OUA Men's Hockey: UOIT defeated McGill 3-2
 
OSHAWA, Ont. – The UOIT men's hockey team earned a hard fought 3-2 victory over the No. 9 ranked McGill Redmen Saturday night in the Ridgebacks' 2014/15 home opener. The win marks the first time in program history that the Ridgebacks have beat McGill, with the Redmen winning their previous six meetings.
 
UOIT is 2-0-1 to start the season, having recorded points in their first three games. The Redmen fall to 1-1-0, as they beat Queen's 4-3 on Friday night in Kingston.
 
Freshman goaltender Brendan O'Neill (Ilderton, Ont.) was spectacular in net, as he made 43 saves including 16 in the third period as the Ridgebacks shocked the nationally ranked Redmen. O'Neill may have recorded his best save of the night in the closing minutes of the game, as he made a sprawling save to stop a McGill one-timer from the top of the crease to keep the Ridgebacks in front. O'Neill is 2-0-1 in his first three OUA starts with a .916 save percentage.
 
UOIT's offence heated up in the second period, as they scored all three of their goals in the middle frame. Jordan Ramsay (Pickering, Ont.) got the Ridgebacks on the board five minutes in, but McGill's Patrick Delisle-Houde struck back less than a minute later.
 
The turning point in the game came with five minutes to go in the second when defender Jake Logan (Napanee, Ont.) fed Colt Kennedy (Ajax, Ont.) up the middle. Kennedy would go on and split the McGill defence and beat McGill goaltender Karel St. Laurent for his first of the season. UOIT would follow up Kennedy's goal with one more two minutes later, when Mike Robinson (Stouffville, Ont.) recorded his first career OUA goal, with Logan and Mike Whiteside (Ajax, Ont.), picking up their second assists of the period.
 
McGill's Jonathan Brunelle would cut the Ridgebacks lead to 3-2 midway through the final stanza, but that is as close as the Redmen would come as UOIT would hold on for the one-goal victory.
 
Both power plays proved to be ineffective as they each went 0-for-4.
 
UOIT will be back on home ice on Thursday, October 16 when they host the Queen's Gaels. Puck drop at the Campus Ice Centre is 7:30 p.m.
 
A QUICK LOOK AT THE RIDGEBACKS
Overall Record: 3-2-2
Conference Record: 2-0-1
 
Next Game: Thursday, October 16 vs. Queen's (7:30 p.m.)