobes, who grew up as a Leafs fan in nearby Scarborough. "Ryerson did a real good job of revamping that facility and I really enjoyed the opportunity to return to that historic site where I had a few opportunities to practice in my youth."

The Redmen, who never trailed, came out of the first period with a 1-1 tie but led 3-1 after two.

Chris Longpré-Poirier, a junior centre from Longueuil, Que., gave the Redmen a 1-0 advantage at 3:51 of the opening period with his team-leading seventh marker in 13 games. But less than four minutes later, Rams left-winger Greg Payne scored the first of his two power-play goals.

The turning point came with the game knotted at 1-1 midway through the second-period when Ryerson netminder Steve Gleeson committed what was clearly the gaffe of the season, if not the crime of the century. He chased after a loose puck and barely won a footrace with McGill's Justin Ducharme to the right-side faceoff circle. Gleeson, who registered 23 saves and took the loss (2-4), spun around to protect the puck and shot it directly into his own empty net. Ducharme, who was closest to the play, was awarded an early Christmas gift. It was the third goal and fifth point of the season for 5-foot-10, 180-pound sophomore who, after only 12 contests, has already surpassed his season totals from his rookie campaign (22 GP: 1-3-4).

"We had a bit of a slow start but a real good second period and when we scored that go-ahead goal it gave us a ton of life," said Nobes. "We kind of took control for the remainder of the period and that gave us some momentum and was the difference for us tonight."

Just over four minutes later, Benoit Levesque , a third-year forward from  Vaudreuil, Que., was sprung open on a breakaway and made it 3-1 with the eventual game-winner on a nifty backhander.

Pompei, a 5-foot-8, 165-pound centre, then put the game on ice to make it 4-1 midway through the final stanza.

"Mathieu found the net again and has been a diamond in the rough for us this year," said Nobes of his 21-year-old education freshman who played in the Maritime Junior Hockey League last year and has quietly moved into second place among the team's scoring leaders with a 6-4-10 record in 12 contests. "He's working real hard at adjusting his game for this level and it's paying off."

Payne then connected with his second PP marker at 14:31 to give the Rams a faint glimmer of hope but the spark was soon extinguished as the Rams ran out of time.

Ryerson went 2-for-4 with the man-advantage, while McGill was scoreless on three power-play chances. The Rams had a 31-27 edge in shots but Redmen goaltender Andrew Flemming of Quispamsis, N.B., made 29 for the victory, improving his record to 5-4-0.

McGill (9-5-0) will close out their first semester schedule on Saturday (7 pm) in Kingston when they take on the Royal Military College Paladins.  The game is slated to be webcast online from Constantine Arena athttp://www.ustream.tv/channel/rmc-paladins

The last-place Paladins (2-12-2) took OUA East leading UQTR (11-3-1) to a post-overtime shootout on Friday before succumbing 4-3. RMC is coached by Adam Shell, a former Redmen rearguard and assistant coach. In seven seasons at RMC, Shell is 1-13-1 overall against his alma mater, including a 5-1 preseason loss this year.

REDMEN RAP:  Among the faces in the crowd to see McGill's first-ever game at the Gardens were former Redmen grads David Kerr (1961-65), Paul Barber (1981-86), Steve Mendelssohn (1979-82) and Marek Nesvadba (1980-81)...McGill had to make-do without either of their co-captains for the second straight game... Marc-Andre Daneau (knee) missed his second consecutive game and Patrick Belzile (upper-body) was sidelined for the ninth straight contest.

SOURCE: Earl Zukerman, McGill Sports Info Office, 514-398-7012

SCORING SUMMARY

McGill 4 at Ryerson 2

(Friday, November 30, 2012 - Mattamy Athletic Centre)

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

1st Period-
1, McGill, Chris Longpre-Poirier 7 (Mathieu Pompei, Delisle-Houde), 3:51.
2, Ryerson, Greg Payne 5 (Buck, McPherson), 7:12 (PP).

Penalties-
Longpre-Poirier Mcg (cross checking), 7:02.

2nd Period-
3, McGill, Justin Ducharme 3 (unassisted),  11:06.
4, McGill, Benoit Levesque 2 (Le Sieur, Bourgeois), 15:26.

Penalties-
Blunden Mcg (elbowing), 3:54;
Searle Rye (interference), 6:50;
Braun Mcg (roughing), 13:51;
Paolo Rye (roughing), 13:51;
Paolo Rye (dble minor for interference, unsportsmanlike cnd.), 17:39.

3rd Period-
5, McGill, Mathieu Pompei 6 (unassisted),  12:42.
6, Ryerson, Greg Payne 6 (Birkhoff, McDonough), 14:31 (PP).

Penalties-
Laporte Mcg (tripping), 5:49;
Monast Mcg (cross checking), 13:05.

Shots on Goal-
McGill 8-15-4 -- 27.
Ryerson 9-8-14 -- 31.

Power Play Opportunities-
McGill 0 / 3;
Ryerson 2 / 4.

Penalties-
McGill 5 / 10;
Ryerson 4 / 8.

Goalies-
McGill, Andrew Flemming (W, 5-4-0, 31 shots-29 saves; 60:00).
Ryerson, Steve Gleeson (L, 2-4-0, 27 shots-23 saves; 59:14).

Attendance: 500
Start: 7:32 PM
End: 9:47 PM
Length: 2:15

Referee-Ross Bain.

Linesmen- (not available).

THREE STARS:
1. MCG - 19 Mathieu Pompei
2. RYE - 19 Greg Payne
3. MCG - 29 Andrew Flemming