Women's Hockey 10/31/2010 12:00:00 PM

Labonté suits up for Halloween, haunts Gee-Gees as Martlets extend streak to 85

Labonte dresses up as goalie for Halloween, haunts Gee-Gees as Martlets extend streak to 85

OTTAWA -- Canadian Olympian Charline Labonté tied a CIS record as the No.2-ranked McGill Martlets extended their lengthy win streak to 85 consecutive games against Quebec University Hockey League opponents by blanking Ottawa 3-0 in the nation's capital, Sunday.

It was McGill's 27th consecutive victory over the Gee-Gees, who were the last QUHL team to defeat the Martlets, posting a 2-1 home-ice decision on Feb. 7, 2007. McGill is now 41-2-1 lifetime against Ottawa.

Labonté, a senior from Boisbriand, Que., made 10 saves for her 32nd career whitewash in league play and is currently tied with Laurier's Liz Knox for most career shutouts in CIS history. However, Knox could move ahead later tonight (Sunday) as the Hawks host Western in a 7:30 p.m. start.

Labonté, a three-time all-Canadian who owns two Olympic gold medals as well as a pair of CIS golden medallions, also registered a goose-egg in her season debut on Saturday, a 6-0 home-ice win over Carleton. She missed McGill's first 13 games of the campaign, including non-conference play, due to a knee injury suffered at a national team training camp in September.

"Charlie's a big piece of the puzzle here," said head coach Peter Smith, who served as an assistant coach with the Canadian Olympic team last spring. "She had a tough time sitting out the injury but had a big smile on her face today. That said, both Andrea Weckman and Taylor Salisbury, our other two goalies, did a solid job holding down the fort in her absence and helped us continue the win streak."

McGill, which had a 43-10 edge in shots on net, broke up a scoreless tie midway through the second period when Kim Ton-That, a sophomore from Beaconsfield, Que., tallied what proved to be the game-winner after deflecting a Cathy Chartrand shot from the blueline.

"We got off to a slow start in the first period but controlled the play the last two periods," said Smith. "We played five real good periods over the last two games and created a lot of scoring chances. It was good for our confidence to play that well as a team rather than as individuals."

Laine Smith, a third-year forward from Aurora, Ont., gave the Martlets some breathing room to make it 2-0 when she pounced on a juicy rebound to beat netminder Kaitlynn Blasco, a sophomore from Milton, Ont., at 6:39 of the final frame.

Rookie Katia Clement-Heydra of St. Bruno de Montarville, Que., put the game out of reach with a power-play marker, stuffing home her own rebound with just over 10 minutes remaining.

Ottawa, which fell to 1-4, will host Carleton (2-2) on Nov. 6. McGill, which owns a 6-0 record versus CIS opponents, including a 4-0 record in league play, will host Carleton on Nov.7.

McGill 3 at Ottawa 0

(Sunday, October 31, 2010 - uOttawa Sports Complex)

1st Period-

(No Scoring)

Penalties-

Desforges Ott (hooking), 3:18;

Kitlar Ott (high sticking), 6:57;

Murray Mcg (high sticking), 9:36;

Pouliot Ott (bodychecking), 18:42;

DeLenardo Ott (hooking), 19:30.

2nd Period-

1, McGill, Kim Ton-That 2 (Crampton, Chartrand), 11:48.

Penalties-