CIS CORNER: GEE-GEES READY FOR PATRIOTES' ACT

Ottawa Gee-Gees bench boss Dave Leger knows what can happen to team who finished first in the regular season, then had to try to keep interested during a long week of practice before finally getting to play for real.

"Three years ago (the last time Ottawa went to nationals) we had the luxury of earning the first-round bye and we lost the first game at home, which really set us back," says Leger, whose Gee-Gees resume the Ontario University Athletics men's hockey playoffs tonight on the road against the Trois-Rivières Patriotes in Game 1 of the best-of-3 Eastern Conference semi-final. "Fortunately, we were able to regroup quickly and we came back to win."

The Gee-Gees, who will need to steal one game in Trois-Rivières to win the series, have won eight of their past nine games. In last week's 2-0 opening-round sweep of Queen's, goalies Jordan Watt and Martin Bricault allowed just a single goal. That's enough for Leger and the Gee-Gees to believe they really aren't underdogs against Trois-Rivières, who had 13 more points in the regular season.

"It's just perception," Leger says. "If someone were to come in not knowing our league, they would think we were a complete underdog, but our teams have been very competitive this season. We've played Trois-Rivières four times and we're 0-3-1, but the biggest difference has been three goals."

While Ottawa features Canadian university hockey's No. 2 scorer in Ben McLeod (46 points), the No. 7-ranked Patriotes are the only team to have two players among the country's top 10 scorers, Thiery Poudrier (fourth, 42 points) and Jonathan Boutin (ninth, 41 points). The long-time OUA power also has a long history of giving visiting teams some very long nights. As Leger puts it, "They're an electric team in that rink, they feed off trying to break your will early ... They're the type of team that typically needs about two chances to score where other teams need five. You have to be really responsible with the puck."

That's where Watt, who'll start the opener, and Bricault, who'll start Friday's Game 2 (7 p.m., U of O Sports Complex) figure in. Leger says the goaltending platoon -- which runs contrary to the conventional wisdom of riding one netminder -- might help throw off Trois-Rivières.

"Typically at playoff time, you have one guy and hand him the conch. Since we came back from Christmas, we've platooned, and both Watty and Bricault have been outstanding ... Whoever plays wants to be at his best because he knows he's coming out and that there's always a chance he might not get back in. It's an advantage. It doesn't let teams gang up on one guy."

Meantime, the Gee-Gees are probably itching to break out offensively; McLeod had just the one point against Queen's (granted, it was the series-winning goal) and Ottawa's third-leading scorer Nick Vernelli came away empty-handed thanks to a superlative netminding effort by Gaels rookie Ryan Gibb. After the way Gibb stymied the Gee-Gees, Leger actually figures it's a benefit that Ottawa will now be shooting pucks at the "more familiar" Dany Dallaire, a a fifth-year senior led the country in save percentage (.925) and was second in goals-against average (2.30).

The Gee-Gees are mostly a youngish team -- Watt, forwards Corey Macdonald and Billy Triantafilos and defenceman Jamie Smith are the extent of their veteran leadership. They'll have a somewhat formidable task in trying to take out Trois-Rivières, but it's not out of the realm of possibility.Game 3, if necessary, would be back in Trois-Rivières on Sunday. The series winner advances to the conference final agianst either the No. 9 McGill Redmen or U of T Varsity Blues, who open their series tonight in Toronto.

SEASON ON THE BRINK FOR GAELS BASKETBALL

• The Gaels men face the York Lions tonight in an OUA East quarter-final game in Toronto. York is a hot-and-cold running team and doesn't defend the three-pointer terribly well, so Queen's outside shooters such as Ryan Hairsine (46.8% from downtown on the year) and Baris Ondul give them a chance for the upset. When fifth-year forward Dan Eves (19.9 per game, second OUA) and point guard Tut Ruach are leading the offence, York is tough.
• The Tricolour women host the Laurentian Lady Vees in a semi-final game; the Lady Vees boast conference scoring queen Cassandra Carpenter and are one of the OUA's best rebounding teams. Carpenter shot just 10-for-34 from the field in two regular-season meetings vs. Queen's (she got 17 points in Laurentian's win, where she shot 18 free throws). The X factor for the Gaels may be forward Anne Murphy, their second-leading rebounder. Back in Queen's regular-season win, Murphy had a double-double 13 boards, 12 points on just five field-goal attempts) and was presumably a big part of making Carpenter take a lot of shots to get her points. Murphy could also save Queen's top scorer Claire Meadows from a couple fouls.
  
  (UPDATE, 11:35 a.m.: The Whig's Claude Scilley notes that Carpenter also put up 17 in the Gaels' win over Laurentian, but nine came after Meadows fouled out early in overtime. Save a couple fouls, indeed!)

That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.