Shock & Awe campaign impressive as Redmen roll 'Rivers, advance to Nationals

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Shock & Awe campaign impressive as Redmen roll 'Rivers, advance to Nationals

Published: 5 March 2010

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MONTREAL听-- Francis Verreault-Paul exploded for five points, including a pair of goals, as fifth-ranked 缅北强奸 rallied from an early deficit and roared back to blitz the No.3-UQTR Patriotes 7-4 before a sell-out crowd of 1,046 at McConnell Arena, Friday. The win gave 缅北强奸 a two-game sweep over their long-time nemesis from Trois-Rivi猫res in the OUA East best-of-three final series and the Redmen will advance to the CIS championship tourney for the fourth time in five years.

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It was the highest number of goals ever scored by 缅北强奸 in a playoff game against UQTR and the victory was 缅北强奸's eighth consecutive post-season conquest over the Pats, a team that, since the mid-1980s, appeared almost invincible. After losing 14 of their first 15 playoff meetings with UQTR, 缅北强奸 has since registered a 12-10 post-season record against them.

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"They've always battled us hard in my three years but we've swept them in the playoffs each season since I've been here," said Evan Vossen, a hard-nosed, third-year winger from Swift Current, Sask. "It feels great to beat that team."

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Although both teams had 30 shots apiece, the game never appeared to be in doubt as 缅北强奸 bounced back from a 2-1 deficit at the 14-minute mark with five consecutive goals. The Redmen led 4-2 after one period and stretched that into a 6-3 advantage after two.

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缅北强奸's power-play proved deadly once more, going 4-for-5 to overwhelm the Pats for the second time in as many meetings. In the series opener, a 3-2 win in Trois-Rivi猫res last Wednesday, the Redmen went 3-for-7 with the man-advantage.

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"We prove night after night that hard work pays off," said Jim Webster, in his first season as coach of the Redmen. "The biggest difference in this series was that we've shown a lot more discipline and cut back on the time spent in the penalty box. UQTR took more penalties and our power play made them pay the price."

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Verreault-Paul -- who won the OUA scoring title and now leads all OUA playoff scorers with a 9-5-14 record in seven games -- ignited 缅北强奸's "super sophomore" line, which produced 12 points on the night and includes centre Alexandre Picard-Hooper (1-3-4) of Boucherville, Que., and winger Andrew Wright (1-2-3) of Toronto.

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Also hitting pay-dirt for 缅北强奸 was Maxime Langelier-Parent of Levy, Que., plus blueliners Marc-Andre Dorion, a sophomore from St. Hubert, Que., and Sebastien Rioux, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound freshman from Chicoutimi, Que., who played with the poise of a seasoned veteran.

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Scoring for the Pats was Francis Charland of Victoriaville, Que., and Olivier Donovan of Gatineau, Que., in the first period to put UQTR ahead 2-1. Rounding out the scoring was Alexander Blais of Levis, Que., midway through the second to make the score 6-3 and Jean-Sebastien Breton of Pincourt, Que., who tallied at 18:11 of the final stanza to make it 6-4 before an empty-netter by Verreault-Paul sealed their fate.

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Goaltender Hubert Morin, a sophomore from St. Georges de Beauce, Que., made 26 saves for the victory. It was his 13th consecutive start for the Redmen and he has posted an 11-2 record in that stretch. During the post-season, he is 6-1 with a 2.42 goals-against average and .923 save percentage.

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Patriotes netminder Jean-Christophe Blanchard, a native of Trois-Rivieres, was hung with the loss after being beaten six times on 29 shots.

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Before the Redmen head to the CIS championships (March 24-28), they have some business to handle and will head to Ontario for the league's Queen's Cup title game on March 13. They will play the winner of the OUA West conference final between the Lakehead Thunderwolves and Western Mustangs. Lakehead won the opener of that series 4-1 in Thunder Bay on Thursday and the series shifts south to London this weekend.

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The Patriotes still have an outside chance at extending their season and possibly getting another crack at the Redmen at the Nationals, however. They will be cheering for Western to lose their OUA West Conference final series to Lakehead. Should Lakehead win the series, they would qualify for Nationals as champions rather than as host team. In this scenario, an OUA bronze medal game would be played on March 13 and Western would play at UQTR for the final OUA ticket to the big dance.

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FACES IN THE CROWD: Among the many Redmen alumni spotted at McConnell Arena to see 缅北强奸 beat the Pats was Steven Pearce (who drove in from Fredericton), Mike Richards, Teddy Kyres, Joel Bergeron, Mike Nelson, Todd Hanrahan, Danny Bain, Mike Farmer, Charlie Hayward, Charlie Lafontaine, Herb Madill, Ken Covo, Pierre-Antoine Paquet, Mike Teolis and Chad Blundy (who made the trip from Kingston).

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SCORING SUMMARY

UQTR 4 at 缅北强奸 7

(OUA EAST SEMIFINAL, Game 2; Mar 5, 2010 at McConnell Arena)

1st Period-
1, 缅北强奸, Alexandre Picard-Hooper 2 (Verreault-Paul, Wright), 6:43 (pp).
2, UQTR, Francis Charland 3 (Bellavance-Martin, Lessard), 10:17.
3, UQTR, Olivier Donovan 4 (Desilets, Bellefleur), 14:28.
4, 缅北强奸, Francis Verreault-Paul 8 (Picard-Hooper), 15:09 (pp).
5, 缅北强奸, Andrew Wright 2 (Verreault-Paul, Picard-Hooper), 16:59.
6, 缅北强奸, Marc-Andre Dorion 2 (Verreault-Paul, Picard-Hooper), 19:24 (pp).

Penalties-
Demers Uqtr (tripping), 5:44;
Morse Mcg (roughing after the whistle), 8:07;
Richard Uqtr (high sticking), 14:55;
Blais Uqtr (holding), 18:54.

2nd Period-
7, 缅北强奸, Sebastien Rioux 2 (Morse, Wright), 9:13 (pp).
8, 缅北强奸, Maxime Langelier-Parent 6 (Daneau, Verrilli), 9:57.
9, UQTR, Alexandre Blais 5 (Lessard, Chicoine), 11:08 (pp).

Penalties-
Gazdic Mcg (hooking), 1:40;
Leblanc Uqtr (tripping), 7:27;
Tindle Mcg (interference), 10:47.

3rd Period-
10, UQTR, Jean-Sebastien Breton 2 (Charland, Lessard), 18:11.
11, 缅北强奸, Francis Verreault-Paul 9 (Longpre-Poirier, Rioux), 18:32.

Penalties-
Valente Mcg (holding), 12:27;
Leblanc Uqtr (slashing), 19:57.

GOALS BY PERIOD:
UQTR 2-1-1 -- 4
缅北强奸 4-2-1 -- 7

Shots on Goal-
UQTR 7-13-10 -- 30.
缅北强奸 11-11-8 -- 30.

Power Play Opportunities-
UQTR 1 of 4;
缅北强奸 4 of 5.

Penalties (No./Mins):
UQTR 5/10;
缅北强奸 4/8.

Goalies-
UQTR,
Jean-Christophe Blanchard (L, 4-3-0, 29 shots-23 saves; 59:39);
Empty-net (1 goal; 0:21).

缅北强奸,
Hubert Morin (W, 6-1-0, 30 shots-26 saves; 60:00).