MCGILL EARNS QUEEN'S CUP BERTH

TROIS-RIVIERES - The monkey, which grew into a gorilla, has finally been thrown off McGill's proverbial back in men's university hockey playoff action, Friday. Benoit Martin scored his second of the night, at 5:05 of double overtime as No.2-ranked McGill rallied to defeat sixth-ranked UQTR 3-2 before 1,104 at Le Colisee in Trois-Rivières.

The win gave McGill a 2-0 series sweep over the Patriotes and qualifies the Redmen for the CIS national championship tournament, scheduled for Edmonton March 23-26, for the first time in school history, dating back to the inaugural CIS tourney in 1962-63.

Prior to heading out west for the Nationals, however, McGill will attempt to win the Queen's Cup league championship for a 14th time but only their first since 1946. They will travel on March 11 to play the winner of Sunday's deciding game of the OUA Western Conference series between Wilfrid Laurier and Lakehead.

McGill's victory snapped a 28-year playoff jinx against UQTR, dating back to 1978. Prior to this season, McGill had never won a playoff series against the Pats in 11 previous tries, posting a paltry 5-24 record in post-season play. That trend was finally reversed with this series sweep as the Redmen finally slayed the dragon with a milestone victory for the school's 129-year old hockey program.

\"It was a character win and typical of the way we have played all season,\" said Martin Raymond, who was named earlier in the day as the OUA East coach of the year, and improved to 209-146-30 behind the McGill bench. \"We eliminated our nemesis in overtime, in their own rink, after losing a third-period lead and after killing off four consecutive penalties in that period. We then killed off another penalty in overtime and made history today by getting rid of a monumental playoff jinx against that team and that is proof enough of our character. We earned every inch of this victory.\"

Martin's overtime goal was his third game-winner of the playoffs and sixth
in OUA play this season. The 23-year-old centre from Gaspé, Que., had given
McGill a 1-0 lead at 16:59 of the opening period, a score which held up
until the third.

The Redmen ran into penalty-trouble in the third period, drawing four consecutive minors. The Pats evened the score at 1-1 when Frederic Lavoie netted a power-play marker at 5:37.

But McGill bounced back some five minutes later when rookie defenceman Ken Morin of St. Prosper, Que., rifled a 40-foot shot past Dany Dallaire.

UQTR tied it at 2-2 when Alexandre Morel re-directed a point shot from Mathieu Gravel at 12:57 of the third.

The Pats outshot McGill 46-37, including a lopsided 22-10 margin in the third period.

Sophomore goaltender Mathieu Poitras, named earlier as the most outstanding player in the 16-team OUA, made 44 saves to earn the victory and improved his playoff record to 4-1. Dallaire, who kicked aside 34 shots, was credited with his second straight loss and fell to 4-2. The Patriotes now host the winner of Game 3 in the Lakehead-Laurier series for a wild-card berth at the CIS championship.

REDMEN RAP: The Redmen improved to 29-6-3 overall, establishing a single-season school record for victories... The team is 4-1 in post-season play, setting a McGill record for most playoff victories in one season... They broke the previous mark of three, established in 2000 and equaled in 2005... Martin Raymond received a phone call with some friendly advice a day earlier from Mike Babcock, head coach of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings. The former Redmen captain, who played at McGill from 1983 to 1986, also followed up with a post-game congratulatory call from Phoenix, where Detroit was preparing for a Saturday game against Wayne Gretzky's Coyotes... A depleted Redmen lineup had to make do without the services of injured sniper Doug Orr (who missed his 13th straight game), defenceman Yan Turcotte (seventh straight game) and 6-foot-4, 210-pound centre Mathieu Leclerc (one game)... Among the many McGill fans in the crowd at Le Colisee, was Luc Thiffeault, a
former star receiver who played on McGill's 1987 Vanier Cup championship squad...The Molson Cup 3 Stars, selected by Norman Marshall of The TEAM 990, were: 1. Benoit Martin (McGill), 2. Mathieu Poitras (McGill) and 3. Dany Dallaire (UQTR).


SCORING SUMMARY

Redmen 3, Patriotes 2 (2OT)
(@ Le Colisee)

FIRST PERIOD
1. McGILL - Benoit Martin 3 (D. Urquhart, C. Gauthier) - 16:59

Penalties:
McGill - C. Churchill-Smith (Interference), 1:50
UQTR - C. Laroche (Roughing), 5:04
UQTR - S. Gibbons (Interference), 10:11
UQTR - J. Lessard (Cross-checking), 10:17
UQTR - T. Lafontaine (Cross-checking), 11:41
McGill - S. Shewchuk (Delay of game), 19:43

SECOND PERIOD
(no scoring)

Penalties:
UQTR - K. Morel (Hooking), 9:03
UQTR - J. Boutin (Hooking), 11:22

THIRD PERIOD
2. UQTR - Frederic Lavoie 3 (M. Thibodeau) - 5:37 (PP)
3. McGILL - Ken Morin 1 (S. Shewchuk) - 10:59
4. UQTR - Alexandre Morel 2 (M. Gravel) - 12:57

Penalties:
McGill - E. Stilling (Cross-checking), 1:43
McGill - L.S. Allaire (Cross-checking), 3:48
McGill - S. Pearce (Holding), 8:11
McGill - S. Pearce (Tripping), 13:42

FIRST OVERTIME (10:00 sudden-death)
(no scoring)

Penalties:
(none)

SECOND OVERTIME (20:00 sudden-death)
5. Benoit Martin 4 (S. Shewchuk) 5:05

Penalties:
UQTR - S. Gibbons (Holding), 2:20
McGill - D. Urquhart (Cross-checking), 4:46

GOALS BY PERIOD:
McGILL - 1 0 1 0 1 (3)
UQTR - 0 0 2 0 0 (2)

SHOTS BY PERIOD:
McGILL - 12 7 10 6 2 (37)
UQTR - 10 8 22 3 3 (46)

GOALTENDERS:
McGILL - Mathieu Poitras (W, 4-1; 2GA, 44 saves, 75:05)
UQTR - Dany Dallaire (L, 4-2; 3GA, 34 saves, 75:05)

PENALTIES (No./Minutes):
McGILL: 7/14
UQTR: 7/14

POWERPLAY (Goals/Chances):
McGILL: 0/7
UQTR: 1/7

MOLSON CUP THREE STARS:
(selected by Norman Marshall of The TEAM 990):
1. Benoit Martin (McGill),
2. Mathieu Poitras (McGill)
3. 3. Dany Dallaire (UQTR)...

Attendance: 1,104

Referee: Marc Muylaert

(Source: Earl Zukerman, McGill Communications and Web site Manager.)