Next Game:
at Concordia (Corey Cup)
2/7/2026 | 7 pm
Feb. 07 (Sat) / 7 pm
at Concordia (Corey Cup)
(VERSION FRANÇAISE SUIT)
KINGSTON, Ont. — Xavier Fortin scored twice, including the overtime winner, as McGill erased a two-goal third-period deficit to pull out a 3–2 victory over the Queen’s Gaels in OUA men’s university hockey Friday night at the Memorial Centre.
It was the fourth straight win for the Redbirds and third consecutive loss by the Gaels.
McGill trailed by two goals entering the final frame but rallied for a critical road win, improving their record to 15-7-3 and maintaining a slim one-point lead on third place, ahead of Ottawa (15-8-2) in the OUA East with three games remaining.
McGill has now won three of four meetings with Queen’s this season and improved its all-time record against the Gaels to 139-59-2 in 200 lifetime encounters dating back to 1894.
Queen’s built a 2–0 lead in the second period on even-strength goals just nine second apart by Nolan Hutcheson (7:20) and Aidan Castle (7:29). McGill began its comeback early in the third when defenceman Igor Mburanumwe scored unassisted on a breakaway to cut the deficit at the 1:39 mark. Fortin tied the game at 9:00, finishing a feed from Charles-Antoine Dumont and Charles Boutin.
Fortin completed the rally with just 48 seconds remaining in the seven-minute overtime period, converting another pass from Dumont to seal the victory.
McGill held a 35–30 edge in shots and successfully killed all four Queen’s power plays. The Redbirds went 0-for-1 with the man advantage.
Freshman goaltender Nicolas Ruccia made 28 saves to earn the win and improved his record to 11-9. He was backed up by Jacob Lisbona, a kinesiology sophomore from Hampstead, Que., who dressed for the first time this season while filling in for injured rookie Benoit Forget.
Queen’s senior netminder Tanner Wickware allowed three goals on 35 shots and saw his record fall to 6-7.
Both teams return to action Saturday (Feb. 7). McGill will play its fourth consecutive road game and can move into a tie with second-place Concordia (17-7-1) when it visits the Stingers for the 38th annual Corey Cup rivalry game at Ed Meagher Arena at 7 p.m.
Concordia, the least penalized team in Canada, will be without head coach Marc-Andre Element, who was ejected midway through the third period of Concordia’s 4-3 win over Carleton on Friday.
The lifetime series record between McGill and Concordia is deadlocked at 120-120-14 since it began in 1975. McGill is 20-12-3 in the annual rivalry contest for the Corey Cup, while the Stingers are 13-21-3 in Cup play, including a 1-1 record against UQTR.
Queen’s (11-13-1) will contest its annual Carr-Harris Challenge Cup rivalry game against RMC at the Slush Puppy Centre.
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SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL: 514-983-7012
E-MAIL:earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca