COLWOOD, B.C. -- McGill defenceman Nikolas Brouillard scored one goal and added an assist as the U SPORTS All-Stars stunned Hockey Canada's world junior prospects 5-3 Thursday night at the Q Centre on the outskirts of Victoria, B.C.

Schedule & Results

U SPORTS evens the series, rebounding from a 3-2 shootout setback in Wednesday's opener. The All-Stars will look to secure their second straight series win on Friday afternoon, following up on their two-game sweep in 2017 over Team Canada.
 
"It was a complete effort, we had a lot of guys step up and make plays," said U SPORTS captain Dylan Busenius of the Calgary Dinos. "We came in with a mindset knowing what they are like and needing to go after it right off the bat. We wanted to put the pressure on them."

Brouillard, a 5-foot-11, 168-pound native of St. Hilaire, Que., tied the game at 1-1 midway through the first period and set up Kris Bennett's marker to tie the game at 3-3 at 18:01 of the middle stanza. Brouillard, who currently leads all U SPORTS rearguards with 11 goals in 15 games, previously attended NHL tryouts with Toronto (2015 & 2016), San Jose (2014) and Winnipeg (2013).

StFX X-Men forward Holden Cook (1-1-2), Saint Mary's Huskies forward Hunter Garlent (0-2-2) and Christopher Clapperton (0-2-2) from the UNB Reds joined Brouillard as the game's scoring leader with two points each as eight different players netted goals.
 
"We are trying to display our brand of hockey out there," added Busenius. "Our team has a lot of speed and competes really hard."
 
Like Wednesday night's game, Team Canada skated out to an early 1-0 lead. MacKenzie Entwistle of the Hamilton Bulldogs squeezed a shot through Prince Albert Raiders goaltender Ian Scott to give his team the lead less than five minutes in.
 
U SPORTS responded midway through the opening period as Queen's Gaels forward Slater Doggett's hard shot was tipped in by Brouillard.
 
Calgary Dinos sniper Riley Sheen put U SPORTS in front for the first time with goal at the 4:47 mark of the second period. It was the beginning of a flurry of action in the middle frame, including five consecutive second-period penalties to U SPORTS players.
 
"We really stuck together," mentioned UNB forward Mark Simpson. "They are highly skilled and find seams. We tightened it up after the first period, defence blocked a lot of shots and our goaltender played well."
 
After four successful penalty kills by U SPORTS in quick succession, the world junior hopefuls connected on their sixth man advantage of the night with a well-placed shot by Philadelphia Flyers prospect Morgan Frost.
 
Less than a minute later, Mississauga Steelheads forward Owen Tippett finished off a 2-on-0 opportunity to give Team Canada the lead.
 
U SPORTS evened the score again with a power play marker of their own in the final two minutes when UNB forward Kris Bennett redirected a shot from the blue line by Brouillard.
 
Simpson lit the lamp 57 seconds later as his attempt barely crossed the line, eluding Vancouver Canucks draft pick Michael DiPietro.
 
Halfway through the final period, Cook – playing in his third consecutive all-star series – added an insurance marker as he corralled an errant shot and deposited it past DiPietro.
 
Playing all 60 minutes for U SPORTS, Scott stopped 27 of 30 shots on goal.
 
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds goaltender Matthew Villalta started for Team Canada and made 13 saves on 15 attempts. DiPietro denied 14 of the 17 shots he faced.
 
The series wraps up on Friday afternoon, 5 p.m. ET at the Q Centre. The game can also be seen on TSN.ca.


LINK TO SCORING SUMMARY


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GAME STORY FROM HOCKEY CANADA WEBSITE:

JUNIOR HOPEFULS EDGED BY U SPORTS ALL-STARS

BY JESSICA GOWANS

COLWOOD, B.C. – Seven different players recorded points, but Canada's junior hopefuls dropped a 5-3 decision to the U SPORTS all-stars Thursday in the second of three games at Canada's National Junior Team Sport Chek Selection Camp.

The university side was powered by a three-goal second period, evening the camp series at a win apiece.

MacKenzie Entwistle (Georgetown, Ont./Hamilton, OHL) opened the scoring for Canada less than five minutes in, letting go a laser beam of a shot that snuck under the arm of goaltender Ian Scott (Calgary, Alta/Prince Albert, WHL), who was between the pipes for U SPORTS.

U SPORTS answered back with a goal from Nikolas Brouillard, sending the game to the intermission even despite multiple chances for Canada on a late-period power play.

Riley Sheen gave U SPORTS its first lead of the night early in the second period, finding the back of the net through a mass of bodies in front, before a flurry of goals in the final five minutes of the middle frame.

Canada scored two quick goals to retake the lead; Morgan Frost (Aurora, Ont./Sault Ste. Marie, OHL) tied it on the power play, and less than a minute later Owen Tippett (Peterborough, Ont./Mississauga, OHL) made it 3-2.

It was back even just 90 seconds later thanks to a goal from Kris Bennett, before Mark Simpson added another goal 57 seconds after that to put U SPORTS up 4-3 leading to the third period.

Holden Cook put the game out of reach in the third period; with Canada pinned in its own zone, Cook took a pass from Hunter Garlent and tucked it past Michael DiPietro (Amherstburg, Ont./Ottawa, OHL) for the insurance marker.

DiPietro shared time in the Canadian goal with Matthew Villalta (Godfrey, Ont./Sault Ste. Marie, OHL); Villalta started and stopped 13 of the 15 shots he faced before DiPietro turned away eight of 10 the rest of the way.

Scott finished with 27 saves for U SPORTS.

The two teams will face off in the selection camp finale on Friday afternoon (5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT).