OSHAWA – Team captain Alexandre Gagnon scored the winning tally as McGill rallied with two goals in 35 seconds and skated to a 2-1 triumph over the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks in a key OUA men's hockey game at the Campus Ice Centre, Friday.
 
It was the third straight win for McGill, which improved to 17-9-1 with one game remaining before playoffs. The Redbirds now find themselves in a three-way tie with Ontario Tech – which has concluded its schedule at 16-9-3 – and UQTR (17-9-1).
 
All three goals were scored in a wild second-period flurry. The Ridgebacks opened the scoring at 13:03 when Gabriel Bernier tallied his 12th of the season. But McGill roared back with goals from sniper Brandon Frattaroli at 16:08 and Gagnon at 16:43.
 
Frattaroli, a senior from Pierrefonds, Que., now has 20 goals in 27 games to share the national lead in that category with Noel Hutcheson from Queen's and Peter Reynolds of UNB. It's the highest regular season goal total by a McGill player since Francis Verreault-Paul had 21 markers in 23 OUA contests during McGill's 2011-12 national championship season.
 
Ontario Tech had a 22-19 edge in shots and went 1-for-3 on the power-play, while McGill was 0-for-1.
 
Senior goaltender Alexis Shank of Laval, Que., made 21 saves for the win and improved to 13-10 on the season. Ridgebacks rookie netminder Beckett Langkow was credited with 17 saves in a losing cause as his record tumbled to 11-5.
 
McGill closes out its schedule at eighth-place York (7-15-5) on Saturday (Feb. 15) at 2:45 p.m. The Patriotes complete their calendar with a Saturday matinee against visiting Queen's (22-5-0). Should McGill and UQTR achieve the same result on Saturday (i.e. if they both win or both lose), then McGill would hold the tie-breaker over both Ontario Tech and UQTR with more combined regulation and overtime wins (ROW) than either team. But should McGill lose its last game in regulation time, then UQTR could finish ahead with a win (or OT loss).
 
The OUA playoffs are slated to open on Wednesday. The top two teams in each division have earned a first-round bye. The fourth and fifth-place teams will meet in a best-of-three quarter-final series while the other series will pit the sixth-place squad against the third seed (Ottawa). The OUA West playoffs will use an identical format.
 
McGill, which swept its two-game series against Ontario Tech this season, improved to 24-4-0 lifetime against the Ridgebacks.
 
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Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL: 514-983-7012
E-MAIL:earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca