Box Score
NORTH BAY, Ont -- Three defenceman scored as No.5-ranked McGill doubled Nipissing 4-2 in men's hockey at the Memorial Gardens, Saturday,

It was the sixth consecutive victory for the Redmen, who were meeting the Lakers for the first time since being upset in the opening round of the playoffs last year. McGill has bounced back in fine fashion, posting the best record in the 20-team OUA at 18-5-1.

Nipissing had opened the scoring on Jacob Conrad's goal at 7:50 of the first period but defenceman Ryan McKiernan's power-play goal three minutes later sent the teams into the first intermission knotted at 1-1. Arguably, it left a sinking feeling with the Lakers, who watched in horror as McGill struck three times in the middle stanza.

McKiernan, who leads all CIS defencemen with 11 goals, was joined on the scoresheet in the second period by fellow blueliners Alexis Bernier and Hugo Laporte, who tallied what proved to be the game-winner midway through the second period. McGill now ranks second in the nation with 24 goals from their rearguards. Only Calgary has more goals (28) from their defensive corps.

"The TSN turning point was early in the second period when Benoit Levesque was centring a line with Pietro Antonelli and Alexis Millette," said McGill head coach Kelly Nobes. "They jumped on for their first shift of the period, created havoc with four quick hits and sent the puck up top to Bernier at the point for his first career goal as a Redmen. It was a real energy-builder for us and gave us momentum for the rest of the game."

The final nail in the coffin was delivered about 11 minutes later when junior Guillaume Langelier-Parent scored a shorthanded effort to give the Redmen a commanding 4-1 lead after two. It was McGill's seventh shorthanded marker of the season, two shy of league-leading UQTR in that department.

Matt Paton gave the Lakers some hope when he connected just 38 seconds into the final period but the Redmen went into shutdown mode and cruised to victory.

"We had a real good defensive game after a wide-open (6-5 win) in Sudbury the night before," said Nobes. "Good to see three goals from our back end and we were pleased with our special teams tonight, especially on the PK (which killed off all four chances). Our power-play scored once but we also had two other PP goals called back."

Special teams continue to shine for the Redmen as their PK unit is now operating at 86.0 per cent efficiency and ranks third in the OUA. The power-play is equally proficient and ranks fourth overall, clicking at 23.0 per cent.

The Redmen outshot Nipissing 39-33, including a 15-5 margin in the second period. Rookie goatender Karel St-Laurent was called upon to make his third career start since becoming eligibile to play in early January and the 6-foot-4, 196-pound native of St. Catherine, Que., made 31 saves to collect the win, improving to 3-1.

Nipissing's John Chartrand was credited with 35 saves and took the loss, dropping to 0-5.

Despite their impressive record, McGill has little breathing room in the OUA East standings.  They hold a slim one point lead over UQTR (18-4-0), which is lurking in the weeds with two games in hand. Third-place Carleton (16-5-1) sits four points behind McGill but also has two games in hand.

The Redmen return home to the friendly confines of McConnell Arena to wrap up the season with a four-game homestand before playoffs. McGill will look to extend their modest win streak when they host Windsor -- which sits third in the OUA West with a 14-9-0 record -- in a rare back-to-back home series against the same team on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. The game on Friday will mark the 137th anniversary of McGill's first hockey game, a 2-1 win over the Montreal Victorias way back in 1877.

SOURCE:

Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
McGill University Athletics & Recreation
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
MOBILE SITE: http://mcgillathletics.ca/mobile/index.aspx
WEBSITE: www.mcgillathletics.ca
E-MAIL: earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca


SCORING SUMMARY
McGill 4 at Nipissing 2
Saturday, January 25, 2014 - Memorial Gardens

GOALS BY PERIOD:
McGill 1-3-0 -- 4
Nipissing 1-0-1 -- 2

1st Period-
1, Nipissing, Jacob Conrad 1 (Barron, Keirstead), 7:50.
2, McGill, Ryan McKiernan 11 (Rose, McNicoll), 10:45 (PP).

Penalties-Mitchell Nip (tripping), 9:33; Comtois Mcg (holding), 14:57.

2nd Period-
3, McGill, Alexis Bernier 1 (Millette, Levesque), 3:59.
4, McGill, Hugo Laporte 2 (Le Sieur, Delisle-Houde), 9:47.
5, McGill, Guillaume Langelier-Parent 4 (Levesque, Boutet), 15:06 (SH).

Penalties-Delisle-Houde Mcg (holding), 7:34; Paton Nip (inter. on goaltender), 8:38; Mathieu Mcg (high sticking), 9:01; Bernier Mcg (boarding), 13:33; Rebelo Nip (slashing), 16:30.

3rd Period-
6, Nipissing, Matt Paton 11 (Rebelo, Peca), 0:38.

Penalties-Toulmin Nip (roughing after the whistle), 1:33; McKiernan Mcg (high sticking), 8:17; Delisle-Houde Mcg (slashing), 13:17; McNeill Nip (slashing), 17:26; Le Sieur Mcg (roughing), 19:14; Mitchell Nip (roughing), 19:14.

Shots on Goal-
McGill 11-15-13 -- 39.
Nipissing 13-5-15 -- 33.

Power Play Opportunities-
McGill 1 / 4;
Nipissing 0 / 6.

Goalies-
McGill, Karel St. Laurent (W, 3-1-0, 33 shots-31 saves; 60:00).
Nipissing, John Chartrand (L, 0-5-0 (39 shots-35 saves; 60:00).

Attendance: 425
Start: 7:07 PM
End: 9:15 PM
Length: 2:08

Referees-Jeff Golden, Andrew Jackson.
Linesmen-Joshua Jolley, Darrin Szczygiel.

THREE STARS:
1. MCG - 27 Benoit Levesque
1. MCG - 25 Guillaume Langelier-Parent
3. NIP - 30 John Chartrand