RECAP: Gee-Gees take season opener against McGill 

The Gee-Gees men's hockey team opened their season on a winning note, beating McGill 3-2 at McConnell Arena in Montreal on Thursday night. 

Seven different Gee-Gees registered a point, while Domenic Graham won his regular season debut in Garnet and Grey. 

"It's always nice to get the season going on the right foot," said head coach Patrick Grandmaître. "I really liked out effort level. We didn't panic when were down a goal and didn't panic when they scored their second goal and started putting more pressure on us. I thought our composure was really good." 

McGill opened the scoring in the first period, but Ottawa quickly bit back. As a powerplay expired, Connor Sills jammed home a rebound. Yvan Mongo and Medric Mercier were credited with assists on what served as the first goal of the 2019-20 campaign for the Gee-Gees. 

Ottawa took the lead just over a minute into the second period. Defenceman Matthew Dunlop pinched in from the point and beat Louis-Philippe Guindon with a low shot. 

The Gee-Gees added to their lead before the second period was out. Cody Drover showed great poise behind the net and set up Michael Poirier with a cross-crease feed for a simple tap-in. Drover led Ottawa with 40 points last season, and he earned two helpers on Thursday. 

McGill drew to within one with a shorthanded marker early in the third period, and the Gee-Gees had to hunker down the rest of the way. The home side looked dangerous on a powerplay with 12 minutes to go, but Graham and the penalty killers were up to the task. 

"That was pretty much game time, that's what makes the wins and losses right there," said Graham when asked about McGill's third period man advantage. "It's nice to have a good group of guys and it's easy to work for them. When guys are supporting you down low, it's easy to make the big stops for them." 

Graham turned aside 28 of the 30 shots he faced earn the win. It's the 19th career OUA victory for the transfer from Nipissing University. 

"He made some key saves," said Grandmaître when asked about Graham. "All along [McGill] had some pushback, and Dom was really good at holding the fort and giving guys confidence that we can go back and attack them." 

Ottawa was 0-for-6 on the powerplay and a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill. The Gee-Gees outshot the opposition 44 to 30. 

Beating McGill could be a good omen for the Gee-Gees – their 2017-18 season ended in game three of OUA East semi-finals at McConnell Arena. 

Former Ottawa Senators assistant coach Martin Raymond took in the game at McConnell Arena. Raymond is now an advisor with the McGill men's hockey program. Daniel Jacob, assistant coach of the Laval Rocket (AHL), was also at the game. 

The Gee-Gees hit the road this weekend for an exhibition game against the Penn State Nittany Lions on Sunday, October 6. They return to regular season action on Friday, October 11, visiting the Laurier Golden Hawks. Ottawa's home opener is scheduled for Friday, October 18 against the Western Mustangs. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. at the Minto Sports Complex. Tickets are available now at tickets.geegees.ca.