MONCTON, NB -- Goaltender Tricia Deguire of Sherbrooke, Que., registered a 19-save shutout and three different players scored as visiting McGill blanked Moncton 3-0 to open their women's hockey preseason schedule at Arena Jean-Louis Lévesque, Friday.

McGill, which outshot the Aigles Bleues 37-19, led 1-0 after the first period and potted two more in the final stanza.

"For the first game of the season, I thought it was a real good effort," said Martlets bench boss Peter Smith, in his 19th season at the helm of the program.  "We had pretty good speed and structure and showed a lot of depth as all four lines were going well."

Sophomore Kellyane Lecours of Victoriaville, Que., was credited with the winning tally at the 18:13 mark of the game on a quick transition in the neutral zone. It resulted in a nifty 3-on-1 passing play between Valerie Audet and Marika Labrecque, who drew assists.

After a scoreless second period, Shana Walker, a science senior from North York, Ont., gave the Martlets a two-goal cushion at the 4:10 mark of the third, assisted by Kate Devries and Rachel Santini. Third-year forward Sidonie Chard of Kingston, Ont., added another on a bullet-like shot at 10:42, assisted by Christiana Colizza.

The Martlets were 0-for-3 on the power-play, while Moncton went 0-for-1.

McGill (1-0) travels to Fredericton overnight and will confront the St. Thomas University Tommies on Saturday at 3 p.m. Atlantic.

MARTLET MURMURS: The Martlets new leadership group has been announced for this season. Fifth-year defenceman Alison MacKenzie has been selected as team captain, while the alternates include forward Jade Downie-Landry, along with seniors Nicole Howlett and Emilia Cotter... McGill is without the services of Downie-Landry this weekend. The 5-foot-9 junior sniper is currently out west, invited by Hockey Canada to participate in their Fall Festival training camp, which is being held in Dawson Creek, B.C., Sept. 8-16.

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