U of O outlasts UQTR in 5-4 overtime win, drop second game
The University of Ottawa men’s hockey team played against the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) Patriotes in the first game of a double-header on Friday, Jan. 18.
Coming off a tough 4-3 shootout loss last week to the Concordia Stingers, the Gee Gees looked to bounce back at home.
Things started off well for the Gees—less than five minutes into the first period, Kevin Domingue deflected a Mike Poirier shot from the point on the power-play to give the U of O an early 1-0 lead.
The Gees’ lead would be short-lived, as UQTR’s Olivier Caouette would score less than a minute later on a juicy rebound from U of O goaltender Graham Hunt. On the same shift seconds later, Caouette would give his team the lead, beating Hunt—who dropped to the butterfly position too early following a nice bar-down shot.
The Garnet and Grey would come storming back minutes later, as Cody Drover took advantage of the Patriotes’ indiscipline to tie it up with a nice shot from the circle on the power-play. Both teams would retreat to the dressing room tied at 2-2.
The second would see its share of skirmishes as both teams battled it out tightly. UQTR would draw the first blood in this frame, scoring about nine minutes in when Christophe Boivin found the strings to give them the lead.
With two minutes left in the period, a kerfuffle broke out in front of the net, leading to two UQTR penalties. This gave the U of O a two-man advantage—a grave mistake as it turned out, when Medric Mercier bounced a puck off the boards right to Domingue, who scored on the backdoor to tie it up at 3-3.
A bit like the second, the third would start off slow—with both teams trying to make plays but failing to capitalize.
Finally, with 10 minutes left, Jacob Sweeney found the back of the net, scoring from the rush to give the U of O the lead again.
From there the Patriotes fought back—true to their namesake—and scored with four minutes left to tie it. Both teams would head into the locker room one last time to prepare for OT.
In overtime, Gee-Gees captain Eric Locke would surprise UQTR goalie Sebastien Auger to give his team the win and their 37th point in the standings—making the 2018-19 edition of the Gee-Gees the best in team history.
“Hockey’s a game of chess—we both play similar styles—tonight we weren’t in control of the whole game. They’re a good team, they’ve got a very strong first line, and we stuck to it and in the end, came out with a win,’’ Gee-Gees head coach Patrick Grandmaitre said.
Domingue—responsible for two of the five goals—also praised UQTR, along with his teammates.
‘’We had a hard time tonight. They’re good but we found a way to push back as a team,’’ Domingue said.
After claiming the two points on Jan. 18, the second game versus UQTR went a similar way. Both teams were fairly evenly matched in regulation, with the U of O having the edge earlier on, leading 3-1 at the end of the second.
The Patriotes once again were able to rally it up and force OT—this time making the Gees pay for it, as Boivin scored the winner for his team to steal back a point.
From here, the first-place Gees will hit the road against the last-place RMC Paladins before taking on the McGill Redmen at home on Jan. 27 in an epic home showdown. Grab tickets here.
