RECAP: Men’s hockey closes regular season with two victories

Brendan Jacome, Kevin Domingue and Cody Drover combined for seven goals and 16 points over the weekend as the Gee-Gees men's hockey team enter the playoffs on a two-game winning streak.

Ottawa defeated the Laurentian Voyageurs 6-4 Saturday afternoon at the Minto Sports Complex and wrapped up the regular season with a 4-0 win over the Queen's Gaels in Kingston.

"I thought there were a lot of positives this weekend," said Gee-Gees head coach Patrick Grandmaître. "Our top line was really clicking and played well at both ends of the ice. Our powerplay scored three goals and was dangerous each time they were on the ice."

The Gee-Gees offence struggled at times in recent weeks, but it was humming on Saturday, putting up six goals against the Voyageurs. It was the most goals the Gee-Gees have scored in a single game since January 8 when they put seven past RMC.

Drover and Domingue each had five points, with Drover notching his second hat trick of the season. Ottawa scored five unanswered goals after the Voyageurs opened the scoring. Laurentian battled back to make it a one-goal game, but Drover finished it off with an empty-netter.

By setting up Domingue late in the first period, Drover recorded his 90th career assist, establishing a new record for most helpers in the history of the men's hockey program.

"It speaks volumes about my line mates and my teammates," said Drover. "Someone's got to put the puck in the net. Playing with Domingue for four years now has been a treat because he's a pure goal scorer."

The win against Laurentian was extra special for the Gee-Gees as it was senior day and the families of several players made the trek to Ottawa despite harsh weather conditions on the East coast.

Ottawa turned in a strong performance on Sunday against Queen's, blanking their OUA East rivals. Jacome enjoyed a three-point game, while Domingue got the game-winner in the second period.

Domenic Graham made his first appearance in over three weeks and showed no signs of rust. The fifth year netminder made 27 saves for his second shutout of the season.

"I was really happy with Domenic Graham's play," said Grandmaître. "He was our best player in a 4-0 game that is not really representative of how the game went. He made big saves and took care of the regular shots as well."

Rookie forward Connor Brown-Maloski also enjoyed a nice game in Kingston. The Kamloops, B.C., product had a pair of assists in his first multi-point performance as a Gee-Gee.

The Garnet and Grey finish the regular season with a 17-7-4 record, good for third place in the OUA East. They will face the sixth-place Ontario Tech Ridgebacks (13-12-3) in the opening round of the playoffs.

The three-game series begins on Wednesday, February 12 at 7:30 p.m. at the Campus Ice Centre in Oshawa, Ont. and game two is slated for Saturday, February 15 at 3:00 p.m. at the Minto Sports Complex. If necessary, a third and deciding matchup will take place in Ottawa on Sunday, February 16 with puck drop at 3:00 p.m.