Box Score
MONTREAL – "There is a place. Like no place on Earth. A land full of wonder, mystery, and danger! Some say to survive it: You need to be as mad as a hatter... Which luckily I am." -- (quote from The Mad Hatter, Alice in Wonderland, 1951).

One could argue that McConnell Arena is just such a mysterious place for visiting women's hockey teams, where the No.1-ranked McGill University Martlets have now racked up 18 consecutive playoff victories since 2005 in the wake of a 9-0 rout over Carleton to open the RSEQ best-of-three semifinal series at McConnell Arena, Wednesday.

The nine-goal offensive outburst matched the second-highest total ever in a playoff game for the Martlets, who extended their win streak against Canadian university opponents to 27 games. It was the team's best post-season production since a 9-1 home-ice semifinal win over Ottawa on Feb. 26, 2012 and fell two goals shy of the single-game record.

Leslie Oles, a third-year winger from Beaconsfield, Que., ignited the blitzkrieg with a school playoff record seven points, including three goals. She was joined in the hat-trick department by sophomore Melodie Daoust of Valleyfield, Que., who finished with six points when all was said and done. They were only the third and fourth playoff hat-tricks in team history, equaling the performances of Ann-Sophie Bettez and Marie-Andrée Leclerc-Auger who each achieved the feat in an 11-2 semifinal victory over Concordia at McConnell Arena on Mar. 7, 2009.

The accomplishment of scoring a playoff hat-trick is so rare that three fans even tossed their baseball caps onto the ice -- in front of the Martlets bench, after Oles netted her third goal -- a custom never before seen at a McGill women's game. But by the time that Daoust got around to potting her third marker some 15 minutes later, it had already become "old hat", so to speak, and nobody else was willing to lose their cap.

Rounding out the scoring was Chelsey Saunders, with two goals and one assist, and Katia Clement-Heydra, who also collected three points, two of them helpers.

"That whole line (Oles, Daoust and Saunders) played great," said McGill head coach Peter Smith. "When they move the puck, they are incredible. If they hang on to the puck, they are easier to defend against. Tonight they moved the puck real well, both in 5-on-5 situations and on the power-play."

The Martlets led 3-0 after the opening period and 5-0 after two. They had a 49-17 edge in shots, including an 18-2 advantage in the middle stanza. Goaltender Taylor Salisbury, a senior from Surrey, B.C., registered her fourth career post-season shutout and improved to 7-1 lifetime in the playoffs. Ravens netminder Tamber Tisdale started but was replaced -- after conceding five goals -- by Eri Kiribuchi at the 2:25 mark of the second period.

The McGill women went 3-for-12 on the power-play and killed off all five penalties. They have now snuffed out 13 consecutive shortages in manpower.

"It seems to me that there is a difference between last year's team and this year's lineup," said Smith. "Last year, we struggled in some games against teams that were lower in the standings. This year, however, I find that our team has played with a sense of urgency... not in every period but in pretty much every game. And one of the reasons that I will credit that to is the way the team works in practice. The tempo and pace of every practice has been real good and that carries over into every game."

McGill, which extended their win streak over the Ravens to eight and improved their lifetime record over Carleton to 70-1-1, can sweep the series with a victory in the nation's capital on Friday (7 p.m.) in a contest that is slated to be webcast on SSN Canada. If a rubber match is needed, it is scheduled for McConnell Arena, Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

MARTLET MURMERS: Prior to Oles and Daoust scoring seven and six points, respectively, the only other McGill players in team history to register a five-point game in post-season play were Ann-Sophie Bettez (3-2-5) and Vanessa Davidson (1-4-5), in the 2009 playoff win over Concordia... McGill hasn't lost a playoff game at home since a 3-2 setback in double overtime versus Ottawa on Feb. 23, 2005...The game officially took two hours and five minutes to play but that included a bizarre five-minute delay when referee Genevieve Bordeleau assessed Ravens rearguard Kelsey VanderVeen a penalty for leaving the penalty-box four seconds too early at 12:04 of the second period. It was the fourth of five penalties called on VanderVeen and a very lengthy discussion ensued between the officials, the penalty-box staff, the team captains and Carleton head coach Shelley Coolidge before the game resumed.


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http://www.leaguestat.com/qssf/femmes/en/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=436


SOURCE:

Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca