TROIS-RIVIERES – Goaltender Alexis Gravel kicked out all 39 saves as UQTR extended their win streak to nine with a 2-0 whitewash over McGill in OUA men's hockey at the Colisée de Jean-Guy Talbot, Wednesday.
 
The visiting Redbirds had a lopsided 39-21 edge in shots but were unable to solve Gravel, a 6-foot-4, 218-pound netminder from Asbestos, Que., who posted his league-leading fourth shutout of the season and upped his record to 13-1.
 
McGill, which entered the contest as the least penalized team in the OUA East, took 26 of the 40 penalty minutes called. UQTR went 2-for-6 on the power-play, while the Redbirds went 0-for-5.
 
Defenceman David Noel notched the winning tally at 10:28 of the first period and set up right-winger Felix Lafrance, who added his 13th goal of the season, for an insurance marker at 7:48 of the final period.
 
Sophomore Alexis Shank turned aside 19 of 21 shots in a losing cause for the Redbirds, as his record fell to 6-5.

The result gives the Pats a 3-2 edge over McGill with one confrontation left to play. The Pats have a lifetime record of 171-93-17 against McGill since they first met in 1969, including a 120-61-16 mark in regular season play.

it marked the second consecutive game that McGill was without the services of workhorse defenceman Scott Walford, who has three assists in five games while on loan to the Canadian university all-star squad playing at the FISU World University Games in upper-state New York. 

The Patriotes have three players at the Games, including defenceman Justin Bergeron, along with forwards Simon Lafrance and Zachary Lavigne. With a 4-0 win over Czechia in Potsdam, N.Y., on Wednesday, Canada improved to 5-0 and has clinched the top seed in their pool. The squad moves on to Lake Placid for a semifinal on Saturday.

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The division-leading Patriotes improved to 17-3-0 and now sit seven points ahead of second-place Ontario Tech (12-5-3). With six games left before playoffs, the Ridebacks are one point ahead of Concordia (13-7-0) and two ahead of McGill (11-6-3 in the OUA East. The top six teams will qualify for post-season play, with a first-round bye going to the top two squads.

UQTR returns to Montreal on Saturday for their third meeting in 17 days with McGill in a 7 p.m. start at McConnell Arena.
 
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SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
@EarlZukerman (twitter)