Martlets master Gee-Gees, reign as Quebec champs
By Earl Zukerman
MONTREAL – Senior Vanessa Davidson of Kirkland, Que., and freshman
Marie-Andrée Leclerc-Auger from Sherbrooke each tallied twice and
added an assist as top-ranked McGill had a lucky Friday the 13th
and swamped Ottawa 7-1 to sweep the Quebec university women’s
hockey championship in two games, at McConnell Arena, Friday.
McGill, which won for the 51st consecutive outing against a
Canadian university opponent, took home the league title for the
fourth straight season and sixth time in school history.
“It’s great... I couldn’t have imagined this when I first joined
the team,” said captain Chantal Gauvin, a senior from Dollard des
Ormeaux, Que. “I’ve been here for all four championships and each
one has had a different feeling, but they were all very
satisfying.” The 5-foot-8 rearguard reluctantly posed with the
league’s Ed Enos trophy for photographers but her teammates refused
to touch the hardware, in keeping with the superstitious tradition
set by conference champions in the National Hockey League.
Catherine Ward, a third-year defenceman from Town of Mt. Royal,
Que., added a goal and two helpers in yet another one of her
trademark dominating performances. Rounding out the scoring for
McGill was senior Rebecca Martindale of Kingston, Ont., and junior
defender Jasmine Sheehan of Mississauga, Ont.
Amber Foster of Kemptville, Ont., notched the lone Gee-Gees’ goal
on the power play at 7:43 of the final period to make it 5-1,
spoling Charline Labonté’s bid for her 54th career shutout with the
Martlets. The national team netminder from Boisbriand, Que., racked
up her 25th consecutive victory on the season and improved her
overall record to 102-9-3 in 114 career contests at McGill,
including a 95-3-1 mark against CIS teams.
The Martlets, who had a 47-16 advantage in shots, led 1-0 after one
period and 3-0 after two. The potent McGill power play went
4-for-11, while Ottawa replied on one of three chances. The
Martlets PP unit is operating at an astonishing 38.7 per cent
success rate in post-season play (12-for-31).
“We were a little jittery at the start, perhaps too energetic,”
said McGill head coach Peter Smith. “But we settled down and were
all business after that. Our power play looked very good. We had
good puck support, lots of shots and good scoring opportunities.
There were no passengers in this game. Everybody had a solid
effort.”
Ottawa’s Marie-Helene Malenfant, a sophomore from Becancour, Que.,
making her first career playoff start, registered 40 saves in a
losing cause.
Both McGill and Ottawa have qualified for the CIS national
championships in Antigonish, N.S., March 19-22 and are scheduled to
head east on Tuesday morning. McGill, the defending CIS champion,
enters the Nationals with a 37-2-0 record overall and their next
victory will break the team’s single-season record established last
year when they went 37-4-1.
MARTLETS MURMURS: McGill has won 11 consecutive post-season games
dating back to a loss to Alberta in the 2007 CIS gold medal game…
Leclerc-Auger, named rookie of the year, in the Quebec conference,
will enter the CIS Nationals as the Martlets leading scorer with
45-44-89 in 39 games overall… She needs five more markers to hit
the rare 50-goal plateau for the second consecutive season after
posting a 56-47-103 record in 27 games with Saint-Jérôme in the
Quebec junior college league last year... Davidson is second in the
team’s overall scoring race with 38-44-82 in 35 games… Other
leading Martlet snipers include Ann-Sophie Bettez (34GP: 34-45-79),
plus two defencemen -- Chartrand (33GP: 18-27-45) and Ward (31GP:
6-38-44)… Labonté has only lost three of 99 career contests against
CIS opponents – a 2-1 decision at Ottawa (F-10-07), a 4-0 (ENG)
setback against Alberta in the 2007 CIS gold medal game in Ottawa
(M-19-07) and a 2-1 OT shootout loss against Alberta at Guelph
(D-30-07)… The lone tie was a 3-3 overtime saw-off at St.FX
(N-17-06).
SCORING SUMMARY
Ottawa 1 at McGill 7
(QSSF Final, Game 2; Mar 13, 2009 at McConnell Arena, McGill)
FIRST PERIOD:
1, McGill, Marie-Andree Leclerc-Auger 7 (Bettez, Davidson), 9:26
(pp).
Penalties-
Spruyt Ott (bodychecking), 1:45;
deWit Ott (tripping), 8:03;
Smith Ott (hooking), 9:10.
SECOND PERIOD:
2, McGill, Vanessa Davidson 3 (Ward), 10:07.
3, McGill, Jasmine Sheehan 1 (Zane, Martindale), 16:46 (pp).
Penalties-
Cecere Mcg (hooking), 1:15;
Spruyt Ott (hooking), 2:55;
Levac Ott (tripping), 5:32;
Reinholcz Ott (hooking), 5:32;
Maier Ott (tripping), 15:41.
THIRD PERIOD:
4, McGill, Davidson 4 (Leclerc-Auger, Ward), 0:58.
5, McGill, Martindale 2 (Peroff, Ward), 6:53 (pp).
6, Ottawa, Foster 1 (Allen), 7:43 (pp).
7, McGill, Leclerc-Auger 8 (Bettez, Zane), 9:48 (pp).
8, McGill, Ward 3 18:58.
Penalties-
Reinholcz Ott (bodychecking), 5:55;
Davidson Mcg (interference), 7:39;
deWit Ott (roughing), 8:58;
Allen Ott (bodychecking), 10:17;
Spruyt Ott (bodychecking), 14:47;
Ward Mcg (bodychecking), 16:10.
SHOTS BY PERIOD:
Ottawa 4 - 5 - 7 -- 16.
McGill 17 - 16 - 14 -- 47.
GOALS BY PERIOD:
Ottawa 0 - 0 - 1 -- 1
McGill 1 - 2 - 4 -- 7
POWER-PLAY OPPORTUNITIES:
Ottawa 1 of 3;
McGill 4 of 11.
PENALTIES (No/Mins):
Ottawa 11/22
McGill 3/6
GOALTENDERS:
Ottawa,
Marie-Helene Malenfant [L, 0-1-0, (47 shots-40 saves),
60:00].
McGill,
Charline Labonté [W, 4-0-0, (16 shots-15 saves), 60:00].
A-453
Referees-Melanie Bordeleau.
Linesmen-Caroline Laforge, Genevieve Bordeleau.
Attendance: 453
Start: 7:01 PM
End: 9:00 PM
Length: 1:59
THREE STARS:
1. MCG - 25 Vanessa Davidson
2. MCG - 22 Marie-Andree Leclerc-Auger
3. MCG - 17 Catherine Ward
McGILL LINEUP SCRATCHES:
------------------------------------------
G Kalie Townsend
G Gabrielle Smith (dressed but DNP)
D Shaunn Rabinovich
F Vicky Wells (broken leg)
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
Dept. of Athletics & Recreation, Room 225 B
McGill University
475 Pine Avenue W.,
Montreal, QC H2W 1S4
CANADA
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
514-398-1956 (Fax)
www.athletics.mcgill.ca