Men's Hockey 2/17/2012 12:00:00 PM

Mighty Max monumental, forces Queen's to abdicate series

(Photo of Maxime Langelier-Parent by Andrew Dobrowolskyj)

KINGSTON - Maxime Langelier-Parent of Lery, Que., scored once and added two helpers as the visiting McGill men's hockey team, ranked No.2 in the nation, coasted to a 5-1 victory over Queen's at the Kingston Memorial Centre, Friday. The result, combined with Wednesday's 3-2 win, gave McGill a two-game sweep in their OUA East best-of-three quarter-final series.

It was McGill's 21st consecutive conquest over Queen's dating back to their last setback in 2004.

Langelier-Parent, a speedy, 6-foot-2, 225-pound centre, assisted on the game-winner by Montrealer Nicolas Biniek midway through the opening period. He then gave McGill a commanding 4-0 lead at 8:02 of the second stanza, followed by another assist, on Marc-Andre Daneau's third-period marker to make it 5-0.

His younger brother, Guillaume Langelier-Parent, a freshman forward, also tallied and Christophe Longpre-Poirier of Longueuil, Que., rounded out the scoring for McGill.

Jordan Soquila spoiled Hubert Morin's bid for a shutout with less than 15 minutes remaining in the final period.

McGill had a 43-35 edge in shots as Morin, an engineering senior from St. Georges de Beauce, Que., registered 34 saves to collect the win, improving his career record to 74-26-2 overall, including an 18-5 lifetime mark in post-season play.

Gaels netminder Riley Whitlock was credited with 38 saves in a losing cause.

"We certainly had a much-improved look tonight than we did in the series opener and it showed right off the bat. We were moving our feet, getting the puck in deep, driving the middle lane and that led to a 3-0 lead in the first period," said Redmen head coach Kelly Nobes, who was especially pleased to get goals from four of his five scorers, who combined for just seven markers during the regular season. Over their two playoff games, McGill has netted eight goals from seven different players.

"To win in the playoffs we need production from all 20 guys, so it was great to see those guys rewarded for doing the little details that need to get done to create scoring opportunities," added Nobes.

It was a somewhat costly win for McGill, however, as they lost 5-foot-10 sniper Francis Verreault-Paul, a three-time OUA leading goal-scorer, for the next two playoff encounters after he was enticed into a scuffle with 6-foot-1 blueliner Patrick McEachen, who had provoked the incident by slashing the McGill senior. It didn't appear that either player threw more than a punch but nonetheless, referee Ron Stakes assessed each a fighting major and an automatic game misconduct. The infraction was Verreault-Paul's second such major of the season and with a cumulative rule in effect, he will have to sit out the next two games.

The game featured 72 minutes in penalties, including 51 to the Gaels, who somehow managed to kill off all eight McGill power-plays. Queen's went 0-for-3 with the man-advantage.

"I thought our guys played with class tonight," said Nobes, who had a number of conversations with the referee and wasn't happy with the style of play by the Gaels, who drew five of their eight minor penalties for stick-work, to go along with a pair of checking-from-behind infractions, a fighting major, a pair of 10-minute misconducts and a game misconduct.

McGill will now await the weekend results to determine who their next opponent will be. The top-seeded Redmen, who finished atop the standings with a 22-4-2 record, will play the lowest remaining seed in a best-of-three divisional semifinal series. Should seventh-seeded Ryerson win their series over No.2-seed UQTR, the Rams would be McGill's next opponent, beginning with Game 1 in Toronto on Wednesday or Thursday. However, should UQTR storm back and capture both weekend contests against Ryerson, who won their opener by a shocking 9-2 score, then McGill would host sixth-seeded Ottawa (14-13-1), beginning with Game 1, most likely on Wednesday at McConnell Arena.

REDMEN RAP: Among McGill's six lineup scratches was Alexandre Picard-Hooper, last season's CIS player of the year, who suffered a lower-body injury in Game 1 of the series. His status for the next game is still uncertain... The Redmen improved their lifetime record against Queen's to 115-50-2 in a long-standing rivalry that dates back to 1895.... The Redmen are 61-5 in their last 66 games against the Gaels and 5-1 in post-season play.

SCORING SUMMARY

OUA EAST BEST-OF-THREE QUARTERFINAL
(Game 2, McGill wins series 2-0)

McGill 5 at Queen's 1

(Friday, February 17, 2012 - Kingston Memorial Centre)

GOALS BY PERIOD
McGill 3-1-1 -- 5
Queen's 0-0-1 -- 1

1st Period-
1, McGill, Christophe Longpre-Poirier 2 (A.Wright, E.Vossen), 5:11.
2, McGill, Nicolas Biniek 1 (R.McKiernan, Max Langelier-Parent), 11:14.
3, McGill, Guillaume Langelier-Parent 1 (E.Vossen, A.Wright), 16:40.

Penalties-
Kenway Qns (high sticking), 8:57;
McEachen Qns (high sticking), 11:35;
Dupont Mcg (high sticking), 16:57.

2nd Period-
4, McGill, Max Langelier-Parent 2 (Marc-Andre Daneau), 8:02.

Penalties-
Bureau Qns (checking from behind, 10-minute misconduct), 5:18;
Levesque Mcg (unsportsmanlike cnd.), 9:18;
Munroe Qns (slashing), 11:09;
Ouellet Qns (cross checking), 15:28;
Verreault-Paul Mcg (slashing), 16:45;
Moore Qns (slashing), 17:20;
Perry Qns (checking from behind, 10-minute misconduct), 19:16;
Verreault-Paul Mcg (major-fighting, game misconduct), 20:00;
McEachen Qns (major-fighting, game misconduct), 20:00.

3rd Period-
5, McGill, Marc-Andre Daneau 1 (Max Langelier-Parent, B.Levesque), 2:33.
6, Queen's, Jordan Soquila 1 (J.Mirwaldt), 5:33.

Penalties-
Pianosi Qns (roughing), 8:48.

Shots on Goal-
McGill 17-15-11 -- 43.
Queen's 9-10-16 -- 35.

Power Play Opportunities-
McGill 0 / 8;
Queen's 0 / 3.

Penalties-
McGill 5 / 21;
Queen's 12 / 51.

Goalies-
McGill, Hubert Morin (W, 2-0-0, 35 shots-34 saves; 60:00).
Queen's, Riley Whitlock (L, 0-2-0, 43 shots-38 saves; 60:00).

Att-200

Start: 7:35

End: 9:46

Length: 2:11

Referee-Ron Stakes.

Linesmen-Justin Kuipers and Mr. Galaway.

THREE STARS:

1. McG: Max Langelier-Parent
2. McG: Christophe Longpre-Poirier
3. McG: Hubert Morin