NORTH YORK, ONT – Brandon Frattaroli of Pierrefonds, Que., scored his league-leading 21st goal and added an assist to give McGill a 2-1 victory over York as the OUA men's hockey regular season wrapped up for both teams at the Canlan Sports complex, Saturday.
The result clinched fourth place in the OUA East for McGill (18-9-1) and assured the Redbirds of hosting fifth-place UQTR (18-9-1) in the opener of a best-of-three quarter-final series on Wednesday (Feb. 19). The other OUA East quarter-final series pits sixth-place Ontario Tech against third-seeded Ottawa. The top two seeded teams – Concordia and Queen's – received a first-round bye.
"With back-to-back 2-1 wins this weekend, it was playoff style hockey already and gave us a good taste of what it's like to be in these one-goal games and find a way to win," said McGill head coach David Urquhart. "We only gave up two goals over the weekend and that's the kind of hockey we need to play in the post-season."
McGill improved its lifetime record to 26-12-6 overall against York as the Lions finished eighth in the nine-team division with a 7-16-5 record and missed the playoffs.
The Redbirds had a 36-11 advantage in shots, including a bizarre 9-1 margin in the final period. McGill was 0-for-5 on the power-play and snuffed out both shorthanded situations.
After a scoreless first period, Frattaroli corralled a high lobbed pass from defenceman Xavier Bouchard and fed the puck to rookie Maxime Pellerin of Victoriaville, Que., who scored his 10th of the season at 6:16 of the middle frame. York evened the count at 11:55 when Keeton Oakley found the back of the net. Frattaroli netted his game-winner at 3:13 of the final stanza, assisted by Pellerin and Zach Gallant.
"It was great to see 'Frats' continue to find different ways to score," Urquhart said. "He's been playing so strong down the stretch. He is creating opportunities by outworking guys, tracking back hard on pucks and playing a real physical style of hockey. It's really tough to defend and great to see him rewarded with success."
The 21 goals in 28 games by Frattaroli tied for tops in the nation this season, along with UNB's Peter Reynolds, who played in two more contests. It is the most markers by a McGillian since Francis Verreault-Paul led the nation with 28 in 2010-11 and was fourth time that McGill has had the leading goal-scorer in Canada, a select group that also includes Mathieu Darche (27 in 26 games, 1999-00) and Tim Iannone (35 in 25 games, 1987-88).
Frattaroli finished third in the OUA points race with 34, including 13 assists. He scored six power-play goals and three game-winners.
Goaltender Fabio Iacobo merited the start between the pipes for McGill, his first appearance since starting on Nov. 30, 2024 in a 6-3 win over Toronto. He made 19 saves on 11 shots, improved to 5-0 on the season and 9-1 in OUA play over his three seasons.
"Fabio was coming into the game after a long layoff and was outstanding on the chances that they had against him," noted Urquhart. "Especially early in the game where he had to make a couple of good saves. He was big, confident and on his game."
Carter Serhyenko made 34 saves in a losing cause for York.
McGill's regular season win total of 18 was three less than last season but the team's second-highest total since 2017-18 when they had 22. McGill's .661 winning percentage marked the 19th time in 20 years that the team has surpassed the .500 plateau.
Now the attention turns towards what is arguably one of hockey's greatest collegiate rivalries. McGill and UQTR have crossed paths in 23 previous playoff series, with UQTR winning 15 of them but McGill has prevailed in eight of the last 12 series. In 53 post-season games, the Pats have a 31-22 advantage. This season, they have met five times, with the Redbirds winning four, including a pair of preseason contests.
REDBIRDS RAP: Team captain Alexandre Gagnon finished the regular season with no penalty minutes in 25 games played. It marked the first time that a McGill skater had no PIMs (and played more than 50 per cent of the schedule) since 2012-13 when right winger Max Le Sieur posted a penalty-free campaign in 28 contests.
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Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL: 514-983-7012
E-MAIL:earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
