Bettez rocks, special teams roll, Martlets clinch conference title
(PHOTO OF ANN-SOPHIE BETTEZ BY ANDREW DOBROWOLSKYJ)
MONTREAL - Forward Ann-Sophie Bettez of Sept-Iles, Que., tallied twice and defenceman Cathy Chartrand of Lac Nominingue, Que., added three assists as No.1-ranked McGill rallied twice to edge the Université de Montréal Carabins 5-4 in a see-saw, women's hockey game at McConnell Arena, Sunday.
The result clinched at least a share of first-place for the Martlets (13-0) for the sixth consecutive season and extended their win streak to 94 games against Quebec University Hockey League opponents, dating back to a 2-1 loss on Feb. 10, 2007. McGill improved to 12-0-0 lifetime against the Carabins, who cannot catch them in the standings. Third-place Concordia (6-6-2) can tie for first if they win their last six remaining games, while the Martlets lose all seven of theirs.
Despite a 15-day layoff from their last contest, it was McGill's special teams that saved the day, going 4-for-4 on the power-play, while effectively snuffing out all five manpower advantages by the second-place Carabins, who fell to 7-7-2.
Bettez, who struck both times on the power-play, opened the scoring at 2:02 of the first period but the Carabins roared back on goals by defenceman Stéphanie Daneau of Drummondville, Que., and Chantal Lampron of Shawinigan, Que..
Martlet blueliner Gillian Ferrari, a former Canadian Olympian from Thornhill, Ont., knotted the score at 2-2 with her power-play marker at 17:49.
The Carabins came out flying in the middle period and went ahead 3-2 on Josée-Ann Deschenes's 14th of the season at 6:17, a goal that ended up chasing McGill netminder Andrea Weckman, a sophomore from Kitchener, Ont.,, who was making her second start of the season in place of injured all-Canadian Charline Labonté (back spasms) and was beaten three times on 12 shots.
Sophomore Taylor Salisbury of Surrey, B.C., took over in the McGill net and the Martlets responded with goals from Jordanna Peroff, a senior from Keswick, Ont., and Katia Clément-Heydra, a freshman from St. Bruno de Montarville, Que., to put McGill back in front at 4-3.
But the tenascious Carabins refused to back down and launched six more shots at the McGill net, which paid off when Josianne Legault of Granby, Que., collected her third point of the afternoon, scoring at 17:07 to make it a 4-4 game. It was only the third time during the marathon streak that the Martlets had conceded more than three goals in a game.
"I told the team in the second intermission that we had too many passengers," said Peter Smith, in his 11th season as head coach of the Martlets. "We got away from our game plan for the first time in a long time but discussed the situation and worked it out."
A different McGill team showed up in the final stanza, sparked by Bettez's marker at 1:49 and the Martlets spent most of the period buzzing around the Carabins net. McGill had a 40-19 edge in shots, including a 19-3 margin in the final stanza.
"Our power play really clicked today and our best players were our best players," added Smith, whose record improved to 284-108-29 overall behind the Martlets bench.
McGill, which improved to 19-0 overall against CIS teams, will travel to the nation's capital next weekend for games against Carleton (Jan. 29) and Ottawa (Jan. 30).
MARTLET MURMURS: Rearguard Cathy Chartrand is second in the QUHL scoring race with a 6-12-18 record in only 13 games... She trails Montreal's Kim Deschenes by four points but has three games in hand... McGill's special teams have accounted for 19 of their 57 goals scored...The power-play, which has clicked on 16 of 62 chances, now ranked second in the nation and is operating at 25.8 per cent efficiency... The PK unit is also tops in the country at 93.5 per cent (43 /46)... McGill has scored as many shorthanded goals (3) as they have allowed when playing short.
SCORING SUMMARY
Montreal 4 at McGill 5
(Sunday, January 23, 2011 - McConnell Arena)
1st Period-
1, McGill, Ann-Sophie Bettez 8 (Jasmine Sheehan, Katia Clement-Heydra), 2:02 (PP).
2, Montreal, Stephanie Daneau 4 (Josianne Legault, Melissa Globensky), 2:49.
3, Montreal, Chantal Lampron 1 (Fabienne Marcotte), 13:17.
4, McGill, Gillian Ferrari 4 (Jordanna Peroff, Leslie Oles), 17:49 (PP).
Penalties-
Deschenes Mtl (tripping), 1:04;
Hamilton Mcg (tripping), 5:33;
Hill Mcg (hooking), 13:47;
Aubert-Lehoux Mtl (slashing), 16:02.
2nd Period-
5, Montreal, Josee-Ann Deschenes 14 (Josianne Legault), 6:17.
6, McGill, Jordanna Peroff 6 (Michelle Daigneault, Cathy Chartrand), 14:27.
7, McGill, Clement-Heydra 6 (Cathy Chartrand, Jasmine Sheehan), 16:02 (PP).
8, Montreal, Josianne Legault 7 (unassisted), 17:07.
Penalties-
Ferrari Mcg (tripping), 8:37;
Brault Mtl (kneeing), 15:23;
Oles Mcg (goaltender interference), 17:46.
3rd Period-
9, McGill, Ann-Sophie Bettez 9 (Cathy Chartrand), 1:49 (PP).
Penalties-
Dupuis Mtl (tripping), 1:42;
Hill Mcg (slashing), 15:40.
GOALS BY PERIOD:
Montreal 2-2-0 -- 4
McGill 2-2-1 -- 5
Shots on Goal-
Montreal 9-9-3 -- 19.
McGill 14-7-19 -- 40.
Power Play Opportunities-
Montreal 0 / 5;
McGill 4 / 4.
Penalties (No./Mins.):
Montreal 4 / 8;
McGill 5 / 10.
Goalies-
Montreal,
Katrina Giuliani (L, 2-8, 40 shots-35 saves; 60:00).
McGill,
Andrea Weckman (start, ND, 12 shots-9 saves; 27:45);
Taylor Salisbury (W, 2-0, 9 shots-8 saves; 32:15).
Attendance: 212
Start: 1:06 PM
End: 3:06 PM
Length: 2:00
Referee-Melanie Bordeleau.
THREE STARS:
1. MCG - 8 Cathy Chartrand
2. MCG - 24 Ann-Sophie Bettez
3. MTL - 28 Josianne Legault