WINDSOR, ONT – It wasn't the belated birthday present that the McGill University men's hockey team wanted. Playing for the first time since the program turned 148 years old a day earlier, the No. 6 ranked Redbirds suffered a 6-5 setback to Windsor, Saturday.
 
It was McGill's first game at Windsor since 2019 and the result dropped the team's lifetime record against the Lancers to 13-10 overall.
 
Keegan McMullen scored twice and added a pair of assists as Windsor pounced on the unsuspecting Redbirds at the Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex.
 
Zach Gallant paced the visitors with two goals and a helper in a losing cause. Teammate Mathieu Gagnon put the Montrealers ahead first but the team watched in horror as Windsor rallied to take a 3-1 lead into the first intermission. McGill rebounded, however, to create a 4-4 deadlock after two.
 
But a major checking-to-the-head infraction called at 1:07 of the third period against seldom penalized rookie Maxime Pellerin knocked the wind out of McGill's sails. Pellerin had entered the day with only 14 penalty minutes in 22 games but collected another 15 PIMs in this contest, including an automatic ejection that accompanies a major. In a video replay, it appeared to be a glancing shoulder-on-shoulder hit but the Windsor player fell awkwardly and suffered a minor facial laceration.
 
In the ensuing moments, Gallant missed converting a 2-on-1 with what would have been a shorthanded marker. Windsor then rushed up ice and Johnny Ulciny scored a power-play marker at 4:25. The Redbirds killed of the remainder of the penalty but fell behind by two again when McMullen struck again at 12:23 with his 14th of the season.
 
Xavier Fortin responded for McGill with his second of the contest at 16:12 but that was all the Redbirds could muster in the final stanza.
 
"We showed a lot of character coming back to tie the score and battled back again late in the game with a chance to tie it after our goalie was pulled for an extra attacker but we just don't want to put ourselves in that situation too many times, because it can easily bite you, and that's what happened today," said McGill head coach David Urquhart. "The recipe is having a better start and managing the puck better early on, which allows us to play our own game. Its always more difficult to win when you are playing from behind."
 
The other Windsor marksmen were Ty Toews, Will Ennis and Dylan Schives.
 
McGill, which had a 34-24 edge in shots, went 1-for-2 on the power-play, while the Lancers were 1-for-3.
 
Windsor goaltender Nathan Torchia made 29 saves for the win, while McGill's Alexis Shank was credited with 18 saves and took the loss.
 
The 11 goals were the highest combined score in a McGill game since last season in a 6-5 win at Waterloo (Nov. 18, 2023). The five McGill markers matched the team's highest output of the current season and were the most in a losing cause since an 11-5 setback at UQTR on Nov. 8, 2023.
 
With only two weekends of play remaining, the result put a crimp on McGill's hopes for a third-place finish in the OUA East. The Redbirds dropped into sixth place with a 14-9-0 record and have just five games left before playoffs. They sit four points behind third-place Ottawa (15-6-2), three behind Ontario Tech (14-8-3) and one behind UQTR (14-9-1).
 
Windsor, which improved to 14-10-0, sits fourth in the OUA West, two points behind Lakehead (14-8-2) and three ahead of Western (12-10-1) and Waterloo (10-9-5).
 
The Redbirds wrap up their lengthy weekend road trip with a Sunday matinee at Western (3 p.m.) in London. McGill has a 20-18-3 record in 41 lifetime meetings with the Mustangs.

"We can't sit on that loss too long as we have a big game against Western to focus on now," Urquhart noted. "We're in a tight playoff race, so every game is very important now."

SCORING SUMMARY
 
OUA STATS & STANDINGS

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