MONTREAL – Vincent Milot-Ouellet of Trois-Rivieres, Que., scored twice as No. 9 ranked UQTR cruised to a 5-1 victory over McGill in OUA men's hockey at McConnell Arena, Friday.
 
It was the home team's second consecutive loss to the Patriotes, who snapped McGill's four-game win streak with a 4-3 comeback win on Wednesday.
 
The Redbirds had a 29-26 advantage in shots but never seemed on an even keel after the first period.

"Our special teams play set us back in the first period," said McGill head coach David Urquhart. "We are looking at this three-game series like a playoff round and using this as a learning experience. We need to take something from this to be prepared for the playoffs. There are a lot of lessons to be learned in a loss."

UQTR opened the scoring on a shorthanded tally by Olivier Garneau of Quebec City, at 4:35 after the initial puck drop. McGill battled back with the equalizer when Brandon Frattaroli, a freshman from Pierrefonds, Que., struck at the 13-minute mark.

But it only took 112 seconds for the Pats to regain the lead on a power-play marker by sophomore Jordan Martel of Chicoutimi, Que.

Milot-Ouellet scored the only goal of the middle frame, upping the count to 3-1 in favour of the visitors. The Pats added a pair of markers just 44 seconds apart early in the final period to put the game on ice, with Simon Lafrance  of St. Eustache, Que., connecting at 1:33, followed by Milot-Ouellet again at 2:17.
 
The contest was delayed more than four minutes to start the second period as the referees were asked to consult the OUA rule book after they had initially ejected McGill's Jordan-Ty Fournier for a check-from-behind minor penalty late in the opening stanza. The refs were applying the Hockey Canada rulebook, which normally calls for a minor and an automatic game misconduct on CFB penalties. But there are some different rules at the U SPORTS level, which call for an automatic 10-minute misconduct to accompany minor CFB infractions (game misconducts accompany major CFB penalties).

When the officials returned to the ice to start the second stanza, they advised both coaches that the automatic penalty would be just a misconduct. Fournier, who had been told by the officials that he was ejected, went to the locker room, showered and changed into his civilian clothing. He was sitting in the Alumni Lounge when someone advised him that he had not been ejected. He appeared to break a McGill sprint record back to the dressing room and returned to the bench, when his misconduct penalty expired midway through the period.
 
McGill was short two regulars in the lineup, including scoring leader Keanu Yamamoto, who was receiving treatment for an undisclosed injury and his status is considered day-to-day. His absence was especially noticeable on special teams, where the Redbirds went 0-for-4 on the power-play and gave up the aforementioned shorty. The Pats were 1-for-2 with the extra attacker.
 
Also missing was spark-plug William Poirier, a sophomore centre from St. Zotique, who was injured in practice on Thursday. Poirier played a key role in McGill's stunning 5-4 come-from-behind shootout win at UQTR on Feb. 23. Trailing 4-2 in that contest with the goaltender pulled for an extra attacker in the dying moments, Poirier scored at 18:37 then assisted on Yamamoto's tying goal at 19:59.

UQTR improved to 9-3-2 in the OUA Far East Division, while the fourth-place Redbirds dropped to 6-10-0. Both teams have two games left before playoffs.
 
In a strange quirk of non-playoff scheduling, the bitter provincial foes were scheduled to meet once again on Sunday in a 4 p.m. confrontation at Le Colisee. However, that game has now been postponed to a date yet to be announced. The teams have crossed paths six times this season, including a pair of preseason contests. McGill is winless on home ice (0-4) against the Pats but undefeated in Trois-Rivieres (2-0).
 
McGill will then close out the regular season by hosting Ottawa on Mar. 11 at 7 p.m., which will mark the last OUA game at McConnell Arena this season. The Redbirds will be seeded eighth in the Eastern Conference playoffs and on the road throughout post-season play, all one-game sudden-death affairs. McGill will meet top-seeded Queen's (14-1-1) in the OUA quarter-final round on Mar. 16 in Kingston.
 
FACES IN THE CROWD: Among those spotted at the game was Earl Hawke, who retired in 2018 after 21 years of sharpening skates, handing equipment and doing laundry for the team… Also on hand was former assistant coach Dino Masanotti, who was part of the staff when McGill won the league championship in 2008, their first Queen's Cup title since 1946… Dr. Wayne Halliwell, who has served as the team's sports psychologist, made an appearance, along with Herb Madill, who captained the team in 1971-72 and went on to serve seven seasons as head coach at McGill, from 1973 to 1979.

SCORING SUMMARY

OUA STATS & STANDINGS

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