MONTREAL -- Rookie
Marika Labrecque of Lac Etchemin, Que., tallied a pair for goals, including the game-winner, as McGill toppled Carleton 3-2 to close the regular season of RSEQ women's hockey, Saturday, at McConnell Arena.
It snapped McGill's three-game losing streak and extended Carleton's futility streak to 15 consecutive losses.The Martlets outshot their guests 41-18 and claimed the season series 4-1. They now boast a 93-4-1 record in 98 lifetime meetings with the Ravens.
Labrecque, a 5-foot-5 forward, doubled her season goal total to four. The 19-year-old elementary education freshman made it 2-1 just 42 seconds into the middle period and snapped a 2-2 deadlock to seal the victory with a power-play marker at 5:41 of the third.
Christiana Colizza, a science freshman from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., had put the Martlets on the board at 2:54 of the opening frame but Carleton's
Samantha Jones tied it at 5:40.
Labrecque's first marker put McGill back in front early in the second, but
Jenna Mitchell evened the score yet again at 9:25 before Labrecque worked her magic once more in the third.
Martlets goaltender
Tricia Deguire, a 5-foot-8 sophomore from Sherbrooke, Que., returned to the line-up after missing two games after an injury suffered in a goal-mouth collision against Concordia on Feb. 2. She turned away 16 of 18 pucks to finish the season with an even 8-8 record. At the other end of the ice,
Katelyn Steele made 38 saves in a losing cause as her record dropped to 3-14.
McGill was 1-for-3 on the power play and killed both penalties taken.
The Martlets ended up fourth at 9-9-2 -- their lowest finish since 1996-97 -- but have qualified for playoffs for the 20th consecutive season. They will open a best-of-three semifinal series against top-seeded Montreal (14-2-4) on Thursday, Feb. 22, at 7 p.m. at Arena CEPSUM. The Carabins won three of five meetings with McGill this season, outscoring the Martlets 16-10. That stat is a bit misleading as the bitter rivals split the first four games, with Montreal winning 2-1, followed by a 2-0 McGill victory, a 3-2 overtime decision for the Carabins, and a 5-1 McGill victory. In the fifth confrontation, the Martlets were handcuffed without starting netminder
Tricia Deguire and fell 10-0.
Game 2 is scheduled for McConnell Arena on Saturday (Feb. 24) at 2 p.m. A rubber match, if needed, will be played back at CEPSUM on Sunday (Feb. 25) at 2 p.m.
Carleton (3-15-2) will miss the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.
MARTLET MURMURS: McGill scoring leader
Olivia Atkinson was shaken up with four minutes remaining in the third period when a dump-in by teammate
Kate Devries appeared to clip her in the helmet area but she returned to the ice for a power-play during the final minute of the game.... Among the lineup scratches was Martlets team captain
Alison MacKenzie, a science senior from Osgoode, Ont., and junior
Nicole Howlett, a six-foot forward from Delta, B.C. Both were injured in last week's games against Concordia and Montreal.
2017-18 RSEQ WOMEN'S HOCKEY HOCKEY STANDINGS (20-game schedule)
| 1 |
Montreal |
20 |
14 |
2 |
4 |
32 |
0.800 |
60 |
34 |
6-0-0 |
9-1-0 |
167 |
| 2 |
Concordia |
19 |
13 |
4 |
2 |
28 |
0.737 |
62 |
42 |
3-0-1 |
7-1-2 |
130 |
| 3 |
Ottawa |
19 |
10 |
7 |
2 |
22 |
0.579 |
42 |
44 |
1-0-0 |
4-5-1 |
142 |
| 4 |
McGill |
20 |
9 |
9 |
2 |
20 |
0.500 |
48 |
57 |
1-0-0 |
6-4-0 |
184 |
| 5 |
Carleton |
20 |
3 |
15 |
2 |
8 |
0.200 |
25 |
60 |
0-13-2 |
0-8-2 |
174 |
