MONTREAL -- Nicole Howlett of Tsawwassen, B.C., scored the game-winner and added an assist as No.4-ranked McGill defeated Carleton 3-2, extended their win streak to six and wrapped up the regular season of RSEQ women's hockey, Sunday, at McConnell Arena.

The victory improved McGill's record to 90-3-1 in 94 overall meetings with the Ravens and sealed their season record at 16-4-0, the team's highest win total since the 2014-15 season. The Martlets finished first in the Quebec conference for the 11th time in 12 years and will now face fourth-place Ottawa (9-10-1) in a best-of-three semifinal series beginning Thursday (Feb. 23) at 7 p.m. at McConnell Arena. Game 2 is slated for Saturday at 2 p.m. in the nation's capital, with Game 3 back in Montreal on Sunday at 3 p.m., if necessary.

On paper, it appeared to be a lopsided matchup but the last-place Ravens nearly pulled off an upset, scoring with 40 seconds remaining and then putting the puck across the goal line a split-second after the final buzzer.

"We played a pretty good 58-minute game and we kind of fell asleep in the last minute-and-a-half, but that's okay," said Martlets head coach Peter Smith, whose team gave up a last-minute goal, in a meaningless game, for the second consecutive showing. "We're always happy to win the game but we're especially happy to get out of a game like that without any injuries. Now we can look forward to Thursday night.

"These last two matches were good games for us to work on our habits but they weren't going to do anything in terms of the standings. They weren't easy games to play but we worked hard and got something out of them, so that's good."

The decisive marker was the second career game-winning goal for Howlett, a six-foot forward whose tally gave the home side a 3-1 lead at 11:47 of the third period, which held up until the final minute of play.

McGill captain Melodie Daoust, a fifth-year senior from Valleyfield, Que., netted the opening goal at 8:03 of the first stanza, set up by Olivia Atkinson of Oakville, Ont. She later assisted, along with Howlett, on a shorthanded effort by Atkinson to make the score 2-0 at 17:01 of the second.

Daoust, a 5-foot-6 centre, finished with an 11-19-30 record in 18 games and captured the RSEQ scoring title for the second consecutive year and the fourth time in her tenure, having only missed the honour in 2013-14, when she sat out most of the season due to injury. Atkinson, a psychology and economics sophomore, finished second among the league leaders with a 13-12-25 record in 20 contests.

Audrey-Ann Boutour put the Ravens on the board just 66 seconds after Atkinson's shorty, with help from Delaney Ross and Bethan Wilson.

Howlett then scored the first goal of the final frame to give McGill a two-goal cushion, which proved prudent when Carleton pulled their goalie  and narrowed the deficit to one. Senior Pamela Psihogios of Laval, Que., and freshman Sidonie Chard of Kingston, Ont., earned assists on the play.

With 40 seconds remaining and an extra attacker on the ice, Carleton sophomore Nicole Allison potted her first-ever goal, assisted by Kaylie Welk and Ross, but the Ravens fell one second short of forcing overtime.

Martlets rookie goaltender Rachelle Champion, merited her second career start, and the East York, Ont., native made 19 saves on 21 shots -- and stood her ground on a second-period penalty shot -- as her record improved to 2-1.

"It was good for her to get some minutes and she did very well," noted Smith. "We played well in our own end and defended well, but she had a few shots that she had to work on and was certainly up to the task. The girls did a solid job in front of her and were good at clearing the rebounds and boxing people out, so all in all it was a strong defensive effort."

Carleton netminder Summer Roberts allowed three goals on 25 shots and her record dropped to 0-3.

McGill was 0-for-1 on the power play, killed two penalties, and allowed the Ravens a penalty shot that defenceman Jennifer Semkowski missed wide.

Carleton (4-14-2) failed to advance to the postseason for the fourth straight year. The winner of the upcoming McGill-Ottawa semifinal will not only advance to the RSEQ championship series but also automatically earn a berth to the U SPORTS national championship tournament in Kingston, Ont., Mar. 16-19.

 
LINK TO COMPLETE BOXSCORE


2016-17 RSEQ WOMEN'S HOCKEY FINAL STANDINGS
 

UNIVERSITY	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	PCT	GF	GA	STRK	PIM
McGill	20	16	4	0	32	0.800	57	35	6-0-0	160
Montreal	20	11	8	1	23	0.575	58	51	1-0-0	164
Concordia	20	10	9	1	21	0.525	55	48	0-2-0	156
Ottawa	20	9	10	1	19	0.475	55	59	0-5-0	214
Carleton	20	4	14	2	10	0.250	39	71	0-1-0	210

SCORING SUMMARY
Carleton 2 at McGill 3
(Sunday, February 19, 2017 - McConnell Arena @ McGill)

GOALS BY PERIOD:
Carleton 0-1-1 -- 2
McGill 1-1-1 -- 3

1st Period-
1, McGill, Melodie Daoust 11 (Atkinson), 8:03.
 
Penalties-(none)

2nd Period-
2, McGill, Olivia Atkinson 13 (Howlett, Daoust), 17:01 (SH).
3, Carleton, Audrey-Ann Boutour 1 (Ross, Wilson), 18:09.
 
Penalties-Ross Car (tripping), 7:19; Lavoie Mcg (PENALTY SHOT; hooking), 7:52; Howlett Mcg (interference), 14:52; Santini Mcg (bodychecking), 16:05.

3rd Period-
4, McGill, Nicole Howlett 6 (Psihogios, Chard), 11:47.
5, Carleton, Nicole Allison 1 (Welk, Wilson), 19:20.
 
Penalties-(none)

Shots on Goal-
Carleton 7-3-11 -- 21.
McGill 6-9-10 -- 25.

Power Play Opportunities-
Carleton 0 / 2;
McGill 0 / 1.

Goalies-
Carleton, Summer Roberts (L, 0-3-0, 25 shots-22 saves; 57:55).
McGill, Rachelle Champion (W, 2-1-0, 21 shots-19 saves; 60:00).

Attendance: 140
Start: 3:05 PM
End: 5:00 PM
Length: 1:55

Referees-Genevieve Lavoie.
Linesmen-Joanie Duchesneau, Laurie Longpre.
 
THREE STARS:
1. MCG - 2 Olivia Atkinson
2. MCG - 22 Nicole Howlett
3. MCG - 17 Melodie Daoust