MONTREAL (February 15, 2012) - Despite opening the scoring at the 5:59 mark of the first period, the Queen's Gaels (0-1) couldn't hold off the No. 2 McGill Redmen (1-0) all night as the Gaels dropped a 3-2 final in game one of their OUA playoff series. 

The Gaels got the start they were looking for on the road and it was their captian who provided the spark. Jonathon Lawrance of Steinbach, Man., scored roughly six minutes into the game to give the Gaels a 1-0 lead against their nationally ranked opponent.

Penalty trouble ultimately caught up with the Gaels, as three minor penalties were called after the Lawrance goal and two went against the Gaels. McGill made their second power play opportunity count as Ryan McKiernan  of White Plains, N.Y., USA, beat Riley Whitlock of Calgary in goal for Queen's at the 15:33 mark of the first. Christophe Longpre-Poirier of Longueuil, Que., added to that lead two minutes later with a goal for the Redmen with the teams at even strength. 

The Longpre-Poirier goal gave McGill a 2-1 lead going into the first intermission. 

The Redmen increased their lead in the second period as Benoit Levesque of Vaudreuil, Que., scored for McGill at the 6:43 mark of the second period. The Gaels responded five minutes later when Jordan Mirwaldt of Winnipeg beat Hubert Morin of St-Georges-de-Beauce, Que., in goal for McGill. That was the extent of the scoring in the game and Levesque's goal held up as the game winner. 

The third period was contested primarily at centre ice with the teams combining for 12 shots and no goals. The Gaels had two power play opportunities in the third but could not find their way past Morin who stood tall in goal for McGill, stopping 19 of 21 shots in the game. Riley Whitlock of Calgary was equally strong in goal for Queen's, as he turned aside 29 of 32 Redmen shots on goal. 

Lawrance finished the game as the Gaels leading point getter with a goal and an assist. Marc-Andre Dorion of St. Hubert, Que., had a game high two assists for McGill. 

The Gaels and Redmen will play game two of their three game series in Kingston on Friday February 17. Puck drop at the Memorial Centre is scheduled for 7:30 pm. 

ICE CHIPS: Queen's and McGill had identical penalty lines, combining for four minors apiece... The Redmen won the special teams battle as they went 1/2 on the power play while holding the Gaels to 0/3 with the man advantage... This is only the third post season meeting between the longtime rivals whose rivalry dates back to 1895... Game one was the 166th game played between Queen's and McGill.