MONTREAL -- Defenceman Erica Starnino scored the game-winner – her first career regular season goal -- early in the third period as fifth-ranked McGill rallied to double No.10 Ottawa 2-1 in a key RSEQ women's hockey first-place showdown at McConnell Arena, Sunday.

The result solidified McGill's division lead to three points ahead of second-place Ottawa as the Martlets improved their unblemished record to 6-0 on home ice and now own a 93-16-7 lifetime record in 116 meetings with the Gee-Gees.

The winning goal, which snapped a 1-1 saw-off at 3:03 of the final stanza, marked the first-ever tally in 42 regular-season games for Starnino, a 5-foot-3 junior from Town of Mt. Royal, Que., who had previously scored twice in exhibition play and now has three career goals in 83 contests overall.

"It was a good fast game," said McGill head coach Peter Smith, whose squad outshot their guests 25-15. "We blocked a lot of shots and played the game down in their end. On the other hand I give Ottawa credit, they blocked a lot of shots too so we didn't get as many as we normally would like to get. Both teams were playing hard and when that happens, the shot total is down and that's the type of game it's going to be."

Mélodie Bouchard of Sept-Îles, Que., opened the scoring for Ottawa on a hotly-disputed play after crashing the net at 19:08 of the first period, assisted by Roxanne Rioux of St. Jean de Dieux, Que. It was the ninth of the season for Bouchard, who leads the league with 22 points in 14 contests, four more that McGill sniper Melodie Daoust, who has played three less games.

But just 22 seconds after losing that argument, McGill got even when Olivia Atkinson, a psychology and economics sophomore from Oakville, Ont., tied it up on the power-play. Daoust, the team captain from Valleyfield, Que., and Jade Downie-Landry, a freshman from St. Jean sur Richelieu, Que., were credited with the assists.It was the first game back for Downie-Landry, who had missed five games while playing for the Canadian national development squad, which settled for silver at the Nations Cup tournament in Fussen, Germany.

"We switched some things around and Atkinson was playing net-front on the power-play today," noted Smith of his 5-foot-7 forward who now has a 7-7-14 record in 13 games after scoring only eight points in her freshman campaign. "Daoust slid the puck right to her and she just did a real good job in redirecting the puck right along the ice. I thought her effort on the power-play -- and that shift in particular -- was terrific. Olivia was filling in, in a little bit of a different spot and her performance was (clutch)."

After a scoreless second period, senior Gabrielle Davidson of Pointe Claire, Que., chipped the puck to Starnino just inside the blue line and, with nobody in front of her, the 20-year-old accounting junior wound up and beat Gee-Gees netminder Émilie Bouchard, prompting a spirited celebration.

"Erica has some of the best celebrations around, so it was fun to see that," Smith laughed.

McGill goalie Tricia Deguire, a physical education freshman from Sherbrooke, Que., stopped 14 of 15 shots and improved her record to 10-3. The 19-year-old rookie continues to lead the Quebec conference in wins, goals-against average (1.70) and save percentage (.934).

The Martlets handed Bouchard her first loss of the season in the Ottawa net, as she turned away 23 pucks and her record fell to 3-1.

The hosts were 1-for-3 on the power-play, while the Gee-Gees failed to capitalize on six chances. Ottawa leads the conference with a 22.6 per cent success rate with the extra attacker.

"We've got to score more goals five-on-five," said Smith of his special teams play. "We created a ton of chances. I liked our PK, I thought at times our power play was good, but we need to be a little bit more consistent there."

McGill's power-play ranks second in the league at 19.6 per cent.

Despite a wild flurry of activity in the final five minutes, including back-to-back penalties to Jade Downie-Landry -- the second of which came when on-ice officials were alerted that she had left the box early after the first -- the Martlets hung on for a key victory that denied Ottawa a chance to take over top spot in the standings.

"We got two points out of it and I'm glad," said Smith. "I give our kids a lot of credit because there were a lot of distractions, a lot of things that could've thrown them off, and they kept at it and kept their focus. They did well from that standpoint so I'm proud of how they stood up to the pressure."

With only seven games remaining before playoffs, McGill (10-3-0) next visits Concordia (5-7-1) on Jan. 21. The Gee-Gees (8-5-1) take on Carleton (3-9-1) on Jan. 19.
 
LINK TO COMPLETE BOXSCORE

SCORING SUMMARY
Ottawa 1 at McGill 2
(Sunday, January 15, 2017 - McConnell Arena @ McGill)

Ottawa 1-0-0 -- 1
McGill 1-0-1 -- 2

1st Period-
1, Ottawa, Mélodie Bouchard 9 (Rioux), 19:08.
2, McGill, Olivia Atkinson 7 (Daoust, Downie-Landry), 19:30 (PP).
 
Penalties-Davies Mcg (hooking), 3:15; Periard Ott (bodychecking), 9:56; Downie-Landry Mcg (interference), 17:00; Neuwald Ott (bodychecking), 19:22.

2nd Period-
(No Scoring).
 
Penalties-
Davidson Mcg (tripping), 5:10; Neuwald Ott (roughing), 8:53; Cotter Mcg (interference), 12:31.

3rd Period-
3, McGill, Erica Starnino 1 (Downie-Landry, Davidson), 3:03.
 
Penalties-Godbout-Parent Ott (roughing), 11:59; Daoust Mcg (roughing), 11:59; Downie-Landry Mcg (holding), 14:51; Downie-Landry Mcg (leaving penalty box), 17:07; Godbout-Parent Ott (roughing), 18:52; Daoust Mcg (roughing), 18:52.

Shots on Goal-
Ottawa 7-3-5 -- 15.
McGill 8-10-7 -- 25.

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

Goalies-
Ottawa,
Émilie Bouchard (L, 3-1-0, 25 shots-23 saves; 57:10).
McGill,
Tricia Deguire (W, 10-3-0, 15 shots-14 saves; 60:00).

Attendance: 86
Start: 3:03 PM
End: 5:07 PM
Length: 2:04
 
Referees-Melanie Bordeleaux.
Linesmen-Genevieve Gouin, Pauline Motet.
 
THREE STARS:
1. MCG - 25 Erica Starnino
2. OTT - 20 Mélodie Bouchard
3. MCG - 27 Jade Downie-Landry

2016-17 RSEQ WOMEN'S HOCKEY STANDINGS
 

RSEQ	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	PCT	GF	GA	STK	PIM
McGill	13	10	3	0	20	0.769	33	22	1-0-0	120
Ottawa	14	8	5	1	17	0.607	45	38	0-1-0	126
Montreal	15	8	6	1	17	0.567	42	37	1-0-1	120
Concordia	13	5	7	1	11	0.423	36	37	0-1-0	98
Carleton	13	3	9	1	7	0.269	26	48	0-1-0	142