OSHAWA, ONT – Rookie Xavier Fortin of Mirabel, Que., scored at 3:28 of sudden-death overtime as No.7 ranked McGill rallied for a 4-3 road victory over Ontario Tech in OUA men's hockey at the Campus Ice Centre, Saturday.
 
It was McGill's fourth consecutive win and avenged a 4-3 overtime loss to the Ridgebacks in Montreal last semester. The result improved McGill's lifetime record to 22-4 over Ontario Tech, including a 12-1 mark in Oshawa.
 
More importantly, the victory improved McGill's record to 18-5-2 and maintained a teetering grip with Ottawa (18-5-2) for first-place in the OUA East. The Redbirds clinched a playoff berth in the division after Friday's 7-1 win at York but could still finish anywhere from first to fifth in the nine-team division, with three contests remaining. And looming in the weeds is UQTR (18-5-1), which is just one point behind with a game in hand.
 
William Rouleau of St. Basile de Portneuf, Que., opened the scoring for McGill at 8:14 but the Ridgebacks knotted the score at 1-1 on Cullen McLean's marker at 11:18 before heading into the first intermission. The Redbirds again took the lead when Eric Uba of Kitchener, Ont., potted his team-leading 15th of the season at 5:18 of the middle frame. But a resilient Ontario Tech squad tallied twice – with goals from Alex Drover (7:34) and Sean Ross (13:07) – to hold a 3-2 advantage after two.  McGill rookie Stephane Huard of Blainville, Que., forced overtime when he struck for his eighth goal of the season at 5:29 of the third period.
 
In the 3-on-3 overtime, defenceman Scott Walford shuffled the puck behind his net a few feet over to Rouleau, who found Fortin open on a high-man breakout pass that gave him a clean breakaway and a fairy-tale ending. The speedy, 5-foot-10, 170-pound centre now has five points in his last four games.
 
"They're a really well-structured team and play us hard," said McGill head coach David Urquhart. "There were numerous rush chances throughout the game, so it was kind of fitting that the overtime ended on a play like that. Rouleau missed on a partial breakaway just before that play and ended up being the lone defender back on a 3-on-1 against to break up that play," Urquhart said. "So he was out there for a bit of a long shift and I thought that he would be coming to the bench but all of a sudden, he was on a breakaway again. He was determined not to miss a second chance like that and all the boys were thrilled for him. He's one of the really well-liked guys in the dressing room."
 
Rouleau, with a two-point soiree, is now tied for fifth in the OUA scoring race with 34 points, including a dozen goals, in 25 games. Linemates Brandon Frattaroli and Uba, who also had two points apiece, are hot on his trail with 32 and 29 points, respectively.
 
McGill, which had a slight 28-27 advantage in shots, went 1-for-2 on the power-play and erased all four shorthanded scenarios. The Redbirds continue the lead the nation with a stingy 90.2 per cent penalty-killing efficiency. The team now has the second-best power-play at 32.6 per cent, just behind UBC's 33.1.
 
Sophomore goaltender Alexis Shank made 24 saves for the win, improving his record to 14-6, while William Desmarais also made 24 saves but allowed one more goal as his record tumbled to 11-10.
 
McGill will now turn its attention to the upcoming 36th edition of the Ronald Corey Cup rivalry game at Concordia (16-7-2) on Jan. 31, a date that will mark the team's 147th birthday since playing its first game way back in 1877. McGill has a 19-11-3 edge in Corey Cup play.
 
The Stingers are four points behind McGill in the standings after dropping a pair of games to Queen's (15-7-1) last week. The Redbirds are 2-1 against Concordia this season, including a 4-3 exhibition win, a 4-3 loss in the league opener and a heart-thumping 1-0 conquest in the last rendezvous on Nov. 23, when Shenk turned aside 44 shots to break the school record for most saves in a shutout. The all-time head-to-head record between these cross-town rivals sits deadlocked at 114-114-14 since they first met in 1975.
 
FACES IN THE CROWD: On hand to cheer for the Redbirds was Michelle Nobes (nee Lariviere), a McGill physical education grad and wife of the late Kelly Nobes, who both played and coached at McGill. Accompanying her was daughter Jenny and son Wesley… Spotted at the previous night's game at York was Greg Frazer, who played hockey at McGill from 1976 to 1978 and former McGill rugby player Neil Stephenson, a lawyer who played in the mid-1980s.
 
SCORING SUMMARY
 
OUA STANDINGS & STATS
 
HOW McGILL FARES NATIONALLY

SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-983-7012 (cell.)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca