MONTREAL – Brandon Skubel of Niagara Falls, Ont., registered his first career hat-trick for McGill as the Redbirds closed out the semester by clobbering Concordia 7-3 in OUA men's hockey to claim the 34th edition of the Ronald Corey Cup rivalry game at the Ed Meagher Arena, Saturday.

The result snapped a seven-game losing streak for the Redbirds (2-7-0) and book-ended their semester with a similar result to the way it started, posting an all-important win over their cross-town rivals. It was the second straight Corey Cup conquest for McGill which improved to 19-10-3 in the series, named after the former president of the Montreal Canadiens who donated the trophy in 1988, for an annual challenge game that represents local college hockey supremacy. The Stingers are 11-20-3 in Cup play, including a 1-1 record against UQTR.

"That's the finish that we wanted and it closes the chapter on that first semester," said head coach David Urquhart. "We've seen how hard it is to get wins in this league and over the last couple of games, we've seen the recipe for what it takes to succeed.And that's something that we will take forward into the break, knowing that we can do it and put the ingredients together for the recipe to win."

Skubel, a six-foot, 205-pound right-winger who played junior for Drummondville in the QMJHL, gave McGill a 1-0 lead at the 6:08 mark of the game, then put his troops ahead 2-1 only 17 seconds after the first intermission. He completed the hat-trick with an empty-netter at 18:46 of the third.

"We've been struggling for a bit so getting that win was extremely huge for us, especially because it will be a tight playoff race," said Skubel, a 22-year-old arts sophomore who is technically still a rookie in his first year year of eligibility. "(With 34 years of Corey Cup play) it has a rich history in Montreal and I'm glad that we were able to make our mark on it... It was a huge positive for the boys, we're all buzzing right now and it was great to get the two points."

The were 17 penalties called in the game, nine of which were issued to the Redbirds. McGill was 1-for-5 on the power-play, while Concordia went 2-for-6.

"Skubel was really good tonight, on both sides of the puck," noted Urquhart. "He's a guy that we go to on the penalty-kill every night and he was outstanding on the PK tonight. And the type of goals that he scored tonight are the kind that it takes to score at this level. That's going to the net, being there for a second chance and being opportunistic around that scoring area."

Senior Keanu Yamamoto of Spokane Wash., also had a productive soiree with his first two goals of the regular season, in addition to an assist on a marker from the stick of Kitchener, Ont., native Eric Uba, who connected for his team-leading fifth of the OUA season.

Rounding out the scoring for the visitors was William Poirier, a sophomore forward from St. Zotique, Que., who put McGill ahead 4-2 with what proved to be the game-winning tally at 5:39 of the final period.

Defenceman Bradley Lalonde of Montreal, paced the Stingers with one goal and one assist. Other marksmen were forwards Maxim Trepanier of Candiac, Que., and Chase Harwell of Southbury, Conn.
 
Both sides managed 37 shots on goal, with McGill goaltender Alexis Shank of Laval, Que., posting 34 saves for the win. Stingers netminder Thomas Sigouin was beaten six times, made 26 saves and took the loss. He was relieved by Jacob Delorme who saved all four shots faced over the final 10 minutes.

Including non-conference play, McGill is now 3-3 with Concordia this season and 111-108-14 lifetime. The bitter rivals are slated to cross paths one more time before post-season play, on Jan. 28 at McConnell Arena.

Eleven games remain in the shortened regular season for McGill, which now sits five points behind Concordia (4-3-1), currently in the final playoff berth in the OUA Far East division. The Redbirds will have a 25-day break for exams and holidays before returning to the ice for an exhibition game in Fredericton against No.1-ranked UNB on Dec. 30. The Stingers will resume their schedule with a home-and-home exhibition series against UQTR, Dec. 29-30.

THE LAST TIME: The seven goals scored by McGill was their most in a regular season game since a 7-4 home-ice win over Queen's on Nov. 2, 2019... The last time they accomplished the feat on the road was in an 8-3 conquest over Laurentian, in Sudbury, on Nov. 19, 2017... The last time that McGill scored seven against Concordia was in a 9-2 home playoff win on Feb. 17, 2016... The last time that McGill reached the seven-goal plateau in a road game at Concordia was 11 years ago in an 11-0 win on Jan. 31, 2010... The last time that any team scored seven goals in a Corey Cup game was an 8-7 Concordia victory on Jan. 18, 1996.

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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