CIS men's hockey Tuesday roundup: Pats edge under-manned Redmen pucksters in overtime shootout

Source: Earl Zukerman, McGill Sports Info / Photo credit: Derek Drummond

TROIS-RIVIERES - Charles Bety of St. Bernard de Beauce, Que., scored the decisive goal in a post-overtime shootout as No.7-ranked UQTR edged the visiting McGill Redmen 3-2 in OUA hockey before a Carnival Game crowd of 512 at Le Colisee, Tuesday.

Trois-Rivieres took the lead twice -- on a first-period goal by Billy Lacasse of Mont Laurier, Que., and a second-period marker by Chris Tremblay-Losier of St. Jean sur Richelieu, Que., But both times, McGill roared back to tie the contest.

Rookie David Rose of Longueuil, Que., made it 1-1 with his fourth of the season on the power-play at 15:48 of the opening stanza and he set up sophomore Marc-Olivier Vachon of Thetford Mines, Que., for his eighth of the campaign at 15:45 of the second frame to make it 2-2.

After a scoreless third period and overtime session, Bety was the only marksman to connect in a shootout that featured a combined eight players.

"I thought we got stronger as the game went on," said McGill head coach Kelly Nobes. "We certainly took the crowd out of it. Our special teams were good and we gave ourselves a lot of opportunites to win the game late in the third and in the overtime where we had guys in Grade A scoring areas and just didn't connect. When you leave it to a shootout, it is essentially anyone's game."

The Pats had a 42-31 edge in shots as Redmen goaltender Andrew Flemming was credited with 39 saves in a losing cause. His record evened out at 6-6. Guillaume Nadeau made 29 saves for the victory, improving to 9-2.

McGill may have lost the game but gaining a single point in the shootout was a moral victory in every sense of the word as bodies continue to fall at an alarming rate. A sixth addition to the plethora of lineup scratches was rugged veteran forward Benoit Levesque (flu). That forced Coach Nobes to move three defenceman up to forward for the second straight game but this time, he was unable to have the use of a complete fourth line as Nobes could only to dress 19 bodies, one fewer that the usual 20-man dress roster.

Also missing in action with a flu bug was assistant coach Dan Jacob as well as goaltender Hubert Morin, who was forced to dress as a back-up because third-stringer Pierre-Olivier Bousquet was also sick.

If it wasn't so sad, the situation could certainly be considered comical.

Despite the maladies, the good news is that the third-place Redmen own a 14-6-2 record and have clinched a playoff berth for the ninth consecutive season. With six games remaining on the schedule,  McGill could finish anywhere from first to seventh place in the 10-team OUA East conference. The top eight teams qualify and McGill will host Concordia on Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. The Stingers are ninth in the division with a 5-14-3 record and fighting for their playoff lives. The cross-town rivals have split their first two meetings, with Concordia winning 6-5 at home on Oct. 5 and McGill pulling off a last-minute rally to procure a 3-2 conquest in overtime at McConnell Arena on Jan. 9.

The Patriotes, who sit second in the OUA East with a 16-5-1 record, will host first-place Carleton on Jan. 25. UQTR has won three of four meetings with McGill this season and improved to 147-70-17 lifetime against the Redmen dating back to when the series started in 1969. However, McGill is 17-9 in the last 26 confrontations.