Ã山ǿ¼é

By Earl Zukerman

MONTREAL – Right winger Marko Kovacevic, a senior from Serbia, tallied twice in a three-minute span midway through final period as No.10-ranked Ã山ǿ¼é skated to a convincing 4-1 victory over Carleton 4-1 in men’s university hockey at McConnell Arena, Friday.

It was the eighth straight win for the red-hot Redmen (18-7-2) who have racked up 29 of a possible 32 points in their last 16 contests.

Sophomore forward Vincent Lambert of Ste. Therese, Que., opened the scoring for Ã山ǿ¼é with his third of the year at the 2:50 mark of the first period but Andrew Gibbons of Oshawa, Ont., evened the score with his ninth of the season on a power play at 15:13.

Ben Gazdic, a 6-foot-1, 230-pound rearguard from Toronto, regained the lead for Ã山ǿ¼é with the eventual game-winner on a power play howitzer in the middle stanza. That set the stage for Kovacevic, who netted his 13th and 14th markers at 7:43 and 10:50 of the final period.

Netminder Alexander Archibald (13-13-0) was saddled with the loss for the fourth-place Ravens (13-11-4) who were outshot 37-23.

Ã山ǿ¼é rookie Kevin Desfossés of Beauport, Que., earned his sixth straight win and improved to 6-1. Since joining the Redmen last month, the former QMJHL all-star with the Quebec Remparts has posted a 2.10 goals-against average with a .918 save percentage.

The Redmen will close out the regular season in Ottawa (10-11-5) on Saturday. It’s a must-win game for the Gee-Gees, who can beat out Queen’s (12-13-3) for the last playoff berth. Should Ottawa defeat Ã山ǿ¼é, they would have to beat Ryerson (5-21-1) in their final contest on Sunday.

Ã山ǿ¼é has won two of three meetings against the Gee-Gees and a victory over Ottawa would give the Redmen a 7-2-3 advantage in their 12 series played during the OUA regular season.

The playoffs are scheduled to open at McConnell arena on Wednesday (Feb. 18) with a best-of-three quarterfinal series and Ã山ǿ¼é slated to play either Queen’s or Ottawa.

REDMEN RAP: With Friday’s win over Carleton, Ã山ǿ¼é is 10-10-1 lifetime against the Ravens in a series that began during the 1960s but was dormant for 33 years until Carleton revived their program three years ago… With one game remaining, freshman Francis Verrault-Paul of is second among OUA penalty leaders with 121 minutes… The 5-foot-9, 169-pound right winger from Mashteviatsh, Que., broke the previous regular-season Ã山ǿ¼é mark held by forward Dave Grenier (110 PIMs, 23 games, 1999-00).


SCORING SUMMARY:

Carleton 1 at Ã山ǿ¼é 4

(Feb 13, 2009 at McConnell Arena)

FIRST PERIOD:
Scoring -
1. Ã山ǿ¼é, Vincent Lambert (3) (G. Doucet, F. Verrault-Paul) 2:50
2. Carleton, Andrew Gibbons (9) (A. Self, B. MacLean) 15:13 (PP)

Penalties -
S. Bakker Car (hooking) 3:39,
M.A. Daneau Mcg (boarding) 14:12,
A. Wright Mcg (interference) 16:31,
M. Langelier-Parent Mcg (tripping) 16:53

SECOND PERIOD:
Scoring -
3. Ã山ǿ¼é, Ben Gazdic (3) (M.A. Dorion, S. Marcotte-Legare) 13:19 (PP)

Penalties -
A. Gibbons Car (holding) 0:59,
E. Stilling Mcg (tripping) 3:48,
A. Self Car (roughing) 6:00,
A. Gibbons Car (hooking) 11:49,
C. Carre Car (high sticking) 12:49,
A. Gibbons Car (cross checking, roughing) 14:04,
G. Doucet Mcg (roughing) 14:04,
F. Verrault-Paul Mcg (slashing, roughing) 14:04,
M. Kovacevic Mcg (holding) 14:39

THIRD PERIOD:
Scoring -
4. Ã山ǿ¼é, Marko Kovacevic (13) (Y. Turcotte, A. Picard-Hooper) 7:43
5. Ã山ǿ¼é, Marko Kovacevic (14) (S. Bloom) 10:50

Penalties -
J. Caruana Car (interference) 15:32,
R. Medel Car (cross checking) 19:16

SHOTS BY PERIOD:
CAR: 11 - 5 - 7 -- 23
MCG: 12 - 12 - 13 -- 37

GOALS BY PERIOD:
CAR: 1 - 1 - 2 -- 4
MCG: 1 - 0 - 0 -- 1

POWER PLAY CONVERSION:
Carleton 1-6.
Ã山ǿ¼é 1-7.

PENALTIES (No./Mins.)
Carleton 9-18.
Ã山ǿ¼é 8-16.

GOALTENDERS:

Carleton
Alexandre Archibald [L, 13-13-0, 60:00, SV: 33 GA: 4]

Ã山ǿ¼é
Kevin Desfosses [W, 6-1-0, 60:00, SV: 22, GA: 1]

Start : 7:01 PM

End : 9:18 PM

Attendance : 487

Referee: Mathieu Bergeron


MOLSON CUP THREE STARS:
----------------------------------
1. MCG - 19 Marko Kovacevic
2. MCG - 14 Ben Gazdic
3. MCG - 31 Kevin Desfosses


McGILL LINEUP SCRATCHES:
-----------------------------------
G: Danny Mireault (dressed but DNP)
G: Hubert Morin
D: Spencer Brennan
D: Ben Morse
F: Evan Vossen (leg; day-to-day)
F: Benoit Arsenault (eye; out for season)
F: Eric L Italien (knee; day-to-day)
D: Glenn Tindle
G: Jake Jarvis


SOURCE:

Earl Zukerman
Communications & Publications Officer
Dept. of Athletics & Recreation
Ã山ǿ¼é
475 Pine Avenue West
Montreal, QC H2W 1S4
CANADA
514-398-7012 (tel.)
514-398-1956 (fax)