After grinding out a 1-0 win over the Carleton Ravens on Friday, the undermanned Gaels were flattened 6-0 by the McGill Redmen in Montreal on Saturday.

The Gaels ended a three-game losing streak with a win over the Ravens at the Memorial Centre. Gaels goaltender Riley Whitlock earned his first shutout of the season, stopping 36 shots.

“Absolutely huge win,” head coach Brett Gibson said of the win over Carleton. “We beat a team that’s probably one of the top teams in the country, and that gives us confidence.”

Gibson had his team playing a specific system on Friday, where players moved the puck deep into the Ravens’ zone and threw big hits to apply pressure. Forward Jordan Soquila ended the second period with a devastating body check on Carleton’s Michael Folkes.

“We were the more physical of the two teams, which might have been the first time this year,” Gibson said.

Gibson’s system paid off in the third period when relentless forward pressure caused Ravens goalie Matthew Dopud to lose the puck behind the Carleton net. Forward Kelly Jackson recovered the puck and scored before Dopud could return to his crease.

“Christmas came early,” Jackson said of his game-winning goal. “A gift doesn’t come that easy.”

The Gaels fell to the McGill Redmen in a 6-0 decision Saturday night, extending their losing record against the Redmen to eight games.

“In the four years I’ve been with the team, we haven’t been able to beat McGill,” assistant captain Scott Kenway said.

A combined total of 96 penalty minutes were handed out Saturday.

“Things really started to get rough by the end of the game,” Kenway said. “We were definitely showing signs of frustration throughout the whole game.”

The Gaels’ injury crisis worsened last week. Forward Joey Derochie broke his leg in practice, adding another name to an injured list that includes defenceman Robert Stellick and forward Jordan Mirwaldt. Forward Payton Liske is also out indefinitely for personal reasons.

Last weekend’s results mean the Gaels remain eighth in the OUA with 13 points. The Gaels host the fifth-place Ottawa Gee-Gees tonight and the second-place University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières Patriotes tomorrow at the Memorial Centre.