MONTREAL – Felix Lafrance scored a shorthanded goal and assisted on an empty-netter as No. 2 ranked UQTR defeated the No. 5 McGill men's hockey team 4-2 in Game 1 of the OUA East best-of-three final series before more than 500 at McConnell Arena, Wednesday.
 
The Patriotes are now in position to sweep the series in Game 2 on Friday (Mar. 1) at the Colisee Jean-Guy Talbot. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. A McGill victory would force a rubber match to be played back at McConnell Arena on Sunday (Mar. 3) at 7 p.m.
 
The result halted McGill's nine-game win streak and ended the team's 13-game undefeated sequence at McConnell. It was the third longest home-ice streak in team history, behind previous highs of 24 and 17 wins, which were both established over two seasons.
 
McGill had a 27-22 edge in shots but the Pats took advantage of several breaks to take a 2-0 lead after the opening period. The first came on a borderline high-stick deflection by Charles Beaudoin at 11:49. That was followed by Lafrance's aforementioned "shorty", which was scored at 17:05 from a sharp angle along the boards into a vacated net when he outraced charging McGill goaltender Alexis Shank in a chase for a loose puck.
 
The Redbirds pushed back with a 14-7 margin in shots in the second period, which they won 2-1 on goals by forward Eric Uba on the power-play at 5:45 and defenceman Taylor Ford at 9:11, sandwiched around one by Pats forward Anthony Munroe-Boucher at 7:52.

"Playoffs is about resiliency and we've shown it throughout the year," said Ford –a fifth-year veteran who was playing in his 154th career game – on the McGill Streaming Network's post-game show. "A lot of our guys have been together for a few years now, so we're really confident in ourselves and about going into their barn on Friday. Its an elimination game (in this series) but we're confident in our abilities. We finished first for a reason... Our backs are against the wall and we haven't been there this season. It's going to be exciting to see how we respond."

It was the first career playoff marker for the team captain who now has five goals this season after four scoreless campaigns.
 
The third period was scoreless until the final minute, when McGill pulled the goalie for an extra attacker and just two seconds after he reached the bench, Felix Lauzon found the empty net.
 
Pats goalie Alexis Gravel turned aside 25 of 27 shots to collect the win, while Shank saved 18 of 21 shots for the loss.
 
McGill was 1-for-4 on the power-play and gave up the shorthanded tally. The Redbirds also snuffed out all three penalties taken. McGill's PP unit is now 3-for-9 in the series, while the PK unit is an unblemished 10-for-10.

"We had a couple of good shifts to get the ball rolling and then I don't think that we played our game in the first period," said McGill head coach David Urquhart. "Once we started to play our way in the second, we could feel the momentum and pressure shift and we had them on their heels. But when you're playing a team that's ranked second in the country, you can't have any breaks in your game. You have to play to your best on every shift, every period, for the whole 60 minutes. So that's the lesson that we can take from this game.

"Playoff hockey, at the peak of your game, you gotta play at your best and there is no room for any lack on the defensive side. The good thing is that there's a quick turnaround. We will take a look at the video, practice on Thursday and then focus on Friday's game. It was a tightly played, one-goal game and you've really got to fight for your breaks and that's what we'll do in Game 2."

FACES IN THE CROWD: Among the many McGill hockey alumni spotted in attendance was Jerome Verrier, David Gourde, Jocelyn Perreault, Jasmin Boutet, Louis-Philip Guindon, Neal Prokup, Jeremy Belisle, Alex Sills, Alexandre Tremblay, Pierre-Olivier Bousquet, Greg Frazer, Herb Madill, Allan Kobelansky, Ken Covo, Dan Gubiani, Charles Gauthier, Jan Kaminsky, Alex Sills, Mike Nelson and former assistant coach Dino Masanotti.

SCORING SUMMARY

OUA FINAL STANDINGS & STATS
 
McGILL REG. SEASON SCORING LEADERS

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