Weekend sports preview

The undefeated soccer Redmen get set to face the second-place UdeM Carabins at Molson Stadium Friday night with a place atop the Quebec conference on the line. / Photo: Andrew Dobrowolskyj
The undefeated soccer Redmen get set to face the second-place UdeM Carabins at Molson Stadium Friday night with a place atop the Quebec conference on the line. / Photo: Andrew Dobrowolskyj

It’s Homecoming, and that means, among other things, sports, sports, and more sports. No less than 35 sporting events are on tap at McGill this week.

For starters, the hockey Martlets begin their national title defence Friday, Oct. 17 against visiting Carleton at McConnell Arena. The puck drops at 7 p.m.

As the host team, the baseball Redbirds find themselves with a spot in the Canadian Intercollegiate Baseball Association’s National Championship tournament Oct. 17-19. The Redbirds, who finished atop their Northern Conference standings with an 11-5 record, are seeking their first National title since 2006. The other participants in the Championships are the Atlantic Baptist University Mets and the University of New Brunswick Cougars from the Atlantic Conference, the Durham College Lords and the St. Clair College Saints form the Ontario Conference, and the Redbirds’ Northern Conference rivals the Collège  Lafleche Dragons. The games take place at Trudeau Park in Côte-St. Luc and Parc Éloi Viau in Lasalle. For the tournament schedule visit www.ciba-abic.org.

In the annual Homecoming football game at McGill Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 18,  McGill QB Matt Connell is expected to break the all-time CIS passing record as the 0-6 Redmen take on the visiting Montreal Carabins (3-3). The two-time conference all-star needs only 119 passing yards to best the record held by former McMaster great Ben Chapdelaine. One of Connell’s favourite targets, receiver Erik Galas, needs nine more catches to surpass the career conference mark of 185 and 13 more to break the all-time CIS record of 189.

Game of the Week: Despite losing some of their best players at the end of last year, and the addition of 12 new recruits to this year’s team, the soccer Redmen are off to their best start in eight years. The team needed a goal by Freshman Peter Valente at the 70-minute mark to salvage a tie with the UQAM at the Centre Claude Robillard last Sunday. The 1-1 draw gave the Redmen a 6-0-3 record with three games remaining in the regular season. In 2000, the Redmen got off to a 6-0-4 start.  The No. 8-ranked Redmen will try and beat or tie that mark against the second-place UdeM Carabins Friday, Oct. 17 at Molson Stadium (8 p.m.) in a game that will likely decide first place in the Quebec Conference. The Carabins, who sit three points back of the Redmen, but with one less game played, are also undefeated this year. The teams played to a 1-1 draw in their only match-up so far this season back on Sept. 12. League playoffs begin Friday, Oct. 31.

Jim Hynes