Box Score
MONTREAL – Some would say that special teams proved to be the difference when two of the CIS women's hockey giants confronted each other at McConnell Arena, Sunday.  Josianne Legault's power-play goal at 6:55 of the third period held up as the game-winner, giving the No.3-ranked Montreal Carabins a 2-1 victory over top-ranked McGill.

It marked the second straight win over McGill for the defending national champion Carabins, who had lost the first three meetings to the Martlets after upsetting them in the Quebec league championship series last spring,

It may have been a meaningless game in the RSEQ standings but was also a wrestling match for the higher seed in the CIS national rankings, which will offer a more favourable pool and schedule at the upcoming CIS championships.

The Carabins went 1-for-3 on the power-play, while McGill's explosive offence was silent, going 0-for-6.

"It's too easy to blame the power-play, too easy," said Martlets head coach Peter Smith. "When you get down to that kind of hockey, the (penalty) kills are too good and they're blocking shots, so it's tough to score on the power-play. So its 5-on-5 hockey that counts. We created a lot of chances 5-on-5 but we didn't score. It's all nice to score on the PP but if they're doing a good job on the kill, there's not a whole lot you can do. We played a good game, controlled the play but couldn't get the puck in the net. I'm obviously disappointed with the result but not the effort."

Kim Deschenes, a fifth-year senior from Quentin, N.B., had given the Carabins a 1-0 lead at 6:36 of the second and when Legault, from Granby, Que., made it 2-0, it appeared that the Carabins had a shot of posting their first-ever shutout over McGill.

But the Martlets, who had a 33-15 edge in shots, continued to press and, boosted by an extra attacker in the final minute of play, broke the goose-egg when Leslie Oles converted passes from defencemen Brittney Fouracres and Kelsie Moffatt with 10 seconds remaining.

Reserve netminder Marie-Pier Chabot, a freshman from Quebec City, made just her fifth start of the season for the Carabins and registered 32 saves, improving her record to 5-0.

Andrea Weckman, a fifth-year neuroscience senior from Kitchener, Ont., who was bidding to end her regular season collegiate career with an unblemished record, turned aside 13 of 15 and was saddled with her first-ever league loss, dropping to 11-1 on the season and 26-1 lifetime. She finished the campaign with three shutouts, a league-leading 1.25 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage, hich ranked second.

McGill, which saw their lifetime record over the Carabins drop to 30-5-0 overall and 14-3 at McConnell Arena, will now turn their focus on the RSEQ playoffs. The Martlets, which finished atop the conference standings with an 18-2 record, will now take on fourth-place Concordia (5-15-0) in a best-of-three semifinal series. Game 1 kicks off Friday (Feb. 21, 7 pm) at McConnell Arena. The cross-town rivals will meet at Concordia's Ed Meagher arena on Feb. 23 (3 pm) for Game 2. If a rubber match is needed, it will be back at McGill on Feb. 28 at 7 p.m.

The second-place Carabins (17-3-0) will confront third-place Ottawa (8-11-0) in the other semifinal series. The Gee-Gees, however, have one more game on their schedule, and will host Carleton (1-14-4) on Sunday afternoon.

Both RSEQ semifinal winners will advance to the league final as well as qualify for an automatic berth at the CIS championship in Fredericton, March 13-16. The RSEQ conference has the wild-card berth this year because the Carabins claimed the national championship last year.

MARTLET MURMURS: Katia Clement-Heydra won the league scoring title with 13-27-40 in 20 games, six points ahead of teammate Gabrielle Davidson, who finished the cmpaign with a Quebec league record 28 goals, one shy of the CIS single-season mark.


SCORING SUMMARY
Montreal 2 at McGill 1
(Saturday, February 15, 2014 - McConnell Arena @ McGill))

GOALS BY PERIOD:
Montreal 0-1-1 -- 2
McGill 0-0-1 -- 1

1st Period-
(No Scoring).

Penalties-Delorme Mtl (interference), 1:39; Lachance Mtl (tripping), 5:09.

2nd Period-
1, Montreal, Kim Deschenes 13 (Duval), 6:36.

Penalties-Davidson Mcg (bodychecking), 1:14; Deschenes Mtl (interference), 18:05.

3rd Period-
2, Montreal, Josianne Legault 9 (Beaulieu), 6:55 (PP).
3, McGill, Leslie Oles 12 (Fouracres, Moffatt), 19:50.

Penalties-Duval Mtl (bodychecking), 0:31; Cagianos Mcg (check to the head), 5:22; Daigneault Mcg (hooking), 6:29; Mantha Mtl (interference), 12:26; Saunders Mcg (holding), 13:03; Duval Mtl (interference), 13:47.

Shots on Goal-
Montreal 5-6-4 -- 15.
McGill 10-11-12 -- 33.

Power Play Opportunities-
Montreal 1 / 3;
McGill 0 / 6.

Goalies-
Montreal, Marie-Pier Chabot (W, 5-0-0, 33 shots-32 saves; 60:00).
McGill, Andrea Weckman (L, 11-1-0, 15 shots-13 saves; 58:28).

Attendance: 179
Start: 7:01 PM
End: 8:58 PM
Length: 1:57

Referee-Mathieu Nadeau.
Linesmen-Pierre Barry, Jesse Riendeau.

THREE STARS:
1. MTL - 32 Marie-Pier Chabot
2. MTL - 28 Josianne Legault
3. MTL - 9 Kim Deschenes

SOURCE:
 
Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
m.athletics.mcgill.ca (mobile website)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca