Box Score  
TORONTO – It was good news, bad news day for the McGill men's hockey team.
 
The good news was that freshman David Rose of Longueuil, Que., buried a rebound with a power-play goal only 20 seconds into sudden-death overtime as a depleted Redmen lineup pulled another rabbit out of their hat with a 2-1 road victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues at Varsity Arena, Friday. It was the second fastest overtime winner in school history, 10 seconds shy of the mark set by Benoit Leroux against York, Nov. 16, 1996.
 
Rose, who has amassed 10 points and four goals in his last seven games, also set up Benoit Levesque, a junior from Vaudreuil, Que., to open the scoring at 16:59 of the second period. But the Blues forced overtime when rookie Tyler Liukkonen of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., scored with the man-advantage at 7:50 of the third stanza.
 
“Rosey's had a great second half since the Christmas break,” said head coach Kelly Nobes, who improved to 88-34-2 overall in three seasons behind the Redmen bench. “He's elevated his game and has really been a big spark for us, both on and off the ice. It was nice to see him get that winner on the power-play tonight.”
 
McGill improved to 15-7-3 and sits four points ahead of fourth-place Toronto (12-8-4) and three in arrears of second-place Carleton (17-6-2).
 
Now the bad news. The injury-plagued Redmen lost two more forwards in the first period – centre Marc-Olivier Vachon and winger Trevor Braun were both shaken up on heavy hits – which leaves them with only nine forwards and five defenceman – four short of the standard number – for their next game at Nipissing on Saturday night.
 
“It was a real good win for us, a character win,” added Nobes – also known around these parts as Merlin the Magician – who worked his smoke-and-mirrors trick and somehow found a way to win yet another game despite the hurdles. “To play with such a short bench and still find a way to win in the dying moments of the game was a real tribute to the character of the guys.”
 
The Blues had a 35-32 edge in shots but Redmen goaltender Andrew Flemming of Quispamsis, N.B., had a solid 34-save outing, improving his record to 7-7. Blues goalie Brett Willows took the loss and fell to 8-6.
 
The aforementioned Vachon and Braun will now join the ever-growing “Clinic Crew”, which currently is fully-stocked with co-captains Patrick Belzile (upper body) and Marc-Andre Daneau (knee surgery), as well as Jonathan Brunelle (upper body), Chris Longpre-Poirier (upper body) and defenceman Jean-Philippe Mathieu (ankle).
 
Also missing in action was defenceman/forward Neil Blunden, who was slapped with a four-game suspension for penalties incurred in last week's 4-3 loss at Carleton. Blunden, who now has 38 PIMs this season after having 12 and six over the previous two years, will not be eligible to dress before the playoffs begin on Feb. 13.
 
With three games left to play, the third-place Redmen can finish anywhere from first to sixth place in the 10-team OUA East Division. McGill's Saturday game at Nipissing in North Bay, Ont., is slated to be broadcast on and webcast online at: www.leaguestat.com/oua/MEN/en/stats/schedule.php?date=2013-02-02&season_id=75
 
The Blues are back at it on Saturday night when they host the division-leading UQTR Patriotes.

REDMEN RAP: McGill swept their two-game series with Toronto and this was the 220^th meeting between these long-time rivals in a series that began on Feb. 20, 1899… McGill is now 84-121-15 lifetime against the Blues, including a 26-10-4 mark in the last 40 confrontations.
 
SCORING SUMMARY
McGill 2 (OT) at Toronto 1 (OT)

(Friday, February 1, 2013 - Varsity Arena)

GOALS BY PERIOD:
McGill 0 1 0 1 - 2
Toronto 0 0 1 0 - 1

1st Period-
(None).

Penalties-Pompei Mcg (boarding), 6:33; von Engelbrechten Tor (roughing), 11:03; Brown Tor (tripping), 14:05; Ventura Tor (checking to the head, 10-minute misconduct), 16:20.

2nd Period-
1, McGill, Benoit Levesque 4 (Rose, Genest), 16:59.

Penalties-Halloran Tor (slashing), 1:44; Levesque Mcg (slashing), 4:14; Ducharme Mcg (tripping), 18:40.

3rd Period-
2, Toronto, Tyler Liukkonen 7 (Walters), 7:50 (PP).

Penalties-Brown Tor (hooking), 4:02; Ducharme Mcg (roughing), 4:57; Deagle Tor (roughing), 4:57; Levesque Mcg (roughing), 7:42; Genest Mcg (hooking), 10:50; Halloran Tor (hooking), 18:51.

OVERTIME (5 mins., sudden-death, 4-on-4):
3, McGill, David Rose 5 (Monast, Delisle-Houde), 0:20 (PP).

Penalties-
(None)

Shots on Goal-
McGill 7-15-8-2-32.
Toronto 11-13-11-0-35.

Power Play Opportunities-
McGill 1 / 6;
Toronto 1 / 5.

Goalies-McGill, Andrew Flemming (W, 7-7-0, 35 shots-34 saves; 60:20).
Toronto, Brett Willows (L, 8-6-0, 32 shots-30 saves; 60:12).
 
Attendance: 450
Start: 7:30 PM
End: 10:00 PM
Length: 2:30

Referees-Ross Bain and NA.
Linesmen- Let and Gavin.

THREE STARS:
1. MCG - 7 David Rose
2. MCG - 29 Andrew Flemming
3. TOR - 18 Tyler Liukkonen


SOURCE:
 
Earl Zukerman
McGill Sports Info Office
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
514-398-7012