Men’s Hockey (14-11-1 OUA)

Visited Concordia (13-11-2 OUA) on Saturday, February 4, 2012, at Ed Meagher Arena in Montreal, Que.

uOttawa goal scorers: Donovan, SH (Voyer, Touchette) 4:42, 2^nd period; Blunden (Jalbert, Ireland) 5:59, 2^nd period; Blain (Methot, Blunden) 16:36 2^nd period; Methot (Blunden, Blain) 0:40, 3^rd period; Methot (Blunden, Blain) 12:35, 3^rd period

 Fifth year captain Matt Methot took the Gee-Gees on his back in one of the most important games of the season, scoring two third period goals and contributing to the team’s outstanding defence against a high-flying Concordia team. Methot scored the game winner just forty seconds into the final frame, lifting the Gee-Gees into a tie for fourth place in the log-jammed OUA East.

“They were pushing at the end, but we stayed under control and managed the game well,” noted Réal Paiement, pleased with the leadership of his top line and the team’s physical play throughout the game.

“Guys went through their checks, played hard along the boards and took hits to make plays. It was a good physical effort and that’s what you need to get in the playoffs, and to win in the playoffs.” Coach Paiement also noted the work of his centremen, Blain and Touchette, noting that each logged a lot of minutes and were dependable in the faceoff circle.

Although Methot’s third period heroics clinched the win, much of the battle was won in the second period, where the Gee-Gees recovered from giving up the first goal of the game and took a 3-1 lead.

Concordia had an opportunity for back to back power plays to open the period but Ottawa’s penalty kill unit swarmed the Stingers all over the ice, eventually leading to a turnover which allowed Donovan to break down the left wing and open the scoring for the Gee-Gees.  Moments later, Stephen Blunden picked up the puck coming out of the penalty box and defenseman Dominic Jalbert jumped into the rush, crashing the net and providing a screen for Blunden’s twelfth goal of the season.

The Gee-Gees did a nice job of clearing the rebounds from in front of Russell Abbott and seemed to win the majority of the puck battles, playing aggressively but disciplined. Abbott was impressive, stopping 28 shots including three clear breakaways and weathering the second period storm to allow Ottawa to build a lead.

Still in the second, Concordia nearly had too many men on a line change which threw off their rhythm enough for Methot to thread a pass to Luc Blain in front of the Stinger net. Blain showed nice hands by evading the goalie’s poke check before sliding the puck into the net.

Concordia made a goaltending change to start the third period and Methot beat him early, making a nice move to break in alone for the fourth Gee-Gee goal. Methot added his second goal of the game by intercepting a pass on his own blue line and using his long strides to once again break into the Stinger zone untouched.

The victory gives the Gee-Gees two much needed points as they will face the top two teams in the league, McGill and UQTR, for their final regular season games next Friday and Saturday nights at the uOttawa Minto Sports Complex.