HANOVER, N.H. -- Lea Dumais of Beaconsfield, Que., scored twice, including a buzzer-beater with two seconds to spare as McGill University edged Dartmouth 2-1 in women's hockey exhibition play at Thompson Arena on Sunday.
 
"The best structured game we played all weekend," said McGill coach Peter Smith whose troops also lost 4-0 at Harvard and tied Yale 4-4 during their three-day cross-border excursion. "We haven't won a game like that in a long time. We played hard from start to finish."
 
It was a good way to conclude a challenging preseason schedule for the Martlets, who posted a 5-3-1 record, including a 4-0 mark against Canadian university opponents. The RSEQ regular season opens next weekend.
 
Dumais, a 5-foot-6 forward, gave McGill a 1-0 lead at 16:54 of the opening frame but rookie forward Chloe Puddifant, tied it at 1-1 for the Big Green at 17:26 of the second period. That set the stage for the last-second heroics by Dumais.

The winning tally was produced directly from a faceoff deep in dartmouth's zone with five seconds remaining on the clock. Centre Jade Downie-Landry won the draw back to Dumais, a left-handed shooter who fired a rocket from near the boards that deflected off a defenceman and into the net. The third-year management junior leads the team in both goals and points with a 7-3-10 record in nine preseason contests.

Downie-Landry, a junior psychology major from St. Jean sur Richelieu, Que., also set up the other McGill goal and now has nine points, including four goals, in seven games.
 
"Jade and Lea played extremely well," noted Smith. "The weekend was a real character builder for us. There is a very mature attitude with this team and we have great confidence going into the regular season."
 
Junior netminder Tricia Deguire of Sherbrooke, Que., tended the Martlets goal and saved 31 of 32 shots for the victory.
 
Dartmouth rotated three netminders, with Christie Honor getting the start and making six saves on seven shots in the first period. She was relieved of duty by Kay Wormsbecher, who stopped all 12 in the second. Shannon Ropp was credited with the loss despite eight saves on nine shots in the final stanza.
 
McGill won 24 of 54 face-offs, went 1-for-2 on the power-play and was perfect on all three penalty-kills.
 
The Martlets, who posted a 9-9-2 fourth-place finish last year, open their RSEQ campaign on Saturday, Oct. 20 at home against Carleton in a 2 p.m. matinee.
 
Dartmouth (0-2) opens their season at Harvard on Oct. 19.

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