After a 5-1 win, the Gee-Gees struggle to score in rematch with UQTR
The University of Ottawa men’s hockey team faced off against the University of Quebec in Trois-Rivieres (UQTR) Patriotes in back-to-back games over the weekend.
On Saturday, the Gee-Gees came out on top 5-1 after a fast-paced, physical game.
The Minto Sports Complex welcomed UQTR back to the ice for a rematch with the Gee-Gees on Sunday.
Right from the first faceoff, the Gee-Gees were able to pressure the UQRT defense, but couldn’t quite create the scoring opportunities their opponents were manufacturing against them down the ice.
“It’s one thing to talk about being ready and that kind of stuff, but we have to figure out why we didn’t come out as hard as we should have,” said Gee-Gees head coach Patrick Grandmaitre after the game.
Two consecutive penalties by the U of O gave the visiting team a five-on-three opportunity.
Loik Leveille of Trois-Rivieres did not pass up the chance to put the first goal on the board. Just seven minutes into the opening period, the former Cape Breton Eagle took advantage of a rebound and a positioning mistake from Ottawa goalie Domenic Graham to make it 1-0 for UQTR.
A few minutes later, the Gee-Gees were given a powerplay chance of their own. Unfortunately for the Gee-Gees, UQTR goaltender, Sebastien Auger put on a great performance, stopping every puck shot at him.
The Patriotes snuck another one past the men in grey and garnet before the end of the period, making it 2-0 for the visitors at the first intermission.
Starting the second period on the powerplay, the U of O was quick to attack. Still, they couldn’t get past Auger before UQTR was back to full strength.
Six minutes into the second period, Leveille set up Bruno-Carl Denis with a one-timer that beat Graham.
After two periods, the Gee-Gees still had come up with nothing despite racking up over twice the number of shots as the Patriotes.
The U of O had one last period to make a comeback.
Halfway through the third period, Connor Sills took the puck right through the crease and slipped the puck past Auger to put the home team on the board.
With the score 3-1 on the board, the Gee-Gees pulled their goalie in favour of a sixth attacker in the last few minutes in hopes of closing the two-goal gap.
Unfortunately for the Gee-Gees, the Patriotes were able to get the puck out of their zone and into the unattended U of O goal.
UQTR took the game 4-2.
Rookie defender for the Gee-Gees Dominic Cormier got the assist on Sills’ goal.
“I think we had a lot to build off,” said Cormier, “we had a lot of chances but the pucks weren’t bouncing our way.”
The final buzzer marked a loss for the Gee-Gees who drop to 14-5 and third in the OUA East.
Next week, the U of O will be away at McGill, Carleton, and Queen’s before coming home to take on the Concordia Stingers on Jan. 26.
Men’s hockey by the numbers
How do you like them apples: Gee’s Cody Drover leads the OUA in assists. Kill’Em All: Ottawa leads the OUA with a 91.7% penalty kill percentage. Swiss Cheese: GeeGees goalies have a combined .898 save percentage good for 13th in the OUA
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