MONTREAL -- Marie-Philip Lavoie of Pohenegamook, Que., scored the game-winning goal as seventh-ranked McGill edged Concordia 2-1 in RSEQ women's hockey, Saturday, at Ed Meagher Arena.

It was the third straight win for the Martlets, who have also collected 11 consecutive victories over the Stingers and boosted their head-to-head record to 77-38-3 in 118 lifetime meetings.

Nicole Howlett, a psychology sophomore from Tsawwassen, B.C., opened the scoring at 7:36 of the first period on a feed from freshman Jade Downie-Landry of St. Jean sur Richelieu, Que. Howlett carried the puck into the offensive zone and cut into the middle, then fired a smart shot halfway up to beat the goalie on her glove side.

Lavoie, a 5-foot-5 physical education junior, padded the lead to 2-0 at 7:35 of the middle frame, assisted by team captain Melodie Daoust of Valleyfield, Que.

Keriann Schofield got one back for the home side just 17 seconds into the third, but McGill weathered a third-period storm, led by netminder Tricia Deguire, who stood tall to prevent a Stingers comeback.

Deguire, a 5-foot-7 rookie from Sherbrooke, Que., made 23 saves in the contest, including 10 in the final period when the Stingers were swarming and held an 11-2 advantage in shots. Deguire, whose record improved to 5-2, now leads the Quebec conference in wins, goals-against average (1.86) and save percentage (.936). Katherine Purchase saved 20 of 22 for Concordia and dropped to 1-3.

The game featured 11 penalties as the Martlets failed to capitalize on all five of their power play opportunities. They killed off all six penalties taken, including the final three infractions in the game.

"We're getting better at keeping our structure in the game. We played well when it was five-on-five but lost some momentum with all the penalties, especially in the third," said Martlets bench boss Peter Smith, who has registered a 453-178-32 record in 17 seasons behind the McGill bench. "We were running around a little bit but we did what we needed to do. We were terrific blocking shots and getting in lanes. I though we played with a lot of courage."

The victory moved McGill (5-2) into a tie for first-place with the Montreal Carabins (5-4) but the Martlets have two games in hand. They will host Carleton (2-5) on Friday, Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. at McConnell Arena. Meanwhile, fourth-place Concordia (2-5) visits third-place Ottawa (4-1-1) on Nov. 27.

MARTLET MURMURS: Still no news on injured sniper Gabrielle Davidson, who has yet to suit up after suffering an undisclosed injury at the national championships last year. The fifth-year senior has tallied 214 points, including 125 goals in 161 career games overall for the Martlets. Her status has been listed as 'day-to-day" all season... In a similar mode is senior Brittany Smrke,  a 5-foot-8 goaltender who owns a 23-12 career record overall but sat out the entire regular season last year after suffering an injury in the preseason that required surgery... McGill Athletics & Recreation will host the fifth annual Doug McDougall memorial blood donor clinic on Tuesday, Nov. 22, from 9:30 am to 5 pm at Tomlinson Hall, located inside the Sir Arthur Currie Gym at 475 Pine Avenue West. McDougall, who died in 2011, was well-known in the McGill community. His wife Sally Drury was a member of the ski team during her college days and their four sons all played varsity sports at McGill.
 
LINK TO COMPLETE BOXSCORE

2016-17 RSEQ WOMEN'S HOCKEY STANDINGS (updated)
 

TEAM	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	PCT	GF	GA	STK	PIM
McGill	7	5	2	0	10	0.714	18	13	3-0-0	74
Montreal	9	5	4	0	10	0.556	27	23	1-0-0	72
Ottawa	6	4	1	1	9	0.750	25	18	1-0-0	68
Concordia	7	2	5	0	4	0.286	16	23	0-2-0	62
Carleton	7	2	5	0	4	0.286	15	24	0-3-0	67

SCORING SUMMARY
McGill 2 at Concordia 1
(Saturday, November 19, 2016 - Ed Meagher Arena @ Concordia)

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

1st Period-
1, McGill, Nicole Howlett 2 (Downie-Landry), 7:36.
 
Penalties-Belzile Con (hooking), 4:03; Laganiere Con (holding), 6:36; Gagne Con (hooking), 11:31; Howlett Mcg (holding), 11:58; Chard Mcg (check to the head), 16:02.

2nd Period-
2, McGill, Marie-Philip Lavoie 3 (Daoust), 7:35.
 
Penalties-Lavoie Mcg (bodychecking), 1:50; Dubois Con (check to the head), 3:42; Allard Con (holding), 5:27; Downie-Landry Mcg (interference), 18:37; Howlett Mcg (holding), 19:32.

3rd Period-
3, Concordia, Keriann Schofield 2 (Gagne, Dubois), 0:17.
 
Penalties-Chard Mcg (bodychecking), 16:12.

Shots on Goal-
McGill 10-10-2 -- 22.
Concordia 3-10-11 -- 24.

Power Play Opportunities-
McGill 0 / 5;
Concordia 0 / 6.

Goalies-
McGill, Tricia Deguire (W, 5-2-0, 24 shots-23 saves; 60:00).
Concordia,Katherine Purchase (L, 1-4-0, 22 shots-20 saves; 57:28).

Start: 3:02 PM
End: 5:00 PM
Length: 1:58

Referees-Vanessa Morin, Genevieve Lavoie.
Linesmen-Laurie Longpre, Jessica Claramount.
 
THREE STARS:
1. MCG - 7 Marie-Philip Lavoie
2. MCG - 33 Tricia Deguire
3. CON - 35 Katherine Purchase