UOIT clinches a playoff berth despite a loss to McGill


OUA Men's Hockey: McGill defeated UOIT 9-2

MONTREAL – Although the UOIT men's hockey team was on the wrong end of a 9-2 decision against the No. 6 ranked McGill Redmen, the Ridgebacks were able to clinch a playoff berth on Friday night.

With Laurentian's 6-1 loss to the Nipissing Lakers, the Ridgebacks are eight points ahead of the Voyageurs who only have three games (possible six points) remaining in the regular season. This will mark the second straight season (fourth overall) that UOIT has qualified for the postseason.

UOIT got off to a slow start on Friday night as the Redmen shot out to 2-0 lead after twenty minutes with two power play goals. McGill wasted no time to build on their lead as they scored back-to-back goals less than five minutes into the second period, chasing UOIT starting goaltender Colin Dzijacky from the game.

Back-up goaltender Jacob Rattie did not fare much better as he allowed five goals on 17 shots, with McGill matching a season-high nine-goal performance.

The lone bright spot for the Ridgebacks was the play of captain Luke VanMoerkerke (Tillsonburg, Ont.) who scored a pair of second period goals. With 17 points this season, he moves one point ahead of freshman forward Mitch Bennett (Fenelon Falls, Ont.) in the UOIT scoring race.

David Rose, Cedric McNicoll and Patrick Delisle-Houde each had five point nights in the lopsided victory. Delisle-Houde has been red-hot in the month of February as he has recorded eight points in two wins. Tonight also marked his first career hat-trick.

Jacob Gervais-Chouinard earned his 12th victory of the season in between the pipes for the Redmen, as the second year goaltender managed to stop 30 of 32 Ridgeback shots on net.

Having picked up points in their last nine games, McGill (20-5-2) is in the top spot in the OUA eastern conference, two points ahead of UQTR (20-5-0).



UOIT (7-15-4) trails Concordia (7-15-4) by two points for sixth place in the conference. The two sides will square off on Saturday afternoon in Montreal. Concordia earned a point on Friday night with a shootout loss in Ottawa.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE RIDGEBACKS
Overall Record: 7-21-4
Conference Record: 7-15-4

Next Game: Sat. Feb. 8 @ Concordia (2 p.m.)