TROIS-RIVIERES – Forward William Dumoulin scored twice for UQTR as the Patriotes finally figured out how to beat No. 6 ranked McGill with a 5-3 victory in OUA men's hockey at Le Colisee, Friday.
 
The result snapped McGill's four-game win streak and was UQTR's first win in five tries against the Redbirds this season. The sixth-place Pats improved to 12-9-0 and moved into a tie with McGill (12-7-0), although the Redbirds hold two games in hand with nine left to play. Only five points separate third-place from seventh in the nine-team OUA East Division.
 
The game featured four power-play goals, with UQTR going 3-for-6 and McGill connecting on one of five chances.
 
Other scorers for the Pats included forwards Zachary Gravel, Charles Beaudoin and Mathis Cloutier, whose empty-netter at 19:35 put the contest out of reach for the visitors.
 
McGill marksmen were veteran Brandon Frattaroli of Pierrefonds, Que., and Charles-Antoine Dumont, a sophomore from Levis, Que.
 
Frattaroli continues to lead the Redbirds in scoring with a 14-8-22 record in 19 regular season games. He ranks second among OUA goal leaders, two behind Nolan Hutcheson from Queen's and sits eighth in the OUA points race. Frattaroli has an active five-game point streak and has found the back of the net in six of his last eight contests. His career totals now stand at 55-71-126 in 123 games overall.
 
In a see-saw defensive struggle, the Patriotes held a slim 22-21 lead in shots on goal, including a tepid 4-3 edge in the final stanza. Goaltender William Grimard made 18 saves for the win, while Alexis Shank registered 17 stops and took the loss.
 
UQTR now leads the lifetime series with McGill, posting a 179-101-17 record in 297 head-to-head confrontations since they first met in 1969. But over the last 20 years, McGill has a 63-53-3 advantage.  

UQTR has seven games left to play on its schedule, including the final four at home. The Pats, who could still miss the playoffs, will now begin a three-game road trip with stops at York (Jan. 25), Windsor (Jan. 31) and Western (Feb. 1).
 
The Redbirds now turns their focus to a critical home-and-home series with the second-place Queen's Gaels (16-3-0), who will be in town on Saturday (Jan. 18) for an 8 p.m. faceoff at the Centre d'Excellence Sports Rousseau in Boisbriand, Que.
 
This will be the first rendezvous of the season between these long-time foes in a rivalry that dates back 130 years, to 1895. McGill leads the all-time series with a 136-56-2 overall record, winning the last six meetings against Queen's since a 4-2 loss at McConnell Arena on Oct. 13, 2021.
 
They will then meet again next week in Kingston, on Jan. 25 at the Memorial Centre. A two-game sweep for McGill would put the Redbirds four points behind the Gaels with seven games remaining before playoffs. A split would give Queen's an eight-point lead to all but assure that they finish ahead of the Redbirds.
 
Saturday's confrontation with Queen's will be preceded by a QMJHL game at 4 p.m., between the hometown Armada and Halifax Mooseheads. The Armada is offering both games on the same ticket, which ranges between $16 and $30. Tickets are available online at the Armada website or at the door see link below).
 
The move to a neutral site was made because Place Bell, McGill's interim home rink for the season, was unavailable this weekend. After looking at other venues, the next best option proved to be at this rink which serves as home of the QMJHL's Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, a team which is co-owned by Pierre Gendron, a McGill Sports Hall of Fame inductee who skated in the university ranks from 1994 to 1997.
 
REDBIRDS RAP: Both McGill and UQTR were missing two frontline players and the Redbirds were also without the services of head coach David Urquhart as all are currently overseas as part of Team Canada's entry to the FISU World University Winter Games in Torino, Italy. The McGill contingent includes junior forwards Mathieu Gagnon and William Rouleau. Gagnon has tallied one goal and one assist in his four games with Team Canada, while Rouleau is still looking for his first point. Canada posted a 3-0-1 record in pool play with an 11-0 win over South Korea, a 2-1 OTS loss to Czechia, a 4-3 OTS win over Kazakhstan and an 8-4 victory over Sweden. Canada will meet Japan in a quarter-final on Jan. 19… The semifinals are slated for Jan. 21 and the medal games are set for Jan. 22. The Canadian entourage is scheduled to fly back on Jan. 23.

LINK TO TICKETS VS QUEEN'S (JAN. 18)

SCORING SUMMARY

OUA STATS & STANDINGS
 
FISU WINTER GAMES WEBSITE

SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
McGill Athletics and Recreation
(514) 983- 7012
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
www.mcgillathletics.ca