RECAP: Comeback bid falls short as Gee-Gees drop shootout to Brock

The first loss of the season for the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees men's hockey team can be cleanly divided into two halves. The first half was described as average, while the second half showcased the skill this nationally ranked team has displayed over the course of the past four games. In combination, it was enough as they dropped a 4-3 shootout to the Brock Badgers in St. Catherines.

"We had our chances to seal the deal and we didn't," Head Coach Patrick Grandmaître said following the game. "When you push games to a shoutout you can't expect to win them all. We showed we are a tough team, a good team. I thought we carried most of the play and almost had the chance to win there, but it also shows we have to be ready to play our brand of hockey right off the hop," he said.

Ottawa jumped on the board first with Cody Drover tapping in a power play marker late in the first to gain an early edge. The goal also extended Drover's point streak to four games, having scored a total of three power play goals and adding two assists in the process.

Brock's special teams gave them the upper hand as the game progressed. They tallied on a power play with a minute remaining in the first, then scored shorthanded early in the second to gain the lead. A power play goal at the midway point of the contest further their lead. This deficit awoke the Gee-Gees from their slumber as they began to pin Brock in their own zone for extended sequences and battled back into the game.

"We had a good pushback shift from the Hanlon line and an important goal from Mike Poirier gave us momentum and we kept pushing from there," Grandmaitre said.

Poirier's goal gave the squad life heading into the third period and a relentless forecheck was finally rewarded when Kevin Domingue banked in a short side shot to tie the game with seven minutes on the clock. Ottawa continued to pour the pressure in hopes of securing a regulation win, even pulling goaltender Graham Hunt in favour of an extra attacker for an offensive zone face-off in the dwindling seconds of the contest.

An overtime period highlighted by a Médric Mercier breakaway generated many goal-worthy chances, but neither squad could find the winner. In the shootout, the Gee-Gees first turned to specialists Domingue and Connor Sills for the win. In the two previous shootouts this season, the duo combined to score on three of four chances.

Only Domingue was successful on this night, while a pair of Brock goals placed the pressure on Yvan Mongo. The rookie converted, and another shootout goal from Jean-François Plante placed the Gee-Gees in the drivers seat. However, another pair from Brock in combination with a Gee-Gees miss clinched the win for the Badgers.

Now 4-0-1 on the season, the team finds themselves in a tie for second in the OUA East. Ottawa will look to jump back in the win column tomorrow night at Guelph. The game will require extra preparation for the team as they play on Olympic sized ice (30m x 60m) rather than standard sized ice (26m x 61m).

"We're going to need to look at tape and adjust to that style of play," Grandmaître said. "They're a puck possession type of team, a very good team and it will be interesting for sure."