Box Score
MONTREAL -- Patrick Delisle-Houde of Quebec City registered a hat-trick as was one of three McGill players to score five points as the No.6-ranked Redmen waltzed to a convincing 9-2 over the visiting University of Ontario Institute of Technology at McConnell Arena, Friday.

McGill, which improved to 6-0 lifetime against UOIT, now owns a 20-5-2 regular season record with one game left to play. They are back into sole possession of first-place in the topsy-turvy OUA East, two points ahead of UQTR (20-5-0).and three ahead of Carleton (19-5-1). It marks the sixth time in McGill history that the Redmen have reached the 20-win plateau in regular season play and the fifth time for head coach Kelly Nobes, who also accomplished the feat twice when he was coaching the Laurier Golden Hawks.

"We were opportunistic tonight as our power-play was clicking right from the start," said Nobes, who owns a 113-45-4 record in four seasons behind the McGill bench. "I think that we did a did a good job of getting to the front of their net, scoring goals in the blue paint.

"Delisle-Houde got all three of his goals standing with his heels on the crease, tipping-in pucks and putting in rebounds. Those are always good goals to get. 'PDH' is one of our hardest working guys in both practice and games. He does all the little things and has been a key part of our success."

Delisle-Houde, a physical education sophomore, is third on the team in scoring with 29 points, including a dozen goals, in 27 games.

Cedric McNicoll and David Rose, both natives of Longueuil, Que., also racked up five point-performances -- a personal best for all three linemates -- with McNicoll connecting twice and Rose once.

McNicoll, a red-shirted sophomore who enrolled at McGill last year after a three-year stint in the American Hockey League, has finally wrestled away the team's scoring lead from defenceman Ryan McKiernan with 14 goals and 32 points in only 22 games., McKiernan, an import from White Plains, N.Y., who collected one assist and now owns as many points at McNicoll but fewer goals, continues to lead all CIS blueliners with a 12-20-32 record in 27 contests, four points ahead of his nearest competitor.

McGill jumped into a 6-0 lead over UOIT, with a pair in the first period and four more in the middle stanza, before Luke VanMoerkerke of Tillsonburg, Ont., replied twice for the Ridgebacks to make it 6-2 after two. The Redmen added three in the final session.

Closing out the scoring for the home side was team captain Benoit Levesque (4th) of Vaudreuil, Que., freshman Alexandre Comtois (7th) of Sherbrooke, Que., and rookie rearguard Samuel Carrier (7th) of Varennes, Que.

McGill, which held a 33-32 margin in shots, went 3-for-5 on the power-play and killed off all three shorthanded situations.

Rookie Jacob Gervais-Chouinard, also from Sherbrooke, made 30 saves for the win between the pipes for McGill, improving his record to 12-4-0. UOIT used two netminders, with starter Colin Dzijacky taking the loss. he was beaten four times on 16 shots, before being replaced at the 4:58 mark of the second period by Jacob Rattie, who conceded five goals on 17 shots.

McGill, which clinched at least third place, can finish anywhere from first to third in the 10-team OUA East, They will close out the regular season next week, with their fourth straight home game when they host the Nipissing University Lakers (5-16-3) from North Bay, Ont., on Valentine's Day.

UOIT, which hails from Oshawa, Ont., sits seventh with a 7-15-4 record, plays at Concordia (8-13-4) on Saturday in a battle for sixth place. The top eight teams qualify for post-season play, which is slated to begin on Feb 19.

REDMEN RAP: The nine goals scored matched the team's season-high, which was achieved in a 9-1 win at RMC (Nov.1) and a 9-3 conquest over Concordia (Nov. 26)... McGill has tallied 120 goals, which ranks tops in the OUA and second in the nation... Alberta leads the CIS with 130 in 25 games... McGill ranks third in the CIS for most PP goals (34) and is fourth in SH goals (7)... Among the Redmen alumni spotted in the crowd were former captains Mike Richards (1958-63), Marc-Andre Daneau (2009-13) and Ken Morin (2005-09), who was scouting for the Montreal Canadiens, as well as forward Joel Bergeron (2000-04) and goaltender Murray Cobb (1998-03), who was visiting from Winnipeg


SCORING SUMMARY
UOIT 2 at McGill 9
(Friday, February 7, 2014 - McConnell Arena)

GOALS BY PERIOD:
UOIT 0-2-0 -- 2
McGill 2-4-3 -- 9

1st Period-
1, McGill, Patrick Delisle-Houde 10 (McNicoll, Rose), 6:47 (PP).
2, McGill, David Rose 7 (Delisle-Houde, McNicoll), 17:04 (PP).

Penalties-Stoughton UOIT (roughing), 4:51; Woodcroft UOIT (slashing), 10:16; VanMoerkerke UOIT  (interference), 16:28.

2nd Period-
3, McGill, Benoit Levesque 4 (Millette, Langelier-Parent), 3:00.
4, McGill, Cedric McNicoll 13 (Delisle-Houde, Rose), 4:58.
5, McGill, Alexandre Comtois 7 (Le Sieur, Vachon), 9:08.
6, McGill, Patrick Delisle-Houde 11 (McNicoll, Rose), 11:18.
7, UOIT, Luke VanMoerkerke 7 (Shaw, Mitton), 14:08.
8, UOIT, Luke VanMoerkerke 8 (unassisted),  14:23.

Penalties-Ramsay UOIT (slashing), 9:37; McKiernan Mcg (slashing), 9:37; Millette Mcg (high sticking), 16:02; Paul UOIT (roughing), 18:07; Laporte Mcg (roughing), 18:07.

3rd Period-
9, McGill, Cedric McNicoll 14 (Rose, Carrier), 8:02.
10, McGill, Patrick Delisle-Houde 12 (McKiernan, Mathieu), 14:54 (PP).
11, McGill, Samuel Carrier 7 (Laporte, Gelinas), 18:00.

Penalties-Millette Mcg (slashing), 11:23; Laporte Mcg (boarding), 12:03; VanMoerkerke UOIT (roughing), 12:53; Pasztor UOIT (tripping), 13:46; Wise UOIT (10-minute misconduct), 18:00; Millette Mcg (interference), 18:49.

Shots on Goal-
UOIT 5-16-11 -- 32.
McGill 13-9-11 -- 33.

Power Play Opportunities-
UOIT 0 / 3;
McGill 3 / 5.

Goalies-
UOIT,
Colin Dzijacky (start, L; 6-16-0 , 16 shots-12 saves; 24:58);
Jacob Rattie (17 shots-12 saves; 35:02).

McGill,
Jacob Gervais-Chouinard (W, 12-4-0, 32 shots-30 saves; 60:00).

Attendance: 253
Start: 7:03 PM
End: 9:20 PM
Length: 2:17

Referee-Alexandre Garon.
Linesmen-Nicolas Piche, Benoit Martineau.

MOLSON CUP THREE STARS:
1. MCG - 28 Patrick Delisle-Houde
2. MCG - 11 Cedric McNicoll
3. MCG - 7 David Rose