No. 5 Gaels and No. 3 Redmen renew historic rivalry Friday in OUA.tv Marquee Matchup

BURLINGTON, Ont. - In a bitter matchup of long-time rivals, the No. 5 ranked Queen's Gaels (14-4-1) and No. 3 McGill Redmen (14-3-2) will clash for the 179^th time on Friday in the OUA.tv Marquee Matchup.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. from McConnell Arena in Montreal.  Fans can catch all the action streaming live Friday night on OUA.tv.

The McGill-Queen's series is the third oldest ice hockey rivalry in North America, dating back to their first confrontation, a 6-5 Queen's victory in Kingston on Feb. 2, 1895. Since then, the Redmen own a 125-51-2 lifetime record against the Gaels, however, it was Queen's that had the last laugh the previous time these two historic teams clashed back on Nov. 26, 2016 at the Kingston Memorial Centre.

It was Gaels forward Slater Doggett (Oakville, Ont.) who played the hero for Queen's scoring a pair of goals as sophomore netminder Jacob Brennan (Halifax, N.S.) turned aside all 27 shots he faced in a 4-0 victory over the then No. 5 ranked Redmen.  The shutout was the Gaels first against McGill since Oct. 18, 1980, snapping a 31-game losing streak to the Redmen that dated back Feb. 6, 2004.

With only one point separating the two squads atop the OUA East Division standings and nine games to play in the regular season, more than bragging rights will be on the line. Both teams enter Friday's contest as two of the hottest teams in the division as Queen's and McGill have won four and three consecutive games, respectively.  However, with the Concordia Stingers, winners of five straight, breathing down their necks, two huge points will be up for grabs.  The No. 5 ranked Gaels enter Friday just one spot back of their highest ranking in program history, a spot they held on two occasions to close out the final two polls of the 1980-81 season.

For the Redmen, it begins with fifth-year forward Mathieu Pompei (Laval, Que.) who has been an absolutely nightmare for the opposition so far this season.  In 19 games, the shifty 5-foot-7 centre leads the OUA in assists (22) and points (31).  Last week, Pompei, along with defencemen Nathan Chiarlitti (Maple, Ont.) and Etienne Boutet (Quebec City) were selected to the FISU Winter Universiade men's hockey team.

On the backend, defenceman Dominic Talbot-Tassi (Mascouche, Que.) provides McGill with some offensive firepower as the second-year standout has 23 points in 19 games this season for the Redmen.  Talbot-Tassi, who played for Moncton in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League before joining the Redmen a season ago, also has recorded 20 assists, the most by any defenceman in the conference.

It has been a keeper by committee for most of the season for McGill as rookie Louis-Philip Guindon (St. Joseph du Lac, Que.) and Jacob Gervais-Chouinard (Sherbrooke, Que.) have basically split the goaltending duties.  The two netminders have alternated starts over their past six games and if the trend holds true on Friday it will be Guindon who gets the nod from head coach Kelly Nobes.  Appearing in 11 games this season for the Redmen, Guindon leads the conference with a 1.90 goals against average, while his .927 save percentage ranks fifth.

The Gaels have a bit of a crease conundrum of their own as both fifth-year all-star Kevin Bailie (Belleville, Ont.) and the aforementioned Brennan have both been outstanding.  Bailie, the 2013-14 OUA Rookie of the Year and league MVP, has a 2.31 GAA and a .922 SV% in 12 games this season.  However, Brennan is one of only two OUA goaltenders who has yet to lose this season, going a perfect 7-0 in seven starts. 

One thing is for sure, no matter who is tending the twine for either team on Friday, no one would be surprised if the game ended 1-0 as both teams have allowed a division low 45 goals against. Queen's has posted a league-leading four shutouts this season while McGill has two.

Up front for the Gaels, Doggett is making a case for MVP honours as he ranks inside the top five in goals (12), assists (16) and points (28).  His strong start to the season surely caught the attention of Gaels head coach Brett Gibson as Doggett, along with Bailie, have both been selected to represent Canada at the FISU Games.  Joining the pair will also be defenceman Spencer Abraham (Campbellville, Ont.) and forward Eric Ming (Williamstown, Ont.). 

Abraham, who also earned OUA East Division Rookie of the Year honours in his freshman campaign, has three goals and 11 assists in 19 games this season and is a likely suspect to find his way onto the scoresheet on Friday.  Prior to the season, the former Erie Otters standout garnered some attention from the NHL as he was selected to attend rookie camp with the Florida Panthers.

In his third season with the Gaels, Ming is poised for another big season. With 22 points in just 19 games he appears destined to break his career high of 32 points established a year ago.  He ranks inside the top 20 in both goals (10) and assists (12).

Not only do the Gaels have to contend on the ice with the Redmen but in the stands as well with what is expected to be a sellout crowd at the 950-seat McConnell Arena for their Winter Carnival Game.  McGill heads into the contest with a perfect 14-0 lifetime record in their annual Carnival game, including a 2-1 win over the Gaels in 2014. All but two of the games have been capacity crowds. 

In what will be the "hockey event of the year" on McGill's campus, a raucous pro-Redmen gathering awaits the Gaels as the playoff race begins to heat up, live on OUA.tv!

OLDEST HOCKEY RIVALRIES IN NORTH AMERICA:
1886 (Mar. 10): Queen's 1, Royal Military College 0
1892 (Feb. 27): McGill 5, Royal Military College 1
1895 (Feb. 2): Queen's 6, McGill 5
1895 (Feb. 8): Queen's 19, Toronto 3
1896 (Feb. 1): Yale 2, John's Hopkins 2
1898 (Jan. 19): Brown 6, Harvard 0
1899 (Feb. 20): McGill 8, Toronto 4
1900 (Feb. 26): Yale 5, Harvard 4

OLDEST NHL RIVALRY:
1917 (Dec. 26): Toronto Arenas* 7, Montreal Canadiens 5
*later renamed "Maple Leafs"