MONTREAL -- Goaltender Peter Delmas, a second-round draft pick of the Colorado Avalanche, made 48 saves as the No.10 Western Mustangs surprised third-ranked McGill 4-2 in an OUA men's hockey matinee at McConnell Arena, Saturday.

It was Western's fourth victory in their last five meetings with McGill after snapping a six-game losing streak to the Redmen who own an 18-17-3 lifetime record in head-to-head matchups since their first rendezvous in 1936.

The Redmen led 2-1 after the first period but Western, who was playing on fresh legs, rallied to go ahead 3-2 after two and added one more goal in the final stanza.

McGill, which played the night before, had a lopsided 50-30 advantage in shots, including a 23-9 margin in the first period. But for the most part, they couldn't solve the 25-year-old Delmas, a 6-foot-2, 188-pound native of Bedford, N.S., who was drafted in 2008 and has bounced around the pro ranks, including stints in the CHL, the ECHL and the AHL, where he played nine games with the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Aside from the wall in the Western net, the other deciding factor in this contest was on special teams, where the Mustangs went 3-for-7 on the power-play, and erased six of seven shorthanded situations against the Redmen who lead the nation with a 30.2 success rate on the power-play. Entering the game, the Mustangs had gone just 2-for-18 since the beginning of December. The turning point appeared to be when McGill failed to connect on a five-minute major and game misconduct for "roughing", assessed to Western rearguard Stephen Gaskin at 19:26 of the second period. The Mustangs were assessed an additional roughing minor at the end of the period and the vaunted McGill power-play was unable to take advantage of the full 5-on-3 scenario.

Senior Mathieu Pompei of Laval, Que., opened the scoring with his 14th of the season for the Redmen and assisted on Christophe Lalonde's goal which gave McGill a 2-1 lead. Lalonde, a native of St. Eustache, Que., who was added to the roster over the Christmas break, now has four goals and six points in six games.

Replying for the Mustangs was Mike DiPaolo, Stephen Sanza, Andrew Goldberg with the game-winner at 15:19 of the second period and Trent Ouellette who added an insurance marker just 33 seconds into the final period.

Jacob Gervais-Chouinard started between the pipes for McGill but came up lame at 4:14 of the second period when straining to make a save. The third-year veteran turned aside eight of nine shots before leaving with a lower body injury. He was replaced by rookie Joe Fleschler who saved 18 of 21 shots and was saddled with the loss. Gervais-Chouinard's status is unknown for McGill's next game, a first-place showdown with UQTR (19-3-1) in Trois-Rivieres, Wednesday, Jan. 27.

The Redmen, who dropped to 19-4-1 in the OUA East, have four games remaining before post-season play.

Western, which sits one point behnd the OUA West division-leading York Lions (14-6-3), improved to 15-8-0 and will host York on Jan. 30.

REDMEN RAP: Defenceman Samuel Labrecque merited one assist and continues to lead the CIS scoring race with 15-25-40 in 24 games...  He is one goal shy of breaking the McGill single-season record for most goals by a blueliner. He needs two points to tie the mark for points...  The injuries continue to mount for McGill, which now has at least 11 players battling the injury bug... Rookie F Jerome Verrier, who suited up for his first game the night before, was scratched for precautionary reasons after playing his first game since recovering from the effects of a serious leg injury suffered in a collision last September at the Detroit Red Wings rookie camp... Senior F David Rose, the team's fourth-leading scorer, missed his second straight contest after suffering an undisclosed injury at Carleton the previous week.. Sophomore F Simon Tardif-Richard missed his third straight contest with an unspecified injury... Sophomore D Alexandre Chenevert missed his 11th straight game since being injured against UOIT on Nov. 27.

LINK TO COMPLETE BOXSCORE

LINK TO CIS STATS LEADERS

LINK TO CIS STANDINGS

LINK TO McGILL TEAM & INDIVIDUAL STATS

SCORING SUMMARY
Western 4 at McGill 2
(Saturday, January 23, 2016 - McConnell Arena)

GOALS BY PERIOD:
Western 1-2-1 -- 4
McGill 2-0-0 -- 2

1st Period-
1, McGill, Mathieu Pompei 14 (Heelis, Labrecque), 12:23 (PP).
2, Western, Mike DiPaolo 1 (Cobbold, Goldberg), 15:58.
3, McGill, Christophe Lalonde 4 (Pompei, Milne), 18:24.

Penalties-Tremblay Mcg (high sticking), 9:07; Laser Wes (tripping), 11:48; DiPaolo Wes (elbowing), 13:44; Gaskin Wes (major-roughing, game misconduct), 19:26; Ouellette Wes (roughing), 20:00.

2nd Period-
4, Western, Stephen Sanza 2 (Corrente, Schwartz), 10:41 (PP).
5, Western, Andrew Goldberg 8 (Ouellette), 15:19 (PP).

Penalties-Delmas Wes (delay of game), 8:28; Bonneau Mcg (hooking), 9:18; Boutet Mcg (high sticking), 9:59; Storto Mcg (tripping), 14:47; Pompei Mcg (unsportsmanlike cnd.), 17:09; Lalonde Mcg (high sticking), 20:00.

3rd Period-
6, Western, Trent Ouellette 6 (Polesello, Schwartz), 0:33 (PP).

Penalties-Sanza Wes (elbowing), 1:25; Goldberg Wes (slashing), 9:01; Pompei Mcg (tripping), 16:17; Laser Wes (interference), 18:02; DiPaolo Wes (roughing), 18:50.

Shots on Goal-
Western 9-10-11 -- 30.
McGill 23-11-16 -- 50.

Power Play Opportunities-
Western 3 / 7;
McGill 1 / 7.

Goalies-
Western,
Peter Delmas (W, 6-4-0, 50 shots-48 saves; 60:00).

McGill,
Jacob Gervais-Chouinard (Start, ND, injd, 9 shots-8 saves; 24:14);
Joe Fleschler (L, 2-1-0, 21 shots-18 saves; 34:36);
Empty-net (0 goals, 1:10).

Attendance: 397
Start: 5:02 PM
End: 7:18 PM
Length: 2:16

Referees-Jesse Gour, Kevin Maille.
Linesmen-Guillaume Brunelle, Jonathan Paradis.

MOLSON CUP THREE STARS
1. WES - 29 Peter Delmas
2. MCG - 19 Mathieu Pompei
3. WES - 88 Andrew Goldberg