(Photo of Christiana Colizza by Derek Drummond)
MONTREAL -- Rookie
Christiana Colizza of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., scored the game-winner -- her first career goal -- with just over three minutes remaining as the seventh-ranked McGill University women's hockey team edged No.4 Concordia 4-3 in a Sunday matinee at McConnell Arena.
It knocked the Stingers (4-2) out of first place in the RSEQ standings and was the first win for the struggling Martlets (1-4), who have had trouble finding the back of the net. In fact, the four-goal output was just one shy of their total in the previous four games combined. The four-game losing streak was something that hadn't happened to the team in two decades.
"As soon as I went into the room after the game I said to the girls, 'You got four goals!'," laughed McGill head coach
Peter Smith. "We've created so many scoring chances, we just couldn't seem to get the puck in the back of the net. Well, we did a pretty good job this afternoon of getting it (there).
"It's kind of interesting," he added. "I look at the team and the environment and what they're doing and they know that they've played well... so nobody was really depressed about (the 0-4 record). They just knew that they had to keep working hard and good things would happen. I like the attitude that we have on the team. They'll continue to do that and continue to grow and get better. We're getting there. It's still a process and the girls know it. They will come out to practice on Tuesday and work hard."
Colizza, a 5-foot-4 forward who turns 18 at the end of the month, secured the victory with the only tally of the third period, at 16:49, and also assisted on the game's opening goal.
"It was a great feeling... I was skating down the right side and originally going to pass the puck back to Olivia (Atkinson) who was behind me but I saw that the goalie's low blocker side was open (on the left), so I just shot," said the science freshman, who is the sixth member of the Colizza clan to suit up for a McGill varsity team. The genealogy includes her father Vince, as well as uncles Joe, James and Sam, in addition to great uncle Vincent, All of them played football for the Redmen, while James and Sam were two-sport athletes who also played hockey for the Redmen.
"Geez, that was a big one," said Smith. "Here's a young player who comes into the program and has got much to learn but she's such a great example. She's just worked real hard. The coaches, her teammates, everybody was happy for her. She's done a real good job."
Colizza's exploits overshadowed a superb showing from
Jade Downie-Landry who tallied points on three of the four goals. The native of St. Jean sur Richelieu, Que., opened the scoring just 66 seconds into the game.
Lea Dumais of Beaconsfield, Que., doubled the advantage at 11:40, putting the Martlets up 2-0 after one.
The Stingers replied with three consecutive goals to make for a wild finish.
Devon Thompson got Concordia back into it early in the second, with a shorthanded effort at 3:01, followed by
Claudia Dubois' even-strength marker at 6:04. When
Claudia Fortin put the Stingers ahead at 13:37, it appeared that the Martlets would fold under the pressure.
But
Olivia Atkinson of Oakville, Ont., tied things up on the power play with just 81 seconds left in the middle frame, setting the stage for Colizza's third-period winner. Atkinson, who also collected an assist on the opening goal, now share the conference scoring lead with Dubois from Concordia. Both have a 2-3-5 record but Atkinson has played one fewer game.
The ending was especially tense as Downie-Landry took a penalty with under two minutes remaining, allowing the Stingers an extended 6-on-4 opportunity with the goalie pulled, but the hosts survived the onslaught.
McGill netminder
Tricia Deguire of Sherbrooke, Que., turned away 21 of 24 shots as her record improved to 1-4.
"Tricia was real good," noted Smith. "She probably would've liked to have the first goal back but was solid and made some key saves."
Stingers goalie
Alice Philbert allowed four goals on 25 shots through 58:25 for Concordia as her record dropped to 1-1.
The Martlets were 1-for-4 on the power play, but gave up a shorty. They killed off all eight penalties taken.
"I would say that was really the only negative in the game," said Smith. "We had too many penalties. Our kill was terrific, it's been real good, but I'd rather that we didn't have to use it."
McGill improved their lifetime record to 83-40-3 in 126 meetings with the Stingers since women's hockey was formally sanctioned with a national championship in 1997.
McGill (1-4) visits division-leading Montreal (3-0-3) on Friday, Nov. 17 before hosting Carleton (3-2) on Nov. 18. The Stingers (4-2) host Ottawa (2-1-1) that evening.
LINK TO RSEQ BOXSCORE
LINK TO RSEQ STATS
2017-18 RSEQ WOMEN'S HOCKEY STANDINGS
| 1 |
Montreal |
6 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
9 |
0.750 |
14 |
12 |
3-0-3 |
3-0-3 |
48 |
| 2 |
Concordia |
6 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
8 |
0.667 |
17 |
15 |
0-1-0 |
4-2-0 |
48 |
| 3 |
Carleton |
5 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
6 |
0.600 |
11 |
10 |
1-0-0 |
3-2-0 |
56 |
| 4 |
Ottawa |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
0.625 |
9 |
9 |
0-1-0 |
2-1-1 |
40 |
| 5 |
McGill |
5 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
0.200 |
9 |
14 |
1-0-0 |
1-4-0 |
50 |
