MONTREAL – Veteran defenceman Nicolas Mattinen scored a shorthanded empty net-goal and assisted on the game-winning tally  as the No.7 ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees quadrupled McGill 4-1 in men's university hockey at McConnell Arena, Friday.

It was the sixth straight loss for the youthful Redbirds (1-6) after winning their season-opener at Concordia. The Gee-Gees, who improved to 4-2-1, led 1-0 after the first period and 2-0 after two, then outscored McGill 2-1 in the final stanza.

Daniel Hardie of Georgetown, Ont., opened the scoring at the 2:24 mark. Midway through the second period,  Konnor MacCormick, from Ingleside, Ont., converted a pass from Mattinen, a native of Ottawa, to make it 2-0.

Jordan-Ty Fournier of Dorval, Que., scored the lone Redbirds goal at the 23-second mark of the third period, assisted by Phil Gilmour to narrow the gap to 2-1. But Ottawa snuffed out the momentum swing just 55 seconds later when Max Grondin of Hearst, Ont., restored a two-goal lead for the visitors.

McGill pulled netminder Alexis Shank of Laval, Que., for an extra attacker with 2:27 remaining and Ottawa's Grondin was penalized just four seconds later, so it looked promising for McGill with a 6-on-4 advantage in skaters and the faceoff in the Gee-Gees zone. But 38 seconds later, Ottawa relieved the pressure when Mattinen jumped on a loose puck in front of his net and fired a perfect long shot up the middle that cleared the zone and found its way into the empty net.

The Gee-Gees had a 36-32 edge in shots as Ottawa native Anand Oberoi registered 29 saves for the win.  Shank made 32 saves and took the loss for McGill.

Ottawa went 0-for-6 on the power-play, while McGill was 0-for-4. The Redbirds are really struggling to score this season, ranking last in the 19-team OUA with just 12 goals in seven contests. A perfect example of that was seen in the first period when McGill caught Ottawa napping and ended up on a 4-on-1 breakaway, but failed to negotiate a pass in the Ottawa zone and then fired a shot right at the goalie.

It was Ottawa's second win in as many meetings with the Redbirds this season and their fourth consecutive victory since McGill's last defeated the Gee-Gees, a 4-2 decision on Oct. 25, 2019. The last five meetings between these closely-matched clubs have each featured an empty-net marker in the final minute. McGill is now 106-89-10 lifetime against Ottawa, with nearly identical splits at home (52-44-7) and on the road (52-44-3) and a 2-1-0 McGill advantage in neutral sites. The two teams will tango again in the nation's capital on Sunday (Nov. 28) at 3 p.m.

SCORING SUMMARY

OUA STATS & STANDINGS

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