OTTAWA -- Shana Walker of Toronto notched the game-winning goal and added an assist, as No.3-ranked McGill defeated Carleton 3-1 at the CU Ice House in RSEQ women's hockey, Friday.

The win marked the third-straight victory for the Martlets at the Ice House since a rare 1-0 loss there on Nov. 11, 2015. McGill improved to 85-2-1 in 88 lifetime meetings with the Ravens.

The Martlets led 2-0 after the opening period and 3-1 after the second.

Carleton goaltender Katelyn Steele (3-9) of Markham, Ont., made 46 saves in a losing cause as the visiting Martlets outshot their hosts by a lopsided 49-12 margin, including a 19-1 advantage in the scoreless final frame.

"Everyone was going hard and we got a lot of shots which was nice to see," said acting head coach Alyssa Cecere, handling the bench for Peter Smith, whose mother passed away Thursday evening. "We've been working on that for a couple weeks so it's nice to see the numbers go up."

Walker, a science freshman, assisted on Olivia Sutter's opening goal just 2:43 into the contest before scoring what proved to be the winner at 14:03. It marked her fourth goal overall but her first official tally in league play. The 5-foot-5 forward was awarded the game puck by the team captains after the contest.

Rookie Nicole Howlett, a six-foot forward from Delta, B.C., assisted on both first-period goals to record the first multi-point game of her young career.

Joanne Cagianos of Dorval, Que., put the Martlets ahead 3-0 with her third of the campaign at 2:33 of the middle stanza. Erika Pyke of Spryfield, N.S., assisted on the play.

Mackenzie Coney of Stittsville, Ont., spoiled a shutout bid by McGill goalie Taylor Hough, an international development studies senior from Toronto, who stopped 11 of 12 shots faced and improved her record to 8-3 in 11 starts. Hough is ranked second in the league and fourth in the nation, with a 1.22 goals-against average. She also owns a .946 save percentage, which is seventh in the CIS.

Coney placed the Ravens on the board at 7:19 of the second period with help from Tawnya Guindon of Clarence Creek, Ont.

"We didn't spend much time in our D-zone," noted Cecere of the Martlets' defensive effort which only allowed 12 shots. "But when we were there, we battled hard and were able to move the puck up quickly."

McGill improved to 9-3-1 in RSEQ conference play, two points behind league-leading Montreal (10-3-1) with a game in hand. The Martlets will remain in the nation's capital overnight and face-off against No.9 Ottawa (8-4-1) on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Minto Sports Complex. The last-place Ravens, who dropped to 3-11-0, will get a day off before playing at fourth-place Concordia (4-8-2) on Sunday at 3 p.m.
 
MARTLET MURMURS: The Martlets were 0-for-4 on the power-play and killed off both shorthanded situations... McGill PP ranks 10th in the nation at 14.8 per cent, while the PK unit is tops in the CIS at 94.3 per cent... McGill is averaging 35.5 shots and 2.46 goals per game, which ranks second and 11th in the country... The team leads the CIS with a stingy 1.07 goals against average...  Melodie Daoust was kept off the scoresheet but still leads the conference scoring race and is ranked fourth in the nation with a 10-11-21 record in 13 games...

LINK TO COMPLETE BOXSCORE

SCORING SUMMARY
McGill 3 at Carleton 1
(Friday, January 22, 2016 - CU Ice House @ Carleton)
 
GOALS BY PERIOD:
McGill 2-1-0 -- 3
Carleton 0-1-0 -- 1
 
1st Period-
1, McGill, Olivia Sutter 2 (Howlett, Walker), 2:43.
2, McGill, Shana Walker 1 (Howlett), 14:03.

Penalties-Weiss Car (hooking), 4:44; Cagianos Mcg (elbowing), 10:11; Bouillon Car (cross checking), 20:00.
 
2nd Period-
3, McGill, Joanne Cagianos 3 (Pyke), 2:33.
4, Carleton, Mackenzie Coney 3 (Guindon), 7:19.

Penalties-Walker Mcg (slashing), 14:05.
 
3rd Period-
(No Scoring)

Penalties-Semkowski Car (slashing), 2:18; Weiss Car (unsportsmanlike cnd.), 12:55.
 
Shots on Goal-
McGill 17-13-19 -- 49.
Carleton 6-5-1 -- 12.
 
Power Play Opportunities-
McGill 0 / 4;
Carleton 0 / 2.
 
Goalies-
McGill, Taylor Hough (W, 8-3-0, 12 shots-11 saves; 60:00).
Carleton, Katelyn Steele (L, 3-9-0, 49 shots-46 saves; 60:00).
 
Attendance: 112
Start: 7:06 PM
End: 9:01 PM
Length: 1:55
 
Referee-Jeff Demers.
Linesmen-Colleen Thornburn, Taylor Rogalsky.
 
THREE STARS:
1. MCG - 11 Shana Walker
2. CAR - 20 Nicole Allison
3. CAR - 24 Mackenzie Coney
 

Pos	RSEQ STANDINGS	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	GF	GA	PTS
1	Montréal	14	10	3	0	1	44	20	21
2	McGill	13	9	3	0	1	33	15	19
3	Ottawa	13	8	4	0	1	35	33	17
4	Concordia	14	4	8	0	2	22	37	10
5	Carleton	14	3	11	0	0	15	44	6

FOR FURTHER INFO CONTACT:
Kirsten Whelan or Earl Zukerman
McGill Sports Info Office
514-398-7012