TORONTO – A momentary lapse of reason proved costly for the No.9 ranked McGill men's hockey team against the Toronto Metropolitan University Bold, Saturday.

The Redbirds took a precarious 2-1 lead into the final period but TMU rallied with two goals in 48 seconds, then they added a pair of late empty-netters to skate away with a 5-2 victory at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. Formerly known as Maple Leaf Gardens, the venue is slated to host the U SPORTS national championship tournament in March.
 
The Bold's victory snapped McGill's modest three-game win streak and avenged a 4-0 shutout in their last rendezvous with the Redbirds during the preseason. McGill, which has dropped two of three meetings this season, owns a healthy 44-12-1 record in 57 head-to-head match-ups overall with the Toronto-based institution since the series was initiated in 1980.
 
More importantly, McGill dropped to 14-5-2 and lost high ground in its heated battle for top spot in the OUA East. UQTR and Ottawa share the division lead with identical 15-5-1 records. The Redbirds and Concordia Stingers sit just one point in arrears, with identical 14-5-2 records. All four teams have eight games remaining before playoffs.

TMU moved into third place in the OUA West with a 13-6-1 record, two points behind second-place Toronto (14-6-1).
 
The Bold led 1-0 after the first period on William Portokalis' fourth of the season. McGill rallied for a 2-1 lead after two when junior Zach Gallant of Oakville, Ont., struck for his seventh of the campaign at the 4:12 mark and Patrick Larkin notched his third goal just 41 seconds later. The sophomore forward from England is now 30 goals behind his Hall of Fame father Bryan Larkin, who patrolled the McGill blue line from 1988 to 1991.
 
The tide turned in the third period when TMU's Ian Martin and Kyle Bollers scored at 2:29 and 3:17, respectively. McGill pulled its goalie in the dying minutes but that backfired when TMU added a pair of empty net goals from the sticks of Elijah Roberts (18:10) and Bollers (19:43).

"The lesson learned from this game is that on back-to-back nights against really good teams, our preparation recovery has to be top notch," said McGill bench boss David Urquhart.  "And we weren't sharp in the first period. We have another trip coming up to Toronto in two weeks where we will have to adjust our physical and emotional preparation to be at our best for two nights in a row."

In an evenly-matched game, the Bold had a 32-29 edge in shots. The Redbirds were 0-for-4 on the power-play and held TMU scoreless in five attempts.
 
TMR goaltender Ryan Duggas saved 27 of 29 to collect the win and improved to 3-0 on the season.
 
McGill starter Alexis Shank made his 10th consecutive start but was shaken up in a goal-mouth collision when a TMU player cross-checked McGill defenceman Scott Walford into the netminder midway through the second period. Shank left the game for the next three minutes and 23 seconds, which gave reserve netminder Oscar Carsley, an economics senior from Toronto, an opportunity to get into his first-ever game with the Redbirds in front of family members. The six-foot, 180-pounder didn't disappoint and was credited with an unblemished three save performance before the Redbirds starter was deemed okay to return. Shenk finished the contest and ended up with 24 saves on 27 shots as his record dropped to 11-5-1.
 
McGill will now return to the friendly confines of McConnell Arena, where they have good karma and a 10-2-1 record overall, including an active nine-game win streak. The team's next challenge will be a critical confrontation against the Ottawa Gee-Gees in a first-place showdown on Friday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. The teams have met only once this season with Ottawa winning 2-1 in an overtime shootout on Dec. 5 in the nation's capital. McGill owns a 110-94-10 lifetime record against the Gee-Gees since they first met in 1968.
 
BOXSCORE
 
OUA STATS & STANDINGS
 
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
McGill University Athletics & Recreation
514-983-7012 (cell)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca