MONTREAL – Forward Jordan-Ty Fournier of Dorval, Que., scored a rare "Mario Lemieux hat-trick", leading the McGill University men's hockey team to a 4-1 victory over UQTR in their final preseason contest, Sunday, at McConnell Arena.

The Patriotes had a 44-32 advantage in shots but McGill never trailed, leading 1-0 after the first period and 3-1 after two,

A "Mario Lemieux hat-trick" is an unofficial term -- believed to be first coined by the media in 2012 -- to describe a three-goal performance by a player who scores at even-strength, on the power-play and shorthanded. According to the website hockeyreference.com, Lemieux is the all-time leader in that category, accomplishing the feat seven times, between 1985 and 1998.

Fournier, a 6-foot-2, 199-pound QMJHL recruit who played with Cape Breton and Victoriaville, opened the scoring on a power-play at 18:28, then put his troops ahead 3-1 with an even-strength marker at 10:26 of the second period. The 22-year-old Canadian Studies sophomore tallied the game's final marker, shorthanded, at 13:55 of the final frame. The unlikely goal, with one second remaining in a penalty, bailed out teammate Guillaume Gauthier, who had been whistled at 11:56 for goaltender interference, an infraction that nullified a McGill goal.

"It was nice to see him get rewarded for the hard work that he provides to our line-up night in and night out," said McGill head coach Liam Heelis of Fournier who now has nine goals in 35 career games at the university level. In his freshman season, Fournier registered 12 points, including six goals, in 30 games. But according to the McGill bench boss, Fournier's contributions don't always appear on a stats sheet.

"He's a relentless guy on the forecheck and he's smart in our own zone," noted Heelis. "He's someone I trust on special teams and playing 5-on-5. I thought tonight he earned himself some opportunities and he made the most of them."

Gauthier, a 5-foot-10, 200-pound left winger from Ste. Marthe sur le Lac, Que., was credited with the game-winner when he gave the home side a 2-0 lead at 5:27 of the middle stanza. It was a team-leading fifth goal in five games for the 24-year-old economics senior.
 
McGill freshman Emanuel Vella, a six-foot-four, 190-pound netminder from Toronto who played junior in the OHL, made 43 saves on 44 shots, improving his preseason record to 2-1. His shutout was stolen at 16:07 of the third period by UQTR's Christophe Boivin, a junior left-winger from Quebec City, who narrowed the gap to 3-1.
 
For the visitors, goaltending duties were split fairly evenly between starter Sebastien Auger and rookie Mathieu Bellemare. Auger was beaten twice on 21 shots and took the loss. He was replaced at 10:09 of the second period by Bellemare, who conceded two goals on 11 shots.
 
McGill went 1-for-5 on the power-play and erased all three of UQTR's man-power advantages.

"I thought we played a great team-game throughout the entire 60 minutes. I really liked our third and fourth lines tonight and our power-play and penalty-kill," said Heelis. "Today we're really looking to prepare for the regular season. And I think our guys bought into that. They're looking forward to just building (a little bit) each and every weekend."

The result avenged a 7-1 exhibition loss at Trois-Rivieres two weeks ago and left McGill with a 3-2 preseason record, while the Patriotes evened their overall mark at 4-4, including a 2-2 record during a tour of France and a 2-2 split with Concordia.
 
UQTR opens the regular season on Oct. 2 when Carleton visits Le Colisée.

McGill officially begins their 144th campaign against Ottawa in a rare Thursday night affair on Oct. 3 at McConnell Arena, located atop University Street, behind Percival Molson Stadium. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m.

McGILL MURMURS: George Burnett, a former McGill All-Canadian centre who went on to coach in the NHL and is currently in his 21st season as a head coach in the OHL, took a rare night off with good reason last Friday. Instead of standing behind the bench for the Guelph Storm's 4-0 win over Owen Sound, Burnett, who graduated with a physical education degree in 1986, was in Waterloo to see his daughter Hannah, a four-time lacrosse all-star, be inducted to the Wilfrid Laurier University Sports Hall of Fame.

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