Oct. 3, 2012 - 5:00 PM

Martlet Hockey at St. Lawrence University (Away)

Lost 4-5 (OT) at St. Lawrence (NCAA) (EXHIBITION)

CANTON, N.Y. -- Senior Kelly Sabatine of Hamilton, Ont., scored a hat-trick and junior Dayle Wilkinson netted the overtime-winner as the  No. 7-ranked St. Lawrence University Saints rallied for a 5-4 victory against visiting McGill in women's preseason hockey at Appleton Arena, Wednesday.

St. Lawrence jumped into a 3-0 lead but McGill rallied with four consecutive goal, including the go-ahead marker by veteran Kim Ton-That at the 13-minute mark of the third perod. However, McGill defender Adrienne Crampton was called for holding at 17:14 and Sabatine tied the contest on the ensuing power-play at 17:48. It only took 36 seconds of overtime for Wilkinson to tally the winner.

The Saints had a 29-20 advantage in shots and were 1-of-6 on the power play.  McGill was 0-for-4 with the extra skater.

"That was certainly a thrilling finish against a McGill team that always gives us a good game," said St. Lawrence head coach Chris Wells.  "We're excited to get the regular season underway on Friday against Clarkson."

Sabatine needed only 21 seconds after the opening face-off to get on the scoreboard.  A shot from the point by Mel Desrochers was tipped by rookie Kailee Heidersbach right to Sabatine on the door step who easily put he puck past freshman goaltender Taylor Hough.

St. Lawrence took a 2-0 lead when rookie defenceman Victoria Leimgardt rifled a slap-shot from the blue line past Hough inside the left post at 14:36.

Midway through the second stanza, Sabatine stretched the lead to 3-0 after a dazzling spin-pass from junior Rylee Smith set her up in the slot.

However, McGill curbed the momentum with a shorthanded goal at 15:02 of the second period, as Gabrielle Davidson finished a well-executed two-on-one with Leslie Oles to score on St. Lawrence rookie goalie Giulia Mazzocchi to make it 3-1.

In the third period, the Martlets scored three consecutive goals to build a 4-3 lead with 7:00 minutes to play.

Katia Clement-Heydra made it 3-2 at 4:49 and Darragh Hamilton scored just 69 seconds later on a three-on-one break against rookie goalie Mikaela Thompson. Ton-That capped the comeback to make it 4-3 on a shot that re-directed off a St. Lawrence player past Thompson.

After Sabaine forced overtime, the Saints used their speed to produce the winning play.  Smith, who finished with three assists, carried the puck into the offensive zone and found Sabatine.  With the defence swarming to her, Sabatine slid a pass to Wilkinson in the slot and the Stouffville, Ont., native lifted the puck past Hough's glove into the upper-corner for her first collegiate goal.

Hough was credited with 24 saves, including a game-high 13 in the third period.  Three St. Lawrence goaltenders combined for 16 saves, including Carmen MacDonald's three in the first, Giulia Mazzocchi's seven in the second period and Thompson's six in the third.

St. Lawrence (1-0) will take on rival Clarkson University in a home-and-home series this weekend. The Martlets dropped to 3-4-0, including a 2-0 record against CIS opponents. They return home to play the Montreal Stars, defending NWHL champs, on Friday at McConnell Arena. The Stars feature a lineup full of McGill grads. Puck drop is 7 p.m.

SOURCE:

Earl Zukerman (McGill) and Joe Keniston (St. Lawrence)

SCORING SUMMARY

McGill 4 at St. Lawrence 5 (OT)
(Wednesday, October 3, 2012 - Appleton Arena @ St. Lawrence)

GOALS BY PERIOD:
McGill 0-1-3-0 -- 4
SLU    2-1-1-1 -- 5

1st Period-
1, St. Lawrence, Kelly Sabatine 1 (Desrochers, Heidersbach), 0:21.
2, St. Lawrence, Victoria Leimgardt 1 (McAuliffe), 14:36.

Penalties-
Heidersbach Slu (bodychecking), 8:03;
Crampton Mcg (bodychecking), 11:28.

2nd Period-
3, St. Lawrence, Kelly Sabatine 2 (Smith, Heidersbach), 11:22.
4, McGill, Gabrielle Davidson 4 (Oles), 15:02 (SH).

Penalties-
Wand Slu (tripping), 8:48;
Cagianos Mcg (interference), 12:04;
Daoust Mcg (bodychecking), 14:16;
Fernandez Slu (elbowing), 18:40.

3rd Period-
5, McGill, Katia Clement-Heydra 7 (Hillier, Daoust), 4:59.
6, McGill, Darragh Hamilton 1 (Ton-That, Hutchinson), 6:08.
7, McGill, Kim Ton-That 1 (unassisted),  13:00.
8, St. Lawrence, Kelly Sabatine 3 (Smith, Boulier), 17:48 (PP).

Penalties-
Psihogios Mcg (tripping), 7:02;
Fouracres Mcg (hooking), 8:10;
Habscheid Slu (cross checking), 10:52;
Crampton Mcg (holding), 17:14.

OVERTIME (5 mins., sudden-death):
9, St. Lawrence, Dayle Wilkinson 1 (Sabatine, Smith), 0:36.

Penalties-
(None)

Shots on Goal-
McGill 3-8-9-0 -- 20.
St. Lawrence 8-6-14-1 -- 29.

Power Play Opportunities-
McGill 0 / 4;
St. Lawrence 1 / 6.

Goalies-
McGill,
Taylor Hough (L, 2-1-0, 29 shots-24 saves; 60:36).

St. Lawrence,
Carmen MacDonald (Start, ND; 3 shots-3 saves; 20:00);
Giulia Mazzocchi (ND; 8 shots-7 saves; 20:00);
Mikaela Thompson (W, 1-0-0, 9 shots-6 saves; 20:26).

Att-222

Referees-Scott Prim, Mike Lizotte.

Linesmen-Liam Olivier, Jason Shattie.


THREE STARS:
1. SLU - 16 Kelly Sabatine
2. MCG - 3 Kim Ton-That
3. SLU - 15 Rylee Smith