March 3, 2009
OUA PLAYOFF PUSH: MEN'S HOCKEY
HAMILTON, Ont. – Then there were four in the march to the Queen's Cup.
No. 3 nationally-ranked Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks, No. 5 UQTR Patriotes, No. 6 Western Mustangs and defending Ontario University Athletics (OUA) champion McGill Redmen have outlasted the competition so far in the playoffs. The only thing standing in the way of a berth to the OUA final and an invite to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Men's Hockey Championship for these remaining teams is a best-of-three series victory over divisional opponents.
The Golden Hawks (24-0-2-0) have home-ice advantage over the Mustangs (23-7-3-0) in their West final. Laurier survived a scare against No. 10 Lakehead, winning Game 3 by a 4-3 count after trailing the best-of-three series 1-0 following an overtime loss on the road. Second-year right winger Craig Voakes (St. Thomas, Ont.) came up big in the final two games at home, netting three goals.
The Mustangs will need to contain second-year forward Jean-Michel Rizk (Dunham, Que.) who scored a pair of goals in the series against the Thunderwolves after leading all OUA players in the regular season with 25 markers. Five of those goals came against Western, as he scored at least one goal in all four regular season meetings.
Western rookie left winger Aaron Snow (Windsor, Ont.) is having himself a great post-season with five goals in five games. Fourth-year goaltender Brad Topping (Strathroy, Ont.) has been strong between the pipes for the Mustangs, with a save percentage of .942 and a goals against average of 1.91.
Laurier and Western split their four regular season meetings. All four were highly-offensive affairs, with an average of eight goals per contest.
In the East final, the Battle of Quebec will be waged between UQTR (26-5-3-0) and McGill (22-9-1-1). Despite finishing tied for the points lead in OUA, the Patriotes slumped down the stretch, winning just two of their last seven regular season games. During their best-of-three series against Carleton, the Patriotes lost at home in Game 1, forced Game 3 by the slimmest of margins, then survived double-overtime in the series finale.
Rookie centre Francis Charland (Victoriaville, Que.) led the Patriotes with three goals and a pair of helpers in the series against Carleton. Second-year centre Jean-Sebastien Breton (Pincourt, Que.) scored the series-clinching goal against the Ravens in overtime.
The Redmen ended the regular season on a tear, winning eight of nine games. After going a full three games against Ottawa in the opening round, McGill has won three straight contests, including a two-game sweep over Toronto.
Rookie centre Alexandre Picard-Hooper (Boucherville, Que.) has taken the Redmen under his wings with five goals in five games. Another rookie, Kevin Desfosses (Beauport, Que.), has been strong between the pipes for McGill in his first OUA post-season.
The Redmen and Patriotes split their four-game regular season series, with two of those games going to overtime. All but one game was decided by one goal, with both of McGill's victories coming in the second half of the season.
The West winner will host the East winner for the Queen's Cup on March 14.
OUA MEN'S HOCKEY PLAYOFFS
Wed., Mar. 4
7 p.m. – McGill @ UQTR (Game 1)
8 p.m. – Western @ Laurier (Game 1)
Fri., Mar. 6
7 p.m. – UQTR @ McGill (Game 2)
Sat., Mar. 7
7:30 p.m. – Laurier @ Western (Game 2)
Sun., Mar. 8
7 p.m. – McGill @ UQTR (Game 3, if necessary)
7:30 p.m. – Western @ Laurier (Game 3, if necessary)
– OUA –
ABOUT ONTARIO UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and its 19 member institutions are developing Champions For Life. Giving 9,000 student-athletes the opportunity to excel academically and on the playing field, while preparing for life after university. For more information, visit OUA.ca.
Photo Credit: Andrew Scott
No. 3 nationally-ranked Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks, No. 5 UQTR Patriotes, No. 6 Western Mustangs and defending Ontario University Athletics (OUA) champion McGill Redmen have outlasted the competition so far in the playoffs. The only thing standing in the way of a berth to the OUA final and an invite to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Men's Hockey Championship for these remaining teams is a best-of-three series victory over divisional opponents.
The Golden Hawks (24-0-2-0) have home-ice advantage over the Mustangs (23-7-3-0) in their West final. Laurier survived a scare against No. 10 Lakehead, winning Game 3 by a 4-3 count after trailing the best-of-three series 1-0 following an overtime loss on the road. Second-year right winger Craig Voakes (St. Thomas, Ont.) came up big in the final two games at home, netting three goals.
The Mustangs will need to contain second-year forward Jean-Michel Rizk (Dunham, Que.) who scored a pair of goals in the series against the Thunderwolves after leading all OUA players in the regular season with 25 markers. Five of those goals came against Western, as he scored at least one goal in all four regular season meetings.
Western rookie left winger Aaron Snow (Windsor, Ont.) is having himself a great post-season with five goals in five games. Fourth-year goaltender Brad Topping (Strathroy, Ont.) has been strong between the pipes for the Mustangs, with a save percentage of .942 and a goals against average of 1.91.
Laurier and Western split their four regular season meetings. All four were highly-offensive affairs, with an average of eight goals per contest.
In the East final, the Battle of Quebec will be waged between UQTR (26-5-3-0) and McGill (22-9-1-1). Despite finishing tied for the points lead in OUA, the Patriotes slumped down the stretch, winning just two of their last seven regular season games. During their best-of-three series against Carleton, the Patriotes lost at home in Game 1, forced Game 3 by the slimmest of margins, then survived double-overtime in the series finale.
Rookie centre Francis Charland (Victoriaville, Que.) led the Patriotes with three goals and a pair of helpers in the series against Carleton. Second-year centre Jean-Sebastien Breton (Pincourt, Que.) scored the series-clinching goal against the Ravens in overtime.
The Redmen ended the regular season on a tear, winning eight of nine games. After going a full three games against Ottawa in the opening round, McGill has won three straight contests, including a two-game sweep over Toronto.
Rookie centre Alexandre Picard-Hooper (Boucherville, Que.) has taken the Redmen under his wings with five goals in five games. Another rookie, Kevin Desfosses (Beauport, Que.), has been strong between the pipes for McGill in his first OUA post-season.
The Redmen and Patriotes split their four-game regular season series, with two of those games going to overtime. All but one game was decided by one goal, with both of McGill's victories coming in the second half of the season.
The West winner will host the East winner for the Queen's Cup on March 14.
OUA MEN'S HOCKEY PLAYOFFS
Wed., Mar. 4
7 p.m. – McGill @ UQTR (Game 1)
8 p.m. – Western @ Laurier (Game 1)
Fri., Mar. 6
7 p.m. – UQTR @ McGill (Game 2)
Sat., Mar. 7
7:30 p.m. – Laurier @ Western (Game 2)
Sun., Mar. 8
7 p.m. – McGill @ UQTR (Game 3, if necessary)
7:30 p.m. – Western @ Laurier (Game 3, if necessary)
– OUA –
ABOUT ONTARIO UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and its 19 member institutions are developing Champions For Life. Giving 9,000 student-athletes the opportunity to excel academically and on the playing field, while preparing for life after university. For more information, visit OUA.ca.
Photo Credit: Andrew Scott
