MONTREAL -- Sophomore Simon Lafrance of St. Eustache, Que., snapped a 3-3 sawoff with the game-winner at 7:15 of the third period as division-leading UQTR escaped with a disputed 4-3 victory over McGill in OUA men's hockey at McConnell Arena, Wednesday.

The result halted McGill's win streak at four as the fourth-place Redbirds dropped to 6-9-0 with only three games remaining before playoffs. The Patriotes improved their first-place record to 8-3-2 in the OUA Far East division.

McGill appeared to tie the score at 10:26 of the final period when freshman Alex Plamondon of Drummondville, Que., redirected a puck into the net with his skate but the officials ruled that there had been a kicking motion. Replays appeared to show otherwise but they are not admissible in university hockey.

"Perhaps we deserved a better fate," said McGill head coach David Urquhart. "That (play) was exactly what you ask your guys to do, get to the hard areas in front of the net, to the blue paint and get rewarded. It was an unfortunate call on that disallowed goal. Probably, if we had instant replay, then the refs would have made a different decision on it. But we don't have that here, so in circumstances like that, you've got to find a way to get another one. Once again, we fought right to the end but you don't want to keep putting yourself in that position because that's a tough way to play hockey."

The position that Urquhart was referring to was another 2-0 deficit in the first period. McGill has conceded the first goal in nine of their 15 games. A faceoff win for UQTR led to a high shot from third-year defenceman Samuel Hould of Trois-Rivieres, Que., who tallied his first of the season to give the Patriotes a 1-0 lead at 5:05 of the first period. Hould then set up fellow rearguard David Noel of Quebec City, for a rocket-like shot, his first of the campaign, at 14:26.

Unrattled, McGill reduced the gap when veteran forward Jordan-Ty Fournier of Dorval, Que., jumped on a turnover forced by Drew Bennett in the Redbirds zone, raced all the way down the ice on a breakaway and beat goaltender Alexis Gravel of Asbestos, Que., with a nifty wrist shot for an unassisted shorthanded goal at 19:04. That salvaged an opening stanza that had the Pats outshooting McGill 16-3.

"We've got to have a better start, when you spot a good team a two-goal lead, it's always tough," Urquhart said. "That said, we showed a lot of character coming back. The shorthanded goal brought us some life and we came out in the second like the team that we are. We're not a group that will beat good opponents with skill but we can defeat them by working harder. And that's what we did in the second and third periods."

McGill evened the count at 2-2 when rearguard Scott Walford of Coquitlam, B.C., converted passes from centre Brandon Frattaroli, who won the faceoff, and winger Keanu Yamamoto, on a power-play slapshot at 2:56 of the middle frame. The tide had definitely turned for the Redbirds, who then took a 3-2 advantage a few minutes later when the aforementioned Drew Bennett, a rookie forward from Mount Pearl, Nfld., struck at 8:36. It was the first career marker for the 22-year-old arts freshman, who is believed to be the only Newfoundlander in team history. Defenceman Mitchell Prowse and forward Brandon Skubel drew assists on that play.

But Skubel took a late holding penalty at 17:34 and 28 seconds later, UQTR's Jordan Martel of Chicoutimi, Que., connected on the ensuing power-play to send the teams into the final stanza knotted at 3-3.

The Patriotes outshot McGill 44-27 and both teams went 1-for-4 on the power-play. Gravel registered 24 saves for the win, improving his record to 6-3. McGill starter Emanuel Vella made an OUA career-high 40 saves in a losing cause as his record fell to 2-3. Vella, a management junior from Toronto, previously had a higher save total in an exhibition game during his freshman year, posting 43 saves in a 4-1 win over UQTR on Sept. 29, 2019.

The Pats upped their lifetime record against McGill to 166-91-17 since they first met in 1969, including a 117-60-16 record in regular season play. This season, the bitter foes are 2-2 against each other, including two preseason contests, with both McGill victories occurring on the road in Trois-Rivieres.

The provincial rivals will tango once again on Friday night back at McConnell Arena (7 p.m.) and then back in Trois-Rivieres on Mar. 6.

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OUA STATS & STANDINGS

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