MONTREAL -- Rookie Eric Uba of Kitchener, Ont., netted a hat-trick as McGill rallied for a 4-3 victory over Concordia in men's preseason hockey at the Ed Meagher Arena, Friday.

This was the first meeting between the bitter cross-town rivals since Concordia claimed the rubber match of the OUA East Division best-of-three quarter-final on Feb. 16, 2020.

It was a heated confrontation, with a plethora of thunderous bodychecks, but only four minor penalties were called, three of them to McGill. The Redbirds were 0-for-1 on the power-play, while the Stingers went 0-for-3.

Uba, a 21-year-old finance freshman who starred for the OHL's Guelph Storm, put McGill ahead 1-0 at 10:51 of the opening period, then tied the game 2-2 at 4:58 of the middle stanza. The six-foot, 200-pound forward tallied the game-winner at 52 seconds of the final frame. Each of his goals were assisted by rookie centre Caiden Daley of Winnipeg. Uba now leads the team with five goals in four games, while Daley leads in points with six, five of them assists.

Concordia outshot the visitors 41-24, including a 19-10 onslaught in the opening stanza.

"Despite being outshot, I thought that we still did a lot of things well," said McGill head coach David Urquhart. "We had a couple of things to clean up structurally and once we got a handle on that, we started to roll a little bit.

"The thing that got the momentum going was Daley's line with Uba and Jordan-Ty Fournier. Every time they were on the ice, they seemed to generate momentum."

Emanuel Vella, a 6-foot-4, 191-pound netminder, stood tall between the pipes for McGill with 18 saves in the first period alone. The 23-year-old management junior from Toronto finished with career-best 38 saves for the win to even his preseason record at 1-1.

"Vella battled hard, right through the whole game and especially in the third period," Urquhart said. "When we were up by a goal early in the third, that's the time when he was at his best and that's what you look for in a good goaltender."

Rounding out the scoring for the Redbirds was Alexandre Gagnon, a sophomore from Gatineau, Que., who was playing in his inaugural game for McGill and tallied his first career collegiate goal at 16:03 of the second period to tie the score at 3-3.

Phil Gilmour, a third-year forward from Montreal, was singled out for a gutsy blocked shot late in the game when the Stingers were pressing hard with an extra attacker.

"It was great to see. He came off the ice and the players told him it was as good as a goal," noted Urquhart.

Concordia markers were scored from the sticks of Charles Tremblay, Paycen Bjorklund and Alexandre Katerinakis.

Thomas Sigouin started in goal for the Stingers and took the loss, conceding four goals on 24 shots.

McGill now holds a 109-105-14 lifetime record in 228 games overall against the Stingers. The Redbirds improved to 2-1 in preseason, while Concordia dropped to 1-2. The rivals have less than 24 hours to recuperate before facing off again on Saturday night in a 7 p.m. start, this time at McConnell Arena.

SCORING SUMMARY

McGILL SCORING LEADERS

SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
m.athletics.mcgill.ca (mobile website)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca