MONTREAL – Defenceman Scott Walford, a Montreal Canadiens draft pick from Coquitlam, B.C., scored at 40 seconds of sudden-death overtime as McGill rallied with a pair of late goals to ruffle the feathers of the visiting Carleton Ravens, at McConnell Arena, Friday. It was the third straight win for McGill (5-8-0) and their fourth in the last five.

Trailing 2-1 in the final minute of the third period, McGill used the pull-the-goalie gambit and it paid dividends for the second consecutive outing. Power-forward Jordan-Ty Fournier of Dorval, Que., notched the equalizer at 19:43 to set the stage for Walford's winner -- assisted by forward Keanu Yamamoto and goaltender Emanuel Vella --  just 57 seconds later.

It was almost a carbon-copy of McGill's 5-4 shootout win at UQTR two days earlier. In that one, The Redbirds were trailing 4-2 and pulled the goalie to score twice in the dying moments, at 18:37 and 19:59.

"Part of (our recent success) is the confidence built from the last game, rolling into tonight and knowing that in a 6-on-5 scenario, we can come back and we're not out of it," said McGill bench boss David Urquhart. "We talked about it between periods, that it takes 60 minutes to win, sometimes it takes 67 (with a full overtime). And when you get into games like this, where it's really tight and both goalies playing real well, you gotta play to the last second."

The game-winning tally proved to be the first regular season goal for Walford, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound rearguard who was recruited out of the WHL, where he scored a combined 30 goals over five seasons for Victoria and Saskatoon. The 23-year-old economics sophomore was the Habs third-round draft pick in 2017.

"Walford's been outstanding for us the last few games," Urquhart noted. "He's played a ton of minutes, in all situations and he's a huge part of the success we've had. So it's great to see him chip in with his first goal."

Yamamoto sparked the offence once again. The speedy centre from Spokane, Wash., assisted on all three goals. After not having a McGill player listed among the OUA's top 100 point-getters late last November, Yamamoto has turned red-hot and now sits tied for seventh among league leaders with a 5-10-15 record in 15 games.

McGill held a 42-31 edge in shots, including a 19-8 blitzkrieg in third period. The Redbirds were 0-for-3 on the power-play and erased three of four shorthanded situations.

Vella, a 6-foot-4, 191-pound junior from Toronto, who merited his third career assist in 18 games overall, earned the start between the pipes and shone like a beacon for the second straight outing. He made 29 saves to even his record at 2-2 in OUA play. At the other end of the ice, Mark Grametbauer of Halifax made 39 saves in a losing cause as his record fell to 3-4.

With five games left to play, McGill's magic number to clinch a playoff berth ahead of RMC (1-11-3) is one point. The Redbirds (5-8-0) are also one point behind fourth-place Carleton (4-2-3) and the two teams will tango again in less than 24 hours, at the Carleton Ice House in a 7 p.m. start. McGill is 39-30-1 lifetime against Carleton, dating back to 1968.

Due to a shortened calendar, the OUA playoff format is more complicated this season than usual. The four divisions will be separated into two conferences, East and West. Because of an unbalanced schedule, the teams will be seeded by winning percentage (not points) and eight out of the nine Eastern Conference teams will qualify for post season play. The OUA Western conference will have eight of 10 teams qualifying.

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SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
TEL: 514-398-7012
EMAIL: earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca