A goal by Patrick McGillis with seven seconds left in the third period forced overtime, and the Queen’s Golden Gaels got the only goal of a shootout to upset the No. 8-ranked Trois-Rivieres Patroites in an Ontario University Athletics hockey game Saturday night at the Memorial Centre.

The victory briefly lifted Queen’s into fourth place in the East division standings, but their valiant bid to get home-ice advantage in the first round of playoffs was spoiled by the Laurentian Voyageurs, who posted a shootout victory of their own, 1-0 over the No. 9-ranked Carleton Ravens.

Former Kingston Voyageur Brian Nanne was the only player to score in that game.

Laurentian, 13-9-3 with one game left to play, can finish with no less than 29 points. Queen’s, 13-12-1 and winner of five of its last six games, has has finished its season with 27 points and has clinched fifth place.

Nipissing, with 25 points and one game left to play, can do no better than tie Queen’s, and that’s a situation where the Gaels hold the advantage in the tie-breaker.

That means Queen’s, though it didn’t gain the home-ice advantage it craved, will draw the lesser opponent, Laurentian, in the first round, beginning next week. The Gaels thereby avoid an opening-round date with one of the division’s three nationally ranked teams.

In Saturday night’s game, the Gaels defeated Trois-Rivieres at home on the final night of the season for the second year in a row. They were unable to score on any of four first-period power plays, but they did kill a penalty to defenceman Spencer Abraham in overtime and send the game to a shootout.

Abraham atoned for his misdeed in the shootout. Queen’s second shooter, he scored the only goal for the shootout. Gaels goaltender Kevin Bailie made it good for the victory when he stopped Marc-Olivier Mimar, a 14-goal scorer in the season, on Trois-Rivieres’ final attempt.

The teams were tied 1-1 at the end of the first period and 2-2 at the end of the second. Carl-Antoine Delisle scored his second goal of the game midway through the third period to give the Patriotes the lead. McGillis scored his goal on assissts from Abraham and Corey Bureau.

Kelly Jackson, with a goal a minute after Delisle opened scoring midway through the first period, and Yannick Laflamme, who gave the Gaels a 2-1 lead early in the second, scored the other Queen’s goals The Gaels outshot Trois-Rivieres 39-36.