Red hot Redmen stun Pats, stretch win streak to eight
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TROIS-RIVIERES, Que. - Alexandre Picard-Hooper of Boucherville, Que., scored twice and added a pair of helpers as visiting ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ trounced the UQTR Patriotes 6-2 in men's university hockey, Thursday.
It marked the eighth consecutive win by the Redmen under new head coach Kelly Nobes, including non-conference play, as ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ improved Ìýto 3-0 in the regular season.
Andrew Wright, a junior from Toronto had given ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ a 1-0 lead at 13:36 of the opening stanza but sophomore Olivier Donovan evened the score some five minutes later.
±«ÓãÖ±²¥ had a golden opportunity to take the lead again early in the middle period when rookie rearguard Ryan McKiernan was awarded a penalty shot after being hooked from behind on a breakaway. However his attempt was thwarted by Pats netminder Jean-Christophe Blanchard, who registered one of his 28 saves in the contest.
After a scoreless middle period, fireworks erupted in the third.
Picard-Hooper, a third-year centre, broke open a 1-1 tie at the 38-second mark to spark a six-goal outburst but only 81 seconds later, UQTR sniper Francis Charland knotted the count at 2-2.
The Patriotes then lost their composure and took five straight penalties while a hungry ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ special teams unit licked their collective chops and connected on three of five power plays.
Wright netted what proved to be the game-winner on the man-advantage at the three-minute mark.
Other marksmen for ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ down the stretch included team captain Evan Vossen of Swift Current, Sask., and rearguard Marc-Andre Dorion, who added a pair of assists.
Dorion, who has attended NHL tryout camps with Dallas and Toronto, leads all OUA defencemen in scoring with six points in three games.
±«ÓãÖ±²¥, which went 3-for-7 on the power-play, outshot UQTR by a 34-25 margin. Netminder Hubert Morin, a junior from St. Georges de Beauce, Que., registered the win, while the aforementioned Blanchard took the loss.
±«ÓãÖ±²¥ has now posted an 8-2 record, including three straight wins in the last 10 head-to-head meetings with the Pats, a team they swept in the conference finals last spring en route to capturing the league's Queen's Cup title.
The two bitter rivals will hook up in what promises to be another showdown before an expected large crowd on Monday night in Montreal at McConnell Arena.
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SCORING SUMMARY
±«ÓãÖ±²¥ 6 at UQTR 2
(Thursday, October 14, 2010 - Le Colisee)
1st Period-
1, ±«ÓãÖ±²¥, Andrew Wright 3 (Francis Verreault-Paul, Alex Picard-Hooper), 13:36.
2, UQTR, Olivier Donovan 1 (Felix Petit, Jeff Desjardins), 18:36.
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Penalties-
Bellavance-Martin UQTR (hooking), 15:07;
Verreault-Paul Mcg (hooking), 19:26.
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2nd Period-
No Scoring.
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Penalties-
McKiernan Mcg (high sticking), 1:22;
Valente Mcg (checking from behind, 10-minute misconduct), 3:03;
Boudreau UQTR (hooking), 3:31;
Chabot-Maltais UQTR (high sticking), 13:25.
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3rd Period-
3, ±«ÓãÖ±²¥, Alexandre Picard-Hooper 1 (Hubert Genest, J.F. Boisvert), 0:38.
4, UQTR, Francis Charland 4 (Etienne Bellavance-Martin), 1:59.
5, ±«ÓãÖ±²¥, Andrew Wright 4 (M.A. Dorion, Alex Picard-Hooper), 3:00 (PP).
6, ±«ÓãÖ±²¥, Marc-Andre Dorion 1 (AndrewÌý Wright, Francis Verreault-Paul), 11:40.
7, ±«ÓãÖ±²¥, Alexandre Picard-Hooper 2 (Francis Verreault-Paul, M.A. Dorion), 15:01 (PP).
8, ±«ÓãÖ±²¥, Evan Vossen 3 (Guillaume Doucet, Hubert Genest), 15:52 (PP).
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Penalties-
Bellefleur UQTR (high sticking), 2:28;
Bellefleur UQTR (check from behind major, game misconduct), 12:54;
Petit UQTR (high sticking), 14:29;
Desilets UQTR (slashing), 14:49;
Desilets UQTR (slashing), 17:40.
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Shots on Goal-
±«ÓãÖ±²¥ 11-10-13 -- 34
UQTR 9-6-10 -- 25
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GOALS BY PERIOD:
±«ÓãÖ±²¥ 1-0-5 -- 6
UQTR 1-0-1 -- 2
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Power Play Opportunities-
±«ÓãÖ±²¥ 3 / 7;
UQTR 0 / 3.
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Penalties (No./Mins.)-
±«ÓãÖ±²¥ 4 / 16;
UQTR 9 / 29.
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Goalies-
±«ÓãÖ±²¥, Hubert Morin, W, 1-0-0 (25 shots-23 saves; 60:00).
UQTR, Jean-Christophe Blanchard, L, 1-1-0 (35 shots-29 saves; 60:00).
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Attendance-380
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Referee-Dominic Bedard.
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Start: 7:02
Finish: 9:04
Length: 2:02
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MOLSON CUP THREE STARS:
1. MCG - 9 Alex Picard-Hooper
2. MCG - 19 Andrew Wright
3. MCG - 10 Marc-Andre Dorion