RECAP: Men’s hockey sweeps weekend series with rivals McGill, Carleton

The Gee-Gees men's hockey team turned in two complete performances at home over the weekend, defeating seventh-ranked McGill by a 3-0 score on Saturday and third-ranked Carleton 2-1 on Sunday.

Ottawa entered the weekend having lost two straight games in regulation – their first such streak since January 2018. They were able to get back to their winning ways however, propelling themselves into third place in the OUA East despite having played the fewest games in the conference. 

"We track a lot of statistics and there's not many games this year that we should not have won," said Gee-Gees head coach Patrick Grandmaître. "Sometimes 'puck luck' just doesn't go your way and it could have gone another way this weekend. We got some good saves and some good bounces, and we chipped in." 

The weekend also marked a significant milestone for two Ottawa players. Kevin Domingue and Cody Drover each recorded their 100th career point.

McGill and Ottawa had met twice already this season, with the teams splitting two tight affairs. Saturday was Ottawa's night though, as they put two past stellar netminder Louis-Philippe Guindon.

Domingue earned his 100th point in the first period by beating Guindon from the high slot with low wrister. It was his 56th career goal and snapped a three-game goalless drought. Marc Beckstead found the back of the net in the second period and Connor Sills iced the game with an empty netter.

Domenic Graham steered aside all 33 shots he faced, notching his second career OUA shutout. 

"[This weekend] shows that's we're tough on the penalty kill," said Graham. "We need those wins. Every year is a new year. Whatever we did last year doesn't mean anything. We have to refocus every game and every practice." 

On Sunday, Ottawa handed Carleton just their second loss of the season. 

"It was a really a measuring stick to see where we fit against them," Grandmaître said. "They're a really good team. I thought they were the better team for the first half of the game, but the second half was all us. 

The Ravens took the lead in the second period, but Ottawa bit back as the second frame expired. Mathieu Newcomb intercepted a pass and busted in on a partial break, beating goaltender Mark Grametbauer glove side. It served as Newcomb's fourth point in five games. 

The teams battled into the third with the usual chippiness one would expect from the cross-town rivals and it was an unlikely source that broke the deadlock. 

Nicolas Mattinen parked himself in front of Grametbauer and jammed a Drover touch pass past the helpless netminder. The helper served as Drover's 100th career point with the Gee-Gees (29-71-100) in his 92nd career game. 

Carleton got a power play with just over two minutes to go, but the Gee-Gees killed it off and hung on for the victory. Graham was solid once more, making 28 saves for his sixth win of the year.

The teams will square off again next weekend in the Colonel By Classic, which is scheduled for Friday, November 15 at 7:00 p.m. at TD Place. The Gee-Gees then return to the Minto Sports Complex to face the Nipissing Lakers on Saturday, November 16 at 7:00 p.m.

Tickets for all University of Ottawa home games are available at tickets.geegees.ca.