LAVAL, QUE – Sophomore defenceman Thomas Belzile scored the game-winner with less than nine minutes remaining as McGill rallied with four consecutive goals in the final period to outlast the visiting Guelph Gryphons 6-5 in a wild OUA men's hockey game at Place Bell, Friday.
 
It was McGill's eighth straight win against Guelph as the Redbirds improved to 33-13-5 overall in a head-to-head series that dates to the first rendezvous in 1965. It also marked the 13th time in 51 lifetime meetings that these high-octane rivals have combined to score at least 11 goals in a game.
 
The teams were knotted at 1-1 after the first period and Guelph led 3-1 after two. The Gryphons scored early in the third to take a two-goal cushion but McGill roared back with four consecutive goals, at 4:16, 6:46, 11:03 and 11:22. The Gryphons narrowed the gap to 6-5 at 11:33 and it was a nail-biter finish.
 
The 2024-25 edition of the Redbirds has proven time and time again to be a slow starter and strong finisher.. Over 25 regular season contests to date, McGill has scored 23 goals in the first period, 30 in the middle stanza, 44 in the third and one in overtime.

"Today our third period comeback was out of necessity," said McGill head coach David Urquhart. "Before the game I was looking at Major League Baseball's all-time leaders in singles, guys like Pete Rose and Tony Gwynn. That's what we want our group to do, hit singles and grind other teams down. When we get away from that and try to hit home runs, that's where we get into trouble. So we need to be more like Rose and Gwynn.

"When you look at that third period tonight, we did the little things. We stopped pucks in shooting lanes and got pucks behind their defence. It was nothing really fancy or special. But when you go for home runs, then that's when you end up opening up the game and creating scoring chances, both ways. and playing high-(stakes) hockey. That's not the brand of hockey that we want to play and something that we've got to clean up. That said, you've got to give our guys a lot of credit for coming together in the third period. It's about doing whatever it takes, finding a way to get back in the game. It shows that our guys have a lot of heart, character and they are there for each other."

The game featured a plethora of scoring in quick succession and that became obvious right from the opening faceoff as both teams scored before the game was two minutes old.
 
Belzile, a 6-foot-2, 193-pound rearguard, fired his winning strike from the blue line at 11:22 of the third period to cap McGill's four-goal rally and put the Redbirds ahead 6-4. The 22-year-old economics sophomore from Ste. Julie, Que., was recruited from the QMJHL where he toiled for Victoriaville and Rouyn-Noranda.

He was one of six different McGill marksmen to find their target, including goals by Charles Boutin, Alexandre Gagnon, Stephane Huard, Zach Gallant and Brandon Frattaroli.
 
Five different snipers replied for Guelph, namely forwards Anthony tabak, Giordana Biondi, Jacob Winterton, Nolan Forster and defenceman Anthony issaris.
 
The Redbirds, who had a 47-32 edge in shots on net, went 1-for-2 on the power-play,while Guelph was 0-for-2.
 
It was a challenging night for the goaltenders. McGill's Alexis Shank made 27 saves for the win, while Guelph's Cal Schnell was credited with 41 saves in a losing cause.
 
The result improved McGill's record to 15-9-1 as the Redbirds kept pace with UQTR (15-9-1) for fifth place in the nine-team OUA East. With three games remaining, McGill can still finish anywhere from third to seventh. The top six teams qualify for playoffs, with the first four earning home-ice advantage in their first round.
 
On the other side of the ledger, the loss was a costly one for Guelph (12-13-0), which sits seventh in the OUA West and three points behind the last playoff spot held by Waterloo (11-8-5).
 
Both teams have less than 24 hours to recuperate. Guelph has a 4 p.m. showdown on Saturday (Feb. 8) at UQTR, while McGill will host the Lakehead Thunderwolves from Thunder Bay, Ont., in a 7:30 p.m. faceoff at the Place Bell Community Arena.
 
SCORING SUMMARY
 
OUA STATS & STANDINGS
 
SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL: 514-983-7012
E-MAIL:earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca