PHOTO: A bulge in the top middle section of the net marks the spot where Keanu Yamamoto scored his first of three goals (PHOTO BY DEREK DRUMMOND)

MONTREAL -- Freshman Keanu Yamamoto registered a hat-trick and junior netminder Joe Fleschler posted a 22-save shutout as the No.6 ranked McGill Redmen skated to a 6-0 whitewash over the Royal Military College Paladins at McConnell Arena, Friday.

The Redmen, who led 2-0 after the opening period and 3-0 after the middle frame added three more in the final period. They are now 68-8-4 lifetime over RMC since the long-time rivals first crossed paths in 1892. It was McGill's 27th consecutive victory over RMC since their last loss, a 2-1 decision in Kingston on Jan. 26, 2008.

Yamamoto, a 5-foot-7, 165-pound recruit from the Western Hockey League's Spokane Chiefs, gave McGill a 2-0 lead at 7:21 of the opening period, then tallied the last two goals of the game, at 7:50 and 11:08 of the final stanza. His initial marker was his third career goal with the Redmen but his first in regular season play. Needless to say, the 21-year-old management freshman also notched his first career hat-trick and the souvenir puck was fished out of the net by team captain Nathan Chiarlitti. Yamamoto -- whose younger brother Kailer is still looking for his first goal as a 19-year-old rookie with the Edmonton Oilers -- finished with a four-point night and now has nine points in four contests.

Fleschler, a third-year economics major who merited his first career shutout, extended his shutout streak to 108 minutes and two seconds over his last three appearances. The 6-foot-6, 223-pound native of Westfield, N.J., improved to 2-0 on the season and leads all OUA goaltenders in both goals-against average (0.72) and save percentage (.971).

Lost in the shuffle was Yamamoto's linemate, freshman Michael Cramarossa, who also had a four-point soiree with a goal and three helpers.

Rounding out the scoring was sophomore Samuel Tremblay and rookie rearguard Maximilian Daigle, who had his first career goal at the collegiate level and added an assist. Tremblay's goal was a shorthanded effort after teammate Jan Kaminsky intercepted a pass in the RMC slot and unselfishly fed Tremblay for the tap-in.McGill now leads the OUA with four shorthanded goals.

McGill outshot their visitors 34-22. RMC 'keeper Daniel Vautour took the loss, making 28 saves.

The Redmen, who killed off all five shorthanded situations, are ranked sixth in the league with an .878 PK success rate. However, they continued to struggle on the power-play, going 0-for-4 in the game. McGill, which leads the 20-team league with 36 goals in nine games, is ranked second-to-last on the power-play with a feeble 6.8 per cent success rate, scoring only three PP goals on 44 chances.

McGill improved to 7-2 and remains tied with UQTR (7-1) atop the OUA East standings with 14 points apiece. The Redmen will host UOIT (2-4-1) on Saturday (Nov. 4) at 7 p.m. The Ridgebacks lost 6-2 at Concordia on Friday. RMC (0-7-1) plays at Concordia (5-1-1) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

GAME NOTES: There was a comical sequence late in the second period when McGill hemmed the Paladins in their own zone for an extended  period. Two RMC players lost a glove on the play, another lost his hockey stick and a McGill player also had a glove dislodged. One of the two referees picked up the loose stick and skated with it for close to two minutes before the next whistle, when three of the four officials made haste for the two benches, to sort out the plethora of errant equipment.

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2017 OUA MEN'S HOCKEY STANDINGS (updated after Friday's games)
 

Rank	OUA West	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	PCT	GF	GA	STK	PIM
1	York	7	6	1	0	12	0.857	24	15	0-1-0	86
2	Laurier	7	5	1	1	11	0.786	28	16	3-0-1	76
3	Ryerson	7	5	2	0	10	0.714	27	20	1-0-0	64
4	Waterloo	7	3	2	2	8	0.571	25	22	0-1-2	124
5	Guelph	7	3	3	1	7	0.500	25	28	1-0-0	94
6	Lakehead	7	3	3	1	7	0.500	17	22	3-0-0	78
7	Brock	7	2	3	2	6	0.429	21	20	2-0-1	77
8	Windsor	7	2	4	1	5	0.357	16	22	0-1-0	94
9	Toronto	6	2	4	0	4	0.333	10	16	0-4-0	56
10	Western	6	2	4	0	4	0.333	23	28	1-0-0	52
Rank	OUA East	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	PCT	GF	GA	STK	PIM
1	UQTR	8	7	1	0	14	0.875	31	15	7-0-0	96
2	McGill	9	7	2	0	14	0.778	36	19	1-0-0	120
3	Carleton	7	5	1	1	11	0.786	25	17	3-0-0	105
4	Concordia	7	5	1	1	11	0.786	29	23	2-0-0	139
5	Ottawa	7	4	2	1	9	0.643	29	26	0-1-0	52
6	Queen's	7	3	1	3	9	0.643	22	20	0-1-2	88
7	Nipissing	7	3	3	1	7	0.500	16	23	0-1-0	150
8	UOIT	7	2	4	1	5	0.357	13	24	0-2-1	115
9	Laurentian	7	2	5	0	4	0.286	17	29	1-0-0	126
10	RMC	8	0	7	1	1	0.063	11	40	0-7-1	98