M-HOCKEY PLAYOFF ROUNDUP: Gryphons take OUA West Final series opener versus top seeded Lancers

Wednesday, February 25

Guelph 3 @ Windsor 1 (Guelph leads series 1-0)

UQTR 3 @ McGill 0 (UQTR leads series 1-0)

Gryphons take series opener versus top seeded Windsor

Windsor, ON – Wednesday night in Windsor, the Gryphons men's hockey team won 3-1 over the Lancers in the opening game of their OUA West Final best-of-three series.  Game 2 is scheduled for 7:30pm on Friday night (Feb. 27) at the Gryphon Centre.
 
The sixth seeded Gryphons were able to open the scoring against the OUA's top-seeded Lancers thanks to a power play goal coming late in the first period. Gryphons third year defenceman Nicholas Trecapelli (Guelph, ON) would score for a second straight game to give the Gryphons a 1-0 lead heading to the second period.  Trecapelli, a former member of the Peterborough Petes, has recorded a point in five of the Gryphons seven playoff games.
 
In the second period, the Gryphons would extend their lead to 2-0 on the defending OUA champions, thanks to an unassisted goal from Michael Hasson.  The Lancers were able to get one back shortly after, as Ryan Green got Windsor on the board, making it a 2-1 game.  But late in the period, Guelph's two goal lead would be restored on Carlos Amestoy's fifth goal of the playoffs, making it 3-1 Guelph heading to the final period.
 
Gryphons first year goalie Andrew D'Agostini was once again impressive for the Gryphons in between the pipes.  D'Agostini was able to rob Lancers forward Matt Beaudoin point blank, sticking out a pad to keep it out and maintain Guelph's 3-1 lead.  D'Agostini made 35 saves on the night and got some help in front of him as well. With around four minutes remaining in regulation, the Gryphons found themselves shorthanded after a high sticking penalty to Jordan Mock. However, some great work by the Gryphons penalty kill unit would keep it a 3-1 game and ultimately end any chance of a Windsor comeback.  The Gryphons become just the fourth visiting team all season to win at South Windsor Arena as they would take Game 1 by a final score of 3-1.  Nick Trecapelli finished with a two point night with one goal and one assist. 
 
With the win, the Gryphons now sit just one victory away from hosting the OUA Final (Queen's Cup) and qualifying for the CIS Championships in Halifax (March 12-15). However, finishing off the defending champs will be no small task. Windsor also lost the opening game of their OUA quarterfinal series versus Brock before storming back to win the next two. Game 2 between the Gryphons and Lancers is scheduled for 7:30pm on Friday night (Feb. 27) at the Gryphon Centre.

Source: Guelph Gryphons

Eighth-ranked Pats draw first blood in penalty-filled affair against No.6 Redmen in OUA Eastern final

MONTREAL -- Rookie Carl-Antoine Delisle of Laval, Que., scored the game-winner on a penalty shot and Marc-Olivier Mimar of Rosemere, Que., added a pair of goals as the No.8-ranked UQTR Patriotes skated to a 3-0 road win over No. 6 McGill in the opening game of the OUA East men's hockey best-of-three final series at McConnell Arena, Wednesday.

It was UQTR's first playoff win over the Redmen since March 4, 2011, snapping a five-game losing streak to McGill, which had won 14 of the previous 15 post-season encounters with the Pats.

Freshman goalkeeper Francis Desrosiers, a native of St. Eustache, Que., who snatched the starting role late in the season for the Pats, made 34 saves to earn his first career shutout at the CIS level, improving to 5-0 in playoffs. The last team to blank McGill in the post-season was UNB, a 4-0 decision in the CIS gold medal final on Mar. 27, 2011, some 29 games ago. The last time that it occurred in the OUA playoffs was a 2-0 setback to Toronto on Feb. 23, 2007.

The Redmen, who had a 34-33 edge in shots, spent much of the game in the penalty box, collecting a disproportionate 35 of 41 minutes dished out by the officials. UQTR went 1-for-6 on the power-play, compared to McGill, which was 0-for-3.

After a scoreless but thrilling opening period, the momentum clearly shifted just 61 seconds into the middle stanza when Delisle was awarded a rare penalty shot after being partially tripped from behind by McGill defenceman Francis Lambert-Lemay. Delisle, who ended with a shot on net during the initial play, made the best of his second chance, deking Redmen netminder Jacob Gervais-Chouinard of Sherbrooke, Que., through the legs for a 1-0 Patriotes lead.

Delisle then set up a wide-open Mimar from behind the net for a 2-0 lead at 12:01 and Mimar added his fifth post-season marker, unassisted, on the power-play to make it 3-0 at 18:48. The teams played a scoreless third period.

When the Redmen needed goals, they ended up losing a couple of snipers for long segments in the penalty box. David Rose, who ranked third on the team in goals with 10 in 20 regular season games -- and has added two more in playoffs -- was called for a checking-from-behind minor and automatic 10-minute misconduct midway through the first period.

Shortly after he returned in the final period, McGill defenceman Hugo Laporte was handed a five-minute major for charging, The officials huddled together and a linesman convinced one of the two referees to change the call to a checking-to-the-head major, which is accompanied by an automatic game misconduct and one-game suspension.Mathieu Pompei, another sniper, was called upon to serve the major.

Game 2 of the series is scheduled for Saturday at Le Colisee in Trois-Rivieres. The contest is slated to be webcast on Patriotes TV at 7 p.m. If a rubber match is needed, it will be played on Sunday back at McConnell at 7 p.m.

The winner of this series will advance to the OUA gold medal game for the Queen's Cup, against the winner of the OUA West final between sixth-seeded Guelph and top-seeded Windsor. Guelph surprised the heavily-favoured Lancers 3-1 in their opener on Wednesday night. The loser of both series will play for the bronze medal game on Mar. 7, which is accompanied by the OUA's third berth to the CIS Final Eight in Halifax (Mar, 12-15).

REDMEN RAP: McGill, which has won each of their last seven post-season series against UQTR (after losing the first 11), is 19-26 in 45 lifetime playoff games against their bitter rivals... Among the many former Redmen spotted in the crowd was Paul Grech (1987-91) who drove in from London, Ont., just to see the game... Other ex-Redmen in attendance included Charlie Lafontaine (1948-49), Alain Robichaud (1983-86), Barry Ross (1977-79), Mike Farmer (1976-79), Ken Covo (1976-81), Pierre-Antoine Paquet (2001-06), Dan Gubiani (1981-84), Dr. Jay McMullan (1981-84) and Mike Nelson (1978-84)... Dr. Bob Brodrick, the former Montreal Expos team physician who captained McGill to the Queen's Cup championship in 1946 and graduated in 1947, died on Feb. 22... Visitation is Feb. 26-27 at the Collins Clarke MacGillivray White Funeral Home, 5610 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal, followed by a funeral service on Feb. 27 at St. Richard's Parish, 7070 Guelph, Cote St-Luc, Que. More details available online.

Source: McGill Redmen