RECAP: Four-goal first period paces Gee-Gees over Redmen

The University of Ottawa men's hockey team, currently ranked ninth in the nation, emphatically wrapped up its opening weekend with a 5-1 win over the no.-five ranked McGill Redmen. Goals from Kevin Domingue, Cody Drover, Brendan Jacome, and Yvan Mongo within the span of just seven minutes late in the first period created a gap too wide for the Redmen to overcome.

Following the game, Gee-Gees head coach Patrick Grandmaître said he was happy to see his club come out with two significant wins over divisional rivals. "Start off the year beating Carleton and McGill, we were really happy with our first period, our goaltending and our penalty kill," he said.

The game opened with a controlled pace, dominated by defensive pressure with neither team willing to give up an inch of ice. Domingue opened the scoring by collecting the puck following a quick play at the blue line and wiring it past the goaltender.

Ottawa drew a power play minutes later, and Drover shovelled in a rebound just outside the crease to tally his first of the season. Before McGill could catch their breath, Ottawa continued to pour on the pressure. Jacome used his foot speed to blow by three defenders and bury the puck in the far corner.

Mongo's marker was his first as a Gee-Gee, coming in dramatic fashion. He took a pass in the slot and tucked it past the goaltender with just a single second on the clock.

Ottawa carried on the pressure in the following period, with Jacome scoring his third of the weekend with a quick tuck after collecting a loose puck that came from a point shot.

Starting goaltender Graham Hunt's shutout bid was snapped with 13 seconds on the clock, though he did stop 42 shots over the course of the night.

Opening the season with two straight wins gives the Gee-Gees momentum in the early portion of the season, and they'll be favoured in a pair of upcoming home contests against the Laurier Golden Hawks and Waterloo Warriors. "I look forward to seeing our reaction in terms of how we come out for those games," Grandmaitre said.

"We've struggled in with our first weekends [in the past] and we really concentrated on coming out hard," he said. "If you look at our first period the first two games, we did just that. So I'm very proud of the guys."

Up next, Ottawa hosts Laurier on Friday, October 19 at 7 p.m. The Gee-Gees haven't taken on the Hawks since November 12, 2016 when Domingue led the way with two goals and Anthony Brodeur stopped all 29 shots in a 4-0 win. Tickets are available at tickets.geegees.ca

Other notes:

While snipers like Jean-François Plante and Kevin Domingue were predicted to pace the offence over the course of the season, it was offence by committee that lead the way over the weekend. 12 different players found the scoresheet over the course of the two games.

Brendan Jacome finds himself tied for second for most goals scored in the OUA through this early season. Of the nine players to score three goals or more, he is just one of two to do so in only two games.

Both Graham Hunt and Anthony Brodeur had strong showings in their respective season debuts. Hunt made several highlight reel saves against a relentless McGill attack, while Brodeur was steady as he baffled Carleton shooters en route to a comeback win. Expect the duo to continue splitting starts as the season rolls along.

—Cameron Penney