The McGill Redmen (3-9-1) fell 3-1 against the Montréal Carabins (8-3) on a cold, rainy Sunday at Molson Stadium. McGill, already disqualified from the post-season after their loss to Laval on Friday, nevertheless began the game with an ambitious effort to walk away with the victory.  

During the first half of the game, the Redmen kept constant pressure in the Carabins’ half; however, their continual shots on net were not easily let go by the Carabins’ goalie, Samuel Dufort, who found dynamic ways to keep the Redmen from scoring.

“We’re a young team so the progress has been consistent all year,” said Montréal’s Head Coach, Pat Raimondo. “Our goalkeeper’s been good, our rookie centre back has been good […] every game we’re getting a little bit better.”

Raimondo sat on McGill’s bench in from 1994-2000 as McGillès head coach. During his seven years at McGill, he led the Redmen to victory in four conference finals and helped them secure a national title in 1997.

Down by a goal going into the break, the Redmen came back onto the pitch with a burst of energy. Rushing up the field, Roberto Bonalumi, an exchange student from Italy, assisted the ball to Henri Ashe-Taylor. Ashe-Taylor, dribbling the ball up the left side of the turf, found the back of the net with a powerful strike to tie the game back up just six minutes into the half. Montreal rushed the McGill zone immediately after the goal and set up a chance to score when junior goalie Max Leblond stopped the ball dead in its tracks.

Despite McGill’s attempts at the start of the second half, Montréal came back strong in what remained of the second half. Continually rushing McGill’s defensive end. Their efforts paid off with two more goals; one in the 67th minute and the other in the 88th minute of the game. Their efforts defeated the Redmen, leaving the score 3-1 Montréal.

When reflecting on the season, Redmen Head Coach Marc Mounicot described a downward trend in the team’s performance.

“The second half was more difficult,” Mounicot explained “Finishing was a problem and we tried to address this at each practice.”

The season is over, but Mounicot and the Redmen are already facing some big changes for next year.

“Next season we are losing six players because of graduation,” said Mounicot  “We need to recruit a lot and change a lot of things including the roster.”

Sound Bite

“[There was] low emotion which is very odd [in] McGill-Montreal games, especially because I was on the McGill bench for seven seasons, so there is always a little bit of extra special meaning [in] these games.”- Raimondo on gameday emotions between McGill and Montreal

Moment of the game

Roberto Bonalumi’s assist to Henri Ashe-Taylor at the start of the second half demonstrated his quick reactions and good awareness.

Stat corner 

McGill lost three games on home turf in the past month.