October 30, 2006 (OUA)- The UQTR Patriotes are tops in the Far East with nine points (4-0-0-1) after posting back-to-back wins over the RMC Paladins and Queens Golden Gaels this weekend. Jonathan Boutin and Eric Beadin had a goal an assist each, while Thiery Poudrier added three helpers as the Patriotes overpowered RMC 6-2 Friday at Constantine Arena. UQTR scored four in the first, with Poudrier setting up the first two goals. Sylvain made 30 saves for the Patriotes. Paul Bradley had a goal and an assist for RMC. Against Queens Saturday, Mathieu Gravel led the way with a goal and two assists in a 4-2 win. Poudrier and Boutin both added a goal and an assist each as the Patriotes rallied from a 2-0 first-period deficit to score three in the second and another in the third period.
UQTR is one point ahead of the McGill Redmen, who played some air-tight hockey this past weekend, showing the same form they did throughout last season when they set a CIS record for shutouts. Mathieu Poitras turned away all 20 shots he faced and Mathieu LeClerc scored the winner on the power play at 6:56 of the opening period as McGill cruised to a 3-0 victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues at varsity Arena Friday. Sam Bloom assisted on the Redmens opening goal and then tallied at 15:27 of the third to round out the scoring. David Urquhart had a short-handed goal and also added an assist as McGill defeated the Ryerson Rams 4-0 Saturday. McGill took a 1-0 lead on a goal from Benoit Arsenault in the first period and then erupted for three more in the third. Poitras had little work to do for his second shutout of the weekend, making 11 saves on the night.
The Laurier Golden Hawks earned a share of tops spot in the Mid West along with the Brock Badgers as they posted two wild wins. Ryan Courtney had a hat-trick and Matt Maccarone had a goal and two assists as the Hawks beat rival Waterloo 8-6 Friday. Courtney opened the scoring at 4:55 of the first and then added his second of the game to make it 5-2 early in the second period, before completing the trick at 15:12 of the third period to put the game away for Laurier. Mike Thomson made 31 saves in the Hawks goal, while Matt Grennier and Chris Di Ubaldo chipped in three helpers apiece. David Edgeworth had a two goals and an assist for the Warriors. Laurier traveled to London the next day and got an the overtime winner from John Thiel at 2:25 of the extra session to defeat the Western Mustangs 4-3. Thiel also added an assist, while Thomson made 29 saves for the victory. Ryan Hare and Chris Eade had a goal and an assist each for the Mustangs. The two wins gives Laurier 10 points, tying them with the Badgers in the Mid West.
Brock suffered its first loss of the season in the opening end of a two-game series with the OUA champion Lakehead Thunderwolves. Matt Jacques scored twice and Steve Rawski added three helpers as a hungry Lakehead team out-shot the Badgers 47-25 en route to a 4-2 win Friday. Jacques scored both of his goals with the man advantage, including the game-winner at 7:23 of the second period. Chris Whitley turned away 23 of the 25 shots he faced. The Badgers got some payback in the second meeting as Jonathan Labelle scored the winner and added an assist to improve Brocks record to 5-1-0-0. Tom Lee made 42 saves for the shutout. Paul Holder added a goal and an assist for the Badgers. Lakehead is tied with Waterloo in the Far East at 4-2-0-0.
Toronto rebounded from its loss to McGill with a 2-1 win over Ottawa at varsity Arena Saturday to grab a hold of first in the Mid East. Down 1-0 early on a goal from the Gee-Gees Nick Vernelli, Torontos Scott Malcolm and Joe Rand each scored first-period power-play markers to pull out the win. Goaltender Ryan Grinnell was sharp making 35 saves for the Blues.
Elsewhere around the OUA, Western beat Guelph 5-2 Thursday. In Friday action, Kent Merriam scored twice and Blair Grennier added a goal and two assists as York s