Super Serb scores three as Redmen win 7th in a row
By Earl Zukerman
MONTREAL – Marko Kovacevic, a senior from Serbia, netted his
second career hat-trick as visiting ۲ݮƵ skated to their seventh
straight win, a 4-3 decision in the 22nd annual Corey Cup men’s
hockey game at Concordia, Sunday.
۲ݮƵ improved to 18-3-1 in their last 22 meetings against
Concordia and the victory clinched second place in the OUA Far East
for the unranked Redmen, who are the hottest team in the country
right now with 13 victories in their last 15 outings.
With two games remaining on their schedule, ۲ݮƵ owns a 17-7-2
record and sits four points ahead of the second-place Stingers
(14-9-4), who have only one game remaining before playoffs.
Sophomore Evan Vossen of Swift Current, Sask., notched his seventh
of the campaign to give ۲ݮƵ a 2-0 lead midway through the first
period.
Cory ۲ݮƵis of Sudbury, Ont., gave the Stingers some life with
his eighth goal to make it 2-1 after two
But Kovacevic snuffed out any hopes with two goals in 48 seconds
early in the third period to give him a career-high 12 markers.
Concordia’s Renaud Des Alliers and Andrew Palombaro replied in the
final period but it was too little, too late.
Goalie Danny Mireault made 21 saves to improve his record to
10-6-0. The rookie from Notre Dame des Prairies, Que., started in
place of netminder Kevin Désfossés, who was scratched with a bout
of the flu after posting back-to-back upsets over No.3-ranked
UQTR.
Mireault, however, failed to pitch a “complete game” as referee
Nicolas Dutil made him sit out one shift after he had skated to the
۲ݮƵ bench in search of a towel to wipe his mask. Rookie Hubert
Morin was pressed into action for what turned out to be 14 seconds
until the next whistle.
Concordia’s Maxime Joyal took the loss, allowing four goals on 37
shots
۲ݮƵ will close out the regular season with a home game against
Carleton on Feb. 13 and a road game at Ottawa (9-10-5) on
Valentine’s Day. The OUA Eastern Conference best-of-three
quarterfinals are tentatively slated to open at McConnell Arena on
Feb. 17 against the sixth-seeded team, which could be Ottawa,
Queen’s or Carleton.
REDMEN RAP: The Redmen had to make do without the services of
rugged rearguard Yan Turcotte, who was serving an automatic
one-game suspension for a major penalty incurred at UQTR last
Friday.… However, only six minutes into the second stanza,
defenceman Ken Morin was tossed for a checking from behind penalty,
leaving some fans on the edge of their seats at the Ed Meagher
Arena… Since 1988 the Stingers and the Redmen have faced off
annually for the prestigious Corey Cup, emblematic of men’s
university hockey supremacy in Montreal. The Corey Cup was
dedicated in 1988 by Ronald Corey, then president and governor of
the National Hockey League’s Montreal Canadiens… ۲ݮƵ holds an
11-6-3 record in those games. The Stingers are 7-12-3 in Corey Cup
action and the UQTR Patriotes are 1-1-0.
SCORING SUMMARY
۲ݮƵ 4 at Concordia 3
(Feb 8, 2009 - Ed Meagher Arena)
FIRST PERIOD:
Scoring -
1. ۲ݮƵ, Marko Kovacevic (10) (K. Morin, A. Picard-Hooper) 7:01
PP
2. ۲ݮƵ, Evan Vossen (7) (S. Marcotte-Legare) 10:53
Penalties -
N. Knudsen Con (interference) 5:55,
E. Stilling Mcg (holding) 16:12,
E. Begin Con (10-minute misconduct) 16:58
SECOND PERIOD:
Scoring -
3. Concordia, Cory ۲ݮƵis (8) (N. DAoust) 12:23
Penalties -
F. Verrault-Paul Mcg (high sticking) 5:36,
K. Morin Mcg (checking from behind, GM-50) 6:17,
V. Lambert Mcg (hooking) 17:11,
C. ۲ݮƵis Con (slashing) 18:47
THIRD PERIOD:
Scoring -
4. ۲ݮƵ, Marko Kovacevic (11) (A. Picard-Hooper, S. Bloom)
0:48
5. ۲ݮƵ, Marko Kovacevic (12) (F. Verrault-Paul, S. Bloom)
1:36
6. Concordia, Renaud Des Alliers (6) (M.A. Rizk) 9:19
7. Concordia, Andrew Palombaro (2) 14:57
Penalties -
C. Garland Con (hooking) 2:30,
L. Van Wieren Con (hooking) 10:27
SHOTS BY PERIOD:
MCG: 9 - 10 - 18 -- 37
CON: 11 - 7 - 6 -- 24
GOALS BY PERIOD:
MCG: 2 - 0 - 2 -- 4
CON: 0 - 1- 2 -- 3
POWER PLAY CONVERSION:
۲ݮƵ 1-4.
Concordia 0-4.
PENALTIES (No/Mins):
۲ݮƵ 5-18.
Concordia 5-18.
GOALTENDERS:
۲ݮƵ
Danny Mireault [W, 10-6-0, Start, 59:46, SV: 21, GA: 3]
Hubert Morin [ND, played 0:14 in 2nd, SV: 0 GA: 0]
Concordia
Maxime Joyal [L, 11-7-3, 59:58, SV: 33, GA: 4]
Start : 3:04 PM
End : 5:15 PM
Attendance : 522
Referee: Nicolas Dutil
MOLSON CUP THREE STARS:
---------------------------------
1. Marko Kovacevic, ۲ݮƵ
2. Renaud Des Ailliers, Concordia
3. Sam Bloom, ۲ݮƵ
McGILL LINEUP SCRATCHES
----------------------------------
4 Brennan, Spencer
(D)
5 Turcotte, Yan (D)
12 Arsenault, Benoit (F;
eye)
15 Litalien, Eric (F;
knee)
21 Tindle, Glenn (D)
24 Drager, Timothy (F)
30 Jarvis, Jake (G)
31 Desfosses, Kevin (G; flu)