[PHOTO BY NATASA DJERMANOVIC, U SPORTS: McGill defenceman Nathan Chiarlitti]

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — Alberta Golden Bears forward Luke Philp scored early in the first period and a pair of late empty-net goals clinched a surprising 3-0 victory for the U SPORT all-star team over the national junior prospects before a crowd of 2,400 at the Meridian Centre on Wednesday. It was the first of a two-game exhibition series between the clubs, which is designed to help Hockey Canada evaluate players at its selection camp for the world junior hockey championship.

Suiting up as one of the starting six for the university squad was McGill rearguard Nathan Chiarlitti, a native of Maple, Ont.

Goaltenders Colton Point and Carter Hart, both on loan from the host junior team, combined for a 32-save shutout. It was the first whitewash by U SPORTS competition in 32 lifetime meetings against Team Canada since 1988. The win was also the first in regulation for the collegiate side since the switch to a national all-star team format in 2015, when they came away with a 5-4 shootout victory in Toronto.

"The goal coming into this was to put together a team that could compete and skate and play with pace," said U SPORTS head coach Brad Peddle, who was an assistant with last year's squad and serves as the bench boss of the StFX X-Men. "Our guys dug in and weathered the storm and did what it takes to win a real tight game – doing things that you see guys do in the playoffs typically…You could tell they wanted to win." 

Philp opened the scoring with a power-play goal just 2:44 in, snapping a wrist shot past Vancouver Canucks prospect Michael DiPietro, from the OHL's Windsor Spitfires, for a 1-0 lead. It was a special goal for the second-year forward who celebrated the tally with fellow Golden Bears teammates Jason Fram and Cole Sanford, each of whom collected assists on the play  

"We had a little room (on the man advantage)," said Philp of the team's quick start. "The puck hit me there and I tried to get it off quick and it went in. It was good plays by (Fram and Sanford) and it was nice to get the first one off early."

The one-goal lead held up throughout the contest until StFX's Michael Clarke and Saskatchewan's Logan McVeigh added a pair of empty-netters in the final 75 seconds to seal the victory.

"It's a great step," added Paddle. "We have to recognize that they're going to be very good again tomorrow. For us right now, the guys can enjoy the win for a little bit…but then it's time to get some rest and go again."

The junior prospects, which had a 32-24 advantage in shots, went 0-for-4 on the power-play, while the U Sports side was 1-for-4.
 
The two teams will meet again on Thursday afternoon to wrap up the series, with puck drop set for 4 p.m. Eastern.

LINK TO BOXSCORE

U SPORTS All-Star Series Website

Schedule