MONTREAL – William Rouleau of St. Basile de Portneuf, Que., scored two goals, including the game-winner,  as the McGill rallied past the No. 5 ranked UQTR Patriotes 4-1 to help kickoff Homecoming Week at McConnell Arena, Friday.
 
The result halted McGill's three-game losing streak the OUA regular season, improving the team' record to 1-2-1. It also avenged a listless 5-1 loss to the same Patriotes two days earlier.
 
The visitors led 1-0 after the opening period on a goal by centre Felix Lauzon but McGill rebounded in the second period when Rouleau netted his pair, just 23 seconds into the and at the 16:22 mark on a power-play.
 
Three minutes later, sophomore defenceman Maxime Blanchard rifled a goal under the cross-bar at 19:25 on another PP chance to give the Redbirds a 3-1 lead after two periods.
 
The Patriotes pressured McGill in the third, with a 10-2 edge in shots but Brandon Frattaroli relieved the pressure when he hopped on a rebound of McGill goalie Alexis Shank and fired the puck about 180 feet down the ice into an empty-net. Shank, who collected an assist on the play, was very sharp in the McGill net, with 24 saves on 25 shots.
 
The game featured 48 minutes in penalties, including a spirited scrap between McGill senior Adam Pilotte, a 5-foot-8, 170-pound defenceman and UQTR rookie Lois Rafanomezantsoa, a 6-foot-1, 187-pound rearguard. Both were tossed at the 8:01 mark of the second period and will have to serve an automatic one-game suspension.
 
McGill went 2-for-5 on the power-play and killed off all four Pats PP chances. The Redbirds PK unit now leads the 19-team league with 17 consecutive kills to start the season.
 
The victory also marked the first league win for new assistant coach Peter Smith, who was inducted into the McGill Sports Hall of Fame earlier in the day. Smith, joined David Urquhart's coaching staff last month after one year in charge of the PDF's Montreal Force and 20 seasons behind the bench for the McGill women's team.

McGill (1-2-1) will have a week to prepare for its next game, when the undefeated Brock University Badgers (5-0-0) make the long bus trip in from St. Catharines, Ont., on Oct. 27 in a 7 p.m. puck-drop at McConnell Arena.
 
UQTR (3-3-0) will host second-place Queen's (4-1-0) on the same soiree.
 
FACES IN THE CROWD: There was a great turnout of Friends of McGill Hockey alumni from all over the map for the Homecoming affair, with dozens of former McGill hockey players, including new McGill Sports Hall of Fame inductee Francis Verreault-Paul, who came in from Quebec City and was joined by fellow laureates Mark Reade, who flew in from Florida, Michael Richards, who serves as honourary captain of the team, and Martin Raymond, who played five seasons and coached the team for 14 more... Others included former bench boss Ken Tyler, who coached at McGill from 1979 to 1988 and traveled across the pond from his current home in Warsaw, plus former NHL coach Mike Babcock, who flew in from Michigan, Red Kelly, Jr., from Lake Placid, N.Y., Paul Barber from Fenelon Falls, Ont., Mike Wells and Stephane Angers from Toronto, Larry Ruch and Ron Warwaruk, who both drove in from Ottawa, in addition to Montreal-area alums David Urquhart, Patrick Delisle-Houde, Quinn Syrydiuk, Allan Kobelansky, John Harris, Des Senior, Mike Nelson, Benoit Leroux, David Boucher, Dan Gubiani and Ken Covo.
 
SCORING SUMMARY
 
OUA STATS & STANDINGS
 
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL: 514-983-7012
E-MAIL:earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca