Lakers hockey faces off against McGill

The Lakers hockey team faced the formidable McGill Redmen last Saturday night. The North Bay Nugget’s Ken Pagan was there to catch the action, here is what he had to say:Lakers come up short vs. McGillBy Ken Pagan, The Nugget
The McGill Redmen don't make many mistakes and to beat them, a hockey team has to play almost a perfect game.
The Redmen (11-1-2) showed that for a 10th straight time against the Nipissing Lakers men's hockey team over a span of three seasons, skating to a 4-1 win in front of 1,631 fans at Memorial Gardens, Saturday.
The Lakers (8-4-4) have been close to beating McGill before — taking a lead into the final minute in their first meeting this month, taking a third-period lead in Game 1 of their playoff series last season — but the near-flawless, mistake-free game the Redmen played Saturday was illustration of why they are the class of the OUA.
That the Lakers have an 0-10 career record against McGill should come as no surprise, since most OUA teams are in the same situation.
"When they only lose two games a year, not many teams are going to have a positive record against them," said Lakers head coach Mike McParland. "They have a pretty good team. Everything has to go perfect for you to beat them. Your goalie has to play great, your power play and penalty kill has to be good and tonight, they had an edge in those departments."
The Lakers took a 1-0 lead late in the first period when Sam Hopewell converted Paul Cianfrini's pass on the rush, but the Redmen replied less than three minutes later when Jean-Francoise Boisvert stuffed one under Lakers' goalie Daniel Spence.
Referees Matthew Davie and Derek Gratton then took charge over the final 40 minutes, dishing out a combined 14 minor penalties.The Redmen took advantage and the Lakers didn't.
Marc-Olivier's Vachon's power-play goal squeaked over Spence's goal line midway through the second period to give McGill a 2-1 lead and Ryan McKiernan one-timed a slapper from close range to make it 3-1 early in the third period, after more than a minute of 5-on-3 play.
McGill captain Evan Vossen added a goal with 47 seconds remaining to seal the deal.
"I thought tonight we were better in a lot of areas than we have been in the last couple of games," McParland said. "The difference tonight was, when the score was 3-1, they were 2-for-6 on the power play and we were 0-for-8. Our power play was No. 3 in Ontario and we did have chances tonight for three or four goals on the power play.
The Lakers outshot the Redmen 29-25, but McGill goalie Hubert Morin was there to backstop a team that plays a panic-free game.
The Lakers' effort was much improved over last weekend's two road losses (7-6 at Concordia, 7-1 at Ottawa), but still not good enough to solve the country's No. 2 ranked team.
"It might be cliche, but playing the full 60 minutes is key," said Hopewell, noting a last-minute breakdown that cost them a win at McGill earlier this month. "We have to have a pretty seamless game when we play these guys. I know our team can do it. It's just a matter of executing.
"If we had brought an effort tonight like we did the past few games, I think they would have shelled us. They scored late again to make it 4-1, but I think we're closing the gap on them a bit."
If the Lakers do face off against McGill again this season, it will be in the playoffs. The Redmen have eliminated the Lakers from the playoffs in each of their first two seasons in the OUA, so if Nipissing is going to contend for an OUA championship, they'll likely have to go through McGill.
In closing the gap, McParland sees room for further improvement from within.
"I'm still looking for someone to step up and be that No. 1 two-way centre we need to be a team that can challenge to win the division, someone you know can play head-to-head against every line," he said. "For example, even though Conor O'Donnell has the points this year, right now he's not the No. 1 guy who can go against any line and go both ways. We haven't had that and we definitely need that.
"And that No. 6 defence hole is still a hole for us."
The Lakers' loss, combined with the UQTR Patriotes' 10-1 win over Queen's drops the Lakers into a tie for third in the OUA East behind McGill and UQTR (12-5).
The Lakers wrap up the first half when they host the Patriotes Friday at 7:30 p.m. UQTR is on a five-game winning streak, while the Lakers are winless in four games (0-3-1).
"We're still ahead of the curve of where I thought we'd be," McParland said. "I figured at the Christmas break, we'd be coming in with 20 or 22 points. Looking at the second half of the schedule, I've always said this year, 33 or 34 points is going to equal 37 from last year because our division is so strong."Hall of Fame Night
Prior to the game, members of the North Bay Sports Hall of Fame were honoured following a pre-game reception in the Hall of Fame room.
McParland, a member of the Hall, dropped the puck for the ceremonial faceoff as nearly 30 members of the Hall were recognized. Among those who came from out of town for the occasion were former pro hockey goaltender Gaye Cooley and former CFLer Rene Riopelle.