Box Score
MONTREAL – You've got to start wondering how much longer the smoke-and-mirrors show at McGill will continue. Four different players scored as the injury-plagued Redmen hockey team skated to a 4-1 triumph over the visiting Ryerson Rams before a spirited crowd of 701 at McConnell Arena, Friday.
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The result clinched third-place for the Redmen (16-7-4) who have only been beaten twice in regulation time over their last 16 OUA contests (both times to Carleton). It was also McGill's ninth straight win over the Rams and improved their record against Ryerson to 41-6-1 lifetime.
After a fast-paced, penalty-free, opening period that took just 28 minutes to play, the rest of the contest turned out to be a penalty-filled affair that featured 135 minutes assessed by referee Dominic Bedard, including a whopping 112 PIMs to the Rams. Despite all the time spent in the sin-bin, neither team was able to capitalize on the power-play, with a depleted McGill squad (only 16 skaters) ending up 0-for-5 and Ryerson going 0-for-3.
Trevor Braun, a McGill freshman from Windham, Maine, opened the scoring with his fifth of the season at 4:05 of the first period.
Nicolas Biniek, a junior forward from Montreal, made it 2-0 less than five minutes later with what proved to be the game-winning tally.
Dustin Alcock of Hamilton, Ont., gave the Rams some hope when he struck for a shorthanded effort at 4:21 of the middle stanza but freshman
Mathieu Pompei of Laval, Que., restored McGill's two-goal cushion at 10:51. He also set up rookie
Patrick Delisle-Houde of Quebec City, midway through the final stanza to round out the scoring.
Three separate skirmishes broke out over the final eight minutes. Ryerson's Mitch Gallant was assessed a major penalty at 14:18 after a vicious check to the head of
Justin Ducharme, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound native of Quebec City, who was knocked out cold on the play. He was helped off the ice in a groggy state.
Some two minutes later, McGill's
Guillaume Langelier-Parent was handed a rare match penalty for checking from behind. That was followed by another match penalty, called on Rams forward Kyle Blaney, for spearing with 1:21 remaining.
The game ended on a bizarre note with McGill holding a 5-on-3 manpower advantage for the final 101 seconds. Redmen defenceman
Ryan McKiernan of White Plains, N.Y., was instructed by head coach
Kelly Nobes to rag the puck back and forth behind the McGill net, to kill off all the remaining time.
“I checked with the referee first,” said Nobes, who improved to 89-35-2 overall in three seasons behind the Redmen bench. “The way the game was going, I felt it was in our best interest to kill off the remaining time to protect our players from injuries and further incidents.”
McGill had a 42-23 edge in shots as senior netminder
Hubert Morin of St. Georges de Beauce, Que., improved to 9-4 on the season. Troy Passingham of Mississauga, Ont., made 38 saves in a losing cause for the Rams and dropped to 7-9.
“I thought we played another smart game, conserved our energy and with the decisions we made, we were opportunistic on the attack,” said Nobes. “We played well defensively, didn't give up many scoring chances and had good goaltending for the third straight game. That's the way you need to play heading into the playoffs.”
That may be so but perhaps it would be prudent if Nobes also consulted with the nearest Canada Manpower Office to find some able-bodied skaters for the next few weeks. The Redmen entered the game with eight players unavailable, including seven injured bodies and forward
Neil Blunden who was serving the third of a four-game suspension.
Ducharme will have to be re-evaluated by the team doctor but could be out for the remainder of the season with a suspected concussion. Langelier-Parent will receive an automatic three-game suspension for his penalty and defenceman
Guillaume Monast, who left the game after the first period with a flu bug, is considered doubtful for the next contest.
Nobes may have to consider trading in his ancient “Merlin the Magician” outfit for a more modern-day one worn by the amazing David Copperfield, as he will have to find another way to win with three more bodies joining that ever-growing list of scratches. For those of you who are counting, that leaves 15 somewhat healthy players left on the team's 26-man roster.
The Redmen will close out the regular season by hosting Royal Military College (3-22-2) on Saturday (Feb. 9) at McConnell Arena (7 pm). The Paladins are coached by former McGill defenceman and assistant coach Adam Shell (BCom. '03).
REDMEN RAP: Post-season play begins on Feb. 13 and McGill will open their OUA East best-of-three quarter-final series on the road against the sixth-seeded team – either Nipissing (14-1-2) in North Bay, Ont., or the Toronto Varsity Blues (12-9-6) at varsity Arena – depending upon which team finishes lower… Due to the lengthy distance between the teams, OUA rules stipulate that the series must open on the road, with Games 2 and 3 (if necessary) slated for McConnell Arena on Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 17 at 7 p.m… The McGill women's team had been scheduled to host Concordia on Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. but that game has been moved up to a 4 p.m. start in order to accommodate the men's playoff contest.
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
McGill Sports Info Office
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
514-398-7012
