TROIS-RIVIERES, QUEBEC -- The UOIT Ridgebacks were in tough last week against two of the top seven ranked teams in Canadian Interuniversity Sport men's hockey.
The Ridgebacks faced the No. 5 ranked UQTR Patriotes and the No. 7 seeded McGill Redmen on the road and returned home empty-handed following respective losses of 7-1 and 5-1.
Up against the Patriotes on Saturday, the Ridgebacks only trailed 2-1 heading into the third, but allowed five unanswered in the final stanza, nullifying any chance at an upset.
Oshawa's Derrick Bagshaw, the Ridgebacks' captain, scored the team's only goal less than five minutes into the game, making it 1-1 at the time, while goalie Jeff Dawson made 43 saves in the loss.
At McGill, it was another run of five straight goals against that did in the Ridgebacks. Pickering's Kyle Wetering notched his team-leading seventh goal of the season just 57 seconds into the game, stunning the home side. However, the Redmen, which entered the game with an 8-1 record, bounced back to take a 2-1 lead before the end of the first and added three more in the third.
Whitby's Jason Guy was in goal for the Ridgebacks and made 27 saves in a losing effort for UOIT, which is back on the road this weekend for two games against the Windsor Lancers. It will be an important series for both teams in the playoff chase as UOIT trails Windsor by three points in the Western Conference standings.
UOIT's next home game is Dec. 1 against the Brock Badgers at 7:30 p.m. The game will be a part of UOIT's holiday food drive at the Campus Ice Centre.
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