Box Score
MONTREAL -- It might not have been "The Shawshank Redemption" but it was arguably the next best thing.  Leslie Oles scored the game-winner midway through the final period as No.2-ranked McGill erased a three-goal deficit with six unanswered goals to upend the top-ranked Montreal Carabins 6-3 in a women's hockey thriller at McConnell Arena, Sunday afternoon. The result left both teams deadlocked atop the RSEQ standings with identical 15-5-0 records and one game left before playoffs.

A loss to Montreal would have clinched the regular season pennant for the Carabins. When the final buzzer sounded, however, this proved to be a statement game for McGill, in response to their last matchup against the Carabins, an embarrasing 5-0 loss at UdeM's CEPSUM Arena on Jan. 30.

Netminder Brittany Smrke saved 15 of 18 shots for the win, improving to 9-3 on the season. McGill outshot the Carabins 41-18, including a 13-2 margin in the second period and a 16-5 edge in the final stanza. The Martlets power-play was 3-for-6 and the penalty-kill unit was perfect in all three situations.

"It was a great win," said captain Katia Clement-Heydra, who had a goal with two assists and recently became the school's all-time leading points-leader in regular season play with a 75-103-178 record in 99 league games. She surpassed Ann-Sophie Bettez, who tallied 85-87-172 in 91 contests.

"The fact that we could come back with six straight goals after falling behind 3-0, shows how much character we have on this team. We didn't get down on ourselves when we fell behind so early. Everyone was fired up on the bench. We stepped up and accepted the challenge. It could be a turning point to our season but I think that the 5-0 loss to them in our last meeting was the real turning point. For us, that was a real big kick in the butt and we went back to the basics. We weren't going to let that happen again and I think we showed today, that we're peaking at the right time, as the playoffs approach."

What was most impressive was how the Martlets rebounded after stumbling out of the blocks in the worst way possible. Carabins sniper Ariane Barker scored her 16th of the season just 28 seconds after the opening faceoff, then set up linemate Audrey Gariepy for a pair of goals, her 12th and 13th, at 2:52 and 14:54.

It looked like a horror film was in the works but one sensed redemption in the calming voice of Morgan Freeman as soon as Gabrielle Davidson made it 3-1 with her first of two, in the top left corner, at 16:03 of the period.

When Stefanie Pohlod tallied her eighth on a power-play at 13:32 of the middle stanza, the Martlets shifted into overdrive. Less than five minutes later, Alexandria Serpico connected for her seventh, on a power-play, to knot the score at 3-3.

Then Oles struck with cobra-like precision on yet another power-play opportunity to make it 4-3 at 8:21 of the final period, converting passes from Clement-Heydra and Melodie Daoust, the Canadian Olympic gold medallist who just returned from injury for the first time this season two nights earlier. Daoust then set up Clement-Heydra at 17:26 and Davidson for her second of the game, into an empty-net at 19:28.

All of a sudden, the gang that couldn't shoot straight is beginning to mature like a fine wine. The Martlets went through a three-game stretch with just seven goals but in the four contests since then, they've potted 25.

Daoust now has six points in her two games, two of them goals, since returning to action after a six-month rehab from a pre-training-camp injury.

Davidson leads the RSEQ conference in scoring and is ranked second in the nation with a stellar 19-18-37 record in just 19 contests. She is two points behind Manitoba's Alanna Sharman, the CIS leader, who has played eight more games. Clement-Heydra is fourth among CIS leaders with a 9-26-35 record and Oles is not far behind at 14-16-30.

Things will only get better when all-star defenceman Brittany Fouracres rejoins the team in a couple of days after returning from the FISU world university games in Spain, where she helped Canada win silver. The Carabins also had a number of key player at the Games, namely Barker, plus defenceman Elizabeth Mantha and goaltender Élodie Rousseau-Sirois, but they asked their trio to miss the closing ceremonies and return in time to suit up for the all-important game against McGill.

The Martlets (15-4), which can still finish first or second, will complete their regular season schedule on Friday, Feb. 20, when Ottawa (7-11-0) visits McConnell Arena. The Carabins (15-4), which hold the head-to-head tie-breaker over McGill on a 3-2 head-to-head record, can still clinch first place when they close out their campaign on Sunday at Concordia (6-7-5).

MARTLET MURMURS: Bettez still holds the overall points record with 148-175-323 in 196 games, while Clement-Heydra has 115-173-288 in 197 outings... Freshman goaltender Kayla Loberg dressed as a back-up for the third straight game, as Taylor Hough continues to recover from a minor lower-body injury suffered during during practice last week... The Martlets offence is now ranked second in the nation, scoring an average of 4.32 goals-per-game...The PP unit is ranked fifth in the CIS at 19.8 per cent efficiency.

SEE COMPLETE BOXSCORE
 

Pos	RSEQ STANDINGS (20-game season)	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	PTS
1	Montréal	19	15	4	0	85	33	30
2	McGill	19	15	4	0	83	41	30
3	Concordia	18	6	7	5	31	39	17
4	Ottawa	18	7	11	0	39	58	14
5	Carleton	18	3	15	0	22	89	6

SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
McGill Sports Info Office
514-398-7012


SCORING SUMMARY
Montreal 3 at McGill 6
(Sunday, February 15, 2015 - McConnell Arena @ McGill)

GOALS BY PERIOD:
Montreal 3 0 0 - 3
McGill 1 2 3 - 6

1st Period-
1, Montreal, Ariane Barker 16 (unassisted), 0:28.
2, Montreal, Audrey Gariepy 12 (Barker), 2:52.
3, Montreal, Audrey Gariepy 13 (Barker, Legault), 14:54.
4, McGill, Gabrielle Davidson 18 (Serpico), 16:03.

Penalties-Davidson Mcg (bodychecking), 4:05; Cormier Mtl (hooking), 12:13; Sutter Mcg (interference), 18:26.

2nd Period-
5, McGill, Stefanie Pohlod 8 (Daigneault), 13:32 (PP).
6, McGill, Alexandria Serpico 7 (Moffatt), 18:08 (PP).

Penalties-Moffatt Mcg (interference), 5:09; Mantha Mtl (bodychecking), 8:31; Duval Mtl (hooking), 11:59; Barker Mtl (holding), 14:06; Davies Mcg (roughing), 14:06; Baudrit Mtl (bodychecking), 16:28.

3rd Period-
7, McGill, Leslie Oles 14 (Daoust, Clement-Heydra), 8:21 (PP).
8, McGill, Katia Clement-Heydra 9 (Daoust), 17:26.
9, McGill, Gabrielle Davidson 19 (Daoust, Clement-Heydra), 19:28 (EN).

Penalties-Duval Mtl (tripping), 7:19; Barker Mtl (hooking), 10:05.

Shots on Goal-
Montreal 11-2-5 -- 18.
McGill 12-13-16 -- 41.

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

Goalies-
Montreal,
Elodie Rousseau-Sirois (L, 8-3-0, 40 shots-35 saves; 59:41).
Empty-net (1 shot, 1 goal; 0:19)

McGill,
Brittany Smrke (W, 9-3-0, 18 shots-15 saves; 60:00).

Attendance: 271
Start: 3:02 PM
End: 5:10 PM
Length: 2:08

Referee-Melanie Bordeleau.
Linesmen-Stephanie Campbell, Stephanie Gagnon.

THREE STARS:
1. MCG - 4 Leslie Oles
2. MTL - 84 Ariane Barker
3. MCG - 9 Alexandria Serpico