A stirring ceremony preceded the the Montreal Alouettes' 23-17 victory over the Ottawa Redblacks Friday night, as fans marked the lives of two Canadian soldiers killed in two separate attacks.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, General Thomas Lawson and Chief Warrant Officer Kevin West were among the dignitaries who joined a crowd remembering Patrice Vincent and Nathan Cirillo, the two soldiers killed in separate attacks this week.

Cpl. Cirillo was shot dead in Ottawa Wednesday while Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent was killed after being targeted by a motorist in St. Jean, south of Montreal.

The crowd joined in a moment of silence as a massive Canadian flag was pulled over the field as the crowd sang the anthem unaccompanied.

The Redblacks proved to be generous hosts, giving up five turnovers. Redblacks players fumbled twice, while quarterbacks Henry Burris and Danny O’Brien tossed a combined three interceptions

Ottawa took an early lead as Henry Burris tossed a five yard TD throw to Marcus Henry. Backup Alouettes' quarterback Tanner Marsh then came in to complete a drive with a one yard TD run to tie the score at seven.

The Alouettes did the only scoring in the second half with a pair of Sean Whyte field goals, one from 14 yards out and the other from 41 yards away, to give he Alouettes a six point lead going into halftime.

The Als grew their lead to 23-7, as S.J. Green TD scored on an 11 yard pass from Jonathan Crompton, followed by Sean Whyte’s 46-yard field goal.

But the Redblacks chipped away at the 16 point lead with a 22-yard field goal by Brett Maher, followed by a 58-yard TD pass from Danny O’Brien to Scott MacDonnell.

The Redblacks had a sniff at victory when they forced the Alouettes to kick with just over two minutes left but O’Brien was unable to advance up the field. The Redblacks were able to get yet another chance with 1:15 remaining with Henry Burris back at the helm but were unable to get a first down.

The Alouettes are now 8-8 on the season with two games remaining. They host the Argonauts in Montreal on Sunday next weekend, and then visit Hamilton on Saturday November 8 in their final regular season encounter.