Hat-trick trio the tipping point as McGill lacrosse sinks Lakers

NORTH BAY, ONT -- A trio of hat-tricks sparked the McGill men's lacrosse team to a 13-9 road victory over the Nipissing Lakers in their Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association season opener, Saturday.

Maxime Murdoch, a senior from Westmount, Que., scored three goals and added a pair of helpers to finish with a five-point soiree. His offensive prowess was buttressed by freshman Cameron McGinnis (3-1-4) of Toronto and senior Liam MacDonald (3-0-3) of North Vancouver, B.C.

The result improved McGill's unblemished lifetime record against Nipissing to 6-0 since they first crossed paths in 2016.

McGill, which had a 31-21 edge in shots, led 5-2 after the opening quarter, 7-5 at halftime and 10-8 after three stanzas. Nipissing then narrowed the gap to 10-9 when Scott Dominey of Orangeville, Ont., tallied his third goal and seventh point of the game with 13:20 remaining but McGill struck for three unanswered goals down the final stretch.

McGinnis was credited with the game-winning tally late in the third period.

"It was a good win for us to start the season," said McGill head coach Tim Murdoch, who was playing with a shorter than normal lineup due to a number of injuries suffered in training camp. "We took too many penalties and made some bad decisions defensively but we have a large group of seniors and they kind of led the charge today."

Both sides were penalized six times apiece.

Rounding out the scoring for the visitors -- with two goals apiece -- was Andrew Chase , a second-year transfer who hails from Summit, N.J., and sophomore Ethan Forgrave of Edmonton, Ont.

Scott Dominey of Orangeville, Ont., paced the Lakers with a seven-point performance in a losing cause, including three goals. Teammate Will Craig of Midland, Ont., also tallied a hat-trick, with singles going to Tanner Poole, Bo Peltier and Keiran Peltier.

Senior Michael Gallo of Glen Rock, N.J., started between the pipes for McGill and saved seven of 12 shots. He was replaced at halftime by David Pelliccione, a senior from Woodbridge, Ont., who turned aside five of nine shots and was credited with the win.

Andrew Wood of St. Thomas, Ont., took the loss for Nipissing, saving 18 of 31 shots.

Both teams resume their schedule on Sept. 14. McGill (1-0) will host Trent (2-0) in a 4 p.m. start at Percival Molson Stadium, while Nipissing (1-1) plays host to visiting Bishop's (1-1) at 7 p.m.

GAME NOTES: Prior to the opening faceoff, Nipissing officials paid tribute with a moment of silence for McGill hockey coach Kelly Nobes and Nipissing student-athlete Shelby Dickey, both of whom passed away unexpectantly last week... A number of off-season rule changes in international lacrosse have been adopted by the CUFLA this season. Among the key features to note, shorter games with 60 minutes running time (vs, 80 minutes stop time previously), use of sudden-death overtime (vs the old system of two OT periods). Also, the final 30 seconds will be played with stopped time for the first three quarters, while the final two minutes in the fourth quarter will be stop time.

SCORING SUMMARY

2019 CUFLA STANDINGS



EAST	GP	W	L	GF	GA	PTS
Trent	2	2	0	19	10	4
McGill	1	1	0	13	9	2
Bishop's	2	1	1	18	14	2
Nipissing	2	1	1	24	20	2
Carleton	1	0	1	7	15	0
Ottawa	1	0	1	6	13	0
Queen's	1	0	1	5	11	0

WEST	GP	W	L	GF	GA	PTS ?
Guelph	1	1	0	12	6	2
Toronto	1	1	0	14	9	2
Laurentian	1	0	1	9	14	0
Laurier	1	0	1	6	12	0
Western	0	0	0	0	0	0
McMaster	0	0	0	0	0	0
Brock	0	0	0	0	0	0