In their final homestand of the 2012-2013 season, the McGill Redmen (17-7-4) ended on a high note, emerging victorious over the Ryerson Rams (12-16) by a score of 4-1 on Friday night. This final stretch marked the culmination of a relatively tumultuous season for the Redmen, who were inconsistent for much of the year.

The injury bug remained pervasive in the New Year, and McGill  lost four out of their last five heading into Friday’s tilt. Though, this was not a cause for concern for Head Coach Kelly Nobes.

“Three of them were in shootouts, [and] as a coach, I don’t really count those in my head. … Essentially, we ran out of time to win and losing in shootouts isn’t the same as losing in regulation, as we’re still picking up a point,” Nobes said.

The Redmen put together quite the exhibition of slick passing and physicality against Ryerson. As a result, McGill jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first 10 minutes behind goals from Trevor Braun and Nicolas Biniek. McGill’s aggressive forecheck was noticeable throughout the period because it kept the Rams on their heels. Coach Nobes was pleased with the team’s start.

“We had good structure in the neutral zone, and we countered well off of their turnovers while being opportunistic,” Nobes explained.

Goaltender Hubert Morin was especially impressive in the first period and continued the strong effort for the remainder of the contest, turning aside 22 shots to earn the first star of the game.

The second period was a back and forth affair. Although the Redmen had multiple opportunities on the power play, they ultimately went 0-5 on the night and generated few scoring chances. The special teams play was not particularly inspiring in the second, as the Rams capitalized on McGill’s man advantage, after a sloppy Redmen turnover. This seemed to light a fire under the Ryerson players, but their momentum was quashed midway through the period as a cross-ice pass from David Rose—who finished with two assists—found Mathieu Pompei, who sniped a shot into the top right corner past Rams goaltender Troy Passingham.

This proved to be the turning point in the game, as the Redmen held control for the remainder of the contest, even after their potential fifth goal was disallowed. The final stanza of the game was marred by chippy play. Even though McGill and Ryerson aren’t heated rivals, the looming presence of the postseason play intensified the game’s proceedings.

Third-year Redmen forward Benoit Lévesque commented on the gritty third period.

“They’re fighting for a playoff spot, [so] things were chippy. They have a few players with heated tempers and they were running around trying to injure some of our guys,” he said

Unfortunately, the Rams were successful. Redmen left-winger Justin Ducharme laid on the ground for several minutes after being hit to the head mid-way through the third. He struggled to get back on his feet and eventually left the ice. The body count continues to pile up for the Redmen, whose numbers are dwindling at an alarming rate. Hopefully ,this doesn’t come back to bite them in the postseason.

Nevertheless, Coach Nobes was adamant that the Redmen would ride the momentum they received off of this tough victory, and the team did just, defeating RMC (3-22-3) 2-1 in overtime on Saturday in their regular season finale. McGill will need to carry this momentum against Nipissing (14-12-2) in game one of the opening round of the OUA playoffs, on Wednesday night.

Despite all the injuries, the Redmen should be ready to start their CIS Championship defence.

“We’re trying to repeat what we did last year,” Lévesque said. “It’s a big challenge, especially with all the [injuries], but there’s no fun when there’s no challenge.”