SUDBURY, Ont. -- Freshman Daniel Milne of Unionville, Ont., scored at 2:27 of double overtime as No.2-ranked McGill edged the Laurentian University Voyageurs 4-3 in OUA men's hockey at Countryside Arena, Friday.

It improved McGill's record to 14-5-2 lifetime versus Laurentian and 1002-933-127 all-time against CIS opponents.

"We battled through... all night and ground out a good win in overtime," said McGill head coach Kelly Nobes. "We killed off three key penalties in the third, got better as the game went into the overtime and found a way to win when we probably didn't play our best game."

The teams were tied 1-1 after one and 3-3 after two, then the Sudbury rules seemed in full effect, with McGill receiving three of the four penalties called in the third stanza, including a hooking infraction at 1:44, a tripping call at 8:46 and a timely boarding penalty at 18:42.

On the winning tally, defenceman Dominic Talbot-Tassi, a civil engineering freshman, went coast-to-coast and dished a nifty pass to Milne, sitting the edge of the blue paint, who buried the puck past netminder Alain Valiquette. Milne, a commerce major, is one of the few players to try his hand in the NCAA (Michigan), then move on to a junior career (Ownen Sound, OHL) before heading to the CIS ranks. He now has a 10-12-22 record in 19 contests.

Valiquette, a senior from Sundbury, made 41 saves in a losing cause and saw his record tumble to 6-7.

Talbot-Tassi, a native of Mascouche, Que., had three helpers in the contest and now ranks fourth in the CIS scoring race -- second among defencemen -- with a 9-20-29 record in 19 games. Fellow rearguard Samuel Labrecque, who collected a pair of assists, continues to lead the national scoring race with 34 points and 13 goals.

Laurentian opened the scoring on a power-play at 12:31 of the first period when Brandon Francisco connected but Patrick Delisle-Houde of Quebec City netted his fifth of the season, also on a powrer-play, at 16:45. That was a milestone goal for the Redmen, the 8,500th goal in school history against Canadian university opponents.

Senior Liam Heelis, the first year-transfer from Acadia, tallied his seventh marker at 32 seconds of the second period to put McGill ahead 2-1. The Voyageurs regained the lead however, on goals from Nicolas Dionne at 1:38 and Brent Pedersen at 13:39.

Christophe Lalonde of St. Eustache, Que., who joined the Redmen over the Christmas break after a pro tryout, scored his first regular season marker to tie the score at 3-3 at 17:41 of the middle period, setting the stage for Milne's heroics in overtime.

Jacob Gervais-Chouinard made 34 saves to collect the victory between the pipes for McGill. The junior from Sherbrooke, Que.,  improved his stellar record to 15-2 on the season and 30-9 lifetime in OUA play.

Laurentian was 1-for-5 on the power-play while McGill responded on one of four chances.

Combined with UQTR's 4-3 home-ice loss to Queen's, the Redmen gained a bit of breathing room atop the OUA East standings. McGil, which has a 16-2-1 record and sits two points ahead of the Patriotes (15-3-1), will make a two-hour trip east to North Bay on Saturday for a 7 p.m. rendezvous with the Nipissing Lakers (8-6-3)

LINK TO BOXSCORE

SCORING SUMMARY
McGill 4 at Laurentian 3 (2OT)
(Friday, January 8, 2016 - Countryside Arena)

GOALS BY PERIOD:
McGill 1-2-0-0-1 -- 4
Laurentian 1-2-0-0-0 -- 3

1st Period-
1, Laurentian, Brandon Francisco 4 (Dionne, Horic), 12:31 (PP).
2, McGill, Patrick Delisle-Houde 5 (Labrecque, Talbot-Tassi), 16:45 (PP).

Penalties-Nanne Lu (slashing), 9:26; Lalonde Mcg (slashing), 11:39; Valiquette Lu (delay of game; served by Pachis), 16:15.

2nd Period-
3, McGill, Liam Heelis 7 (Delisle-Houde, Boutet), 0:32.
4, Laurentian, Nicolas Dionne 3 (Francisco, Horic), 1:38.
5, Laurentian, Brent Pedersen 8 (Richardson, Pachis), 13:39.
6, McGill, Christophe Lalonde 1 (Talbot-Tassi, Labrecque), 17:41.

Penalties-(None)

3rd Period-
(No Scoring).

Penalties-Regimbald Mcg (hooking), 1:44; Tardif-Richard Mcg (tripping), 8:46; Horic Lu (high sticking), 13:09; Gamelin Mcg (boarding), 18:42.

1st OVERTIME (5 mins, 5-on-5):
(No Scoring).

Penalties-Smith Lu (tripping), 2:27; Heelis Mcg (interference), 2:34.

2nd OVERTIME (5 mins, 4-on-4):
7, McGill, Daniel Milne 10 (Talbot-Tassi), 2:27.

Penalties-(None).

Shots on Goal-
McGill 13-15-8-5-4 -- 45.
Laurentian 13-15-5-3-1 -- 37.

Power Play Opportunities-
McGill 1 / 4;
Laurentian 1 / 5.

Goalies-
McGill, Jacob Gervais-Chouinard (W, 15-2-0, 37 shots-34 saves; 67:27).
Laurentian, Alain Valiquette (L, 6-7-0, 45 shots-41 saves; 67:27).

Attendance: 375
Start: 7:46 PM
End: 10:08 PM
Length: 2:22

Referees-Ken Smith, Eric Caetano.
Linesmen-Anthony Fey, Kevin Keyes.

THREE STARS
1. MCG - 11 Daniel Milne
2. LU - 29 Alain Valiquette
3. MCG - 27 Dominic Talbot-Tassi

SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
m.athletics.mcgill.ca (mobile website)
www.mcgill athletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
@EarlZukerman (twitter)
 
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