Martlets picture-perfect for third straight season; win streak hits 80
MONTREAL - Alessandra Lind-Kenny, a third-year forward from Calgary, scored what proved to be the game-winner as No-1-ranked McGill escaped with a 3-2 home-ice victory over last-place Concordia to close out the women's hockey regular season, Sunday night.
The conquest was McGill's 33rd straight decision over their cross-town rivals and more importantly extended McGill's record win streak to 80 consecutive games against CIS opponents. It also permitted the Martlets to register their third straight perfect season in the Quebec conference as they posted an unblemished 20-0 record.
The division-leading Martlets will now take on fourth-place Carleton (8-12-0) in a best-of-three semifinal series beginning Wednesday night (Feb. 24, 7 p.m.) in Ottawa at the Carleton University Ice Palace.
Most of McGill's big guns were silent in the win over Concordia, with the lone exception being Ann-Sophie Bettez, a three-time all-star forward who's league-leading 22nd of the season midway through the first period gave McGill a 2-0 lead. She connected some eight minutes after Lainie Smith had opened the scoring with her second of the campaign.
The Stingers finally snapped their incredulous goalless streak against McGill when Maggie MacNeil fired a shot off a Martlets defender that deflected past goaltender Andrea Weckman at 15:25 of the first period to narrow the gap to 2-1.
It was Concordia's first regular season marker against the Martlets in 454 minutes and 16 seconds, dating back to a Kelly Feehan goal (assisted by MacNeil) at 1:08 of the third period on Nov. 15, 2008, a nine-game span which featured seven straight McGill shutouts.
After Lind-Kenny made it 3-1 with 4:05 remaining in the second stanza, the Martlets were muffled the rest of the way.
When rearguard Mary-Jane Roper connected at 6:17 of the final period to make it 3-2, the Stingers entertained thoughts of snapping a 17-game losing streak, which dated back to last semester.
It appeared that Concordia might do the unthinkable when McGill sniper Vanessa Davidson was whistled for a hooking infraction at 18:35. Stingers head coach Les Lawton pulled netminder Audrey Doyon-Lessard in favour of an extra attacker but the hard-working Martlets rose to the challenge, out-hustling Concordia to a number of loose pucks as they settled for a nerve-wracking 3-2 win.
McGill outshot the Stingers 36-23, including a 16-6 margin in the opening period. Weckman recorded 21 saves and improved her perfect record to 6-0, while Doyon-Lessard made 33 saves and fell to 1-15.
All three games of the upcoming Carleton-McGill playoff series are tentatively scheduled to be webcast on the Streaming Sports Network at www.ssncanada.ca. Game 2 of the series will be played on Friday at McConnel Arena (7 p.m.). If a third game is needed, it is scheduled for Sunday at McConnel Arena (2 p.m.).
The other Quebec semifinal match-up, featuring the second-place Montreal Carabins (13-6-1) against third-place Ottawa (8-11-1) opens on Wednesday at CEPSUM Arena. The fifth-place Stingers (1-16-3) failed to qualify for playoffs for the first time in school history.
MARTLET MURMURS: Davidson captured her third Quebec league scoring crown in five years with a 13-20-33 record in 20 games... She finished three points ahead of Bettez (22-8-30), who missed two games while playing overseas in January with the Canadian U-22 team...Bettez ended up leading the league in goals for the second straight year, finishing two shy of the single-season league record that she established last year... Cathy Chartrand led all CIS blueliners in goals (10), assists (18) and points (28)... Only four goaltenders in the CIS went undefeated this season and three of them were from McGill: Gabrielle Smith (4-0), who has been out of commission since being injured in a traffic accident last November, plus Andrea Weckman (6-0) and Taylor Salisbury (10-0)... The Martlets allowed only six power-play goals against all season, compared with five shorthanded efforts scored by the PK unit... Last year, they only conceded one PPG, while scoring two "shorties"... Two seasons ago, they allowed only two PPGs and scored two SHGs...McGill outscored opponents 79-18 in QSSF play this season, compared to a 123-14 differential in only 18 games last year and an 82-9 margin in 18 games during the 2007-08 campaign.
SCORING SUMMARY
Concordia 2 at McGill 3
(Feb 21, 2010 - McConnell Arena @ McGill)
1st Period-
1, McGill, Lainie Smith 2 (Chartrand, Hill), 5:10.
2, McGill, Ann-Sophie Bettez 22 (Hill, Saunders), 13:20.
3, Concordia, Maggie MacNeil 1 (Covo, Lawton), 15:25.
Penalties-
Roper Con (interference), 0:46;
Feehan Con (holding), 8:00.
2nd Period-
4, McGill, Alessandra Lind-Kenny 2 (Peroff, Zane), 15:55.
Penalties-
Rancourt Con (tripping), 3:58.
3rd Period-
5, Concordia, Mary-Jane Roper 1 (Bocchia), 6:17.
Penalties-
MacNeil Con (roughing), 10:39;
Peroff Mcg (hooking), 15:59;
Davidson Mcg (hooking), 18:35;
Doiron Con (interference), 19:53.
GOALS BY PERIOD
Concordia 1-0-1 -- 2
McGill 2-1-0 -- 3
Shots on Goal-
Concordia 6-10-7 -- 23.
McGill 16-14-6 -- 36.
Power Play Opportunities-
Concordia 0 of 2;
McGill 0 of 5.
Penalties (No./Mins.)
Concordia 5/10;
McGill 2/4.
Goalies-
Audrey Doyon-Lessard (L. 1-15, 36 shots-33 saves; 59:08).
Empty-net (0 goals; 0:52);
McGill,
Andrea Weckman (W, 6-0-0, 23 shots-21 saves; 60:00).
Attendance-162
Start: 7:03 PM
End: 8:57 PM
Length: 1:54
Referee-Caroline Laforge.
THREE STARS
1. MCG - 6 Caroline Hill
2. MCG - 7 Alessandra Lind-Kenny
3. CON - 29 Audrey Doyon-Lessard
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
McGill Athletics & Recreation