MONTREAL --
Jessica Cormier scored what proved to be the game-winner as the No.2 ranked Montreal Carabins handed fourth-ranked McGill a 5-3 setback in a key women's hockey showdown for first place at Arena CEPSUM, Friday.
Montreal, which improved to 12-3-0, moved into sole possession atop the RSEQ standings, two points ahead of McGill (11-5-0), with a game in hand. The Carabins have taken two of three meetings with this season, but McGill still holds a 47-26 record in 73 lifetime confrontations.
The Carabins led 1-0 after one period and the teams were knotted at 2-2 heading into the final stanza.
"I thought for 40 minutes we were the better team," noted McGill bench boss
Peter Smith. "We were really good in the first two periods, stuck with it, played smart and managed the puck as well as we have all year. In the third period we played more like individuals and that's not how you beat a team like that, we need to play as a group."
McGill had a 22-14 margin in shots going into the third, although the Carabins outshot the visitors by a whopping 19-2 margin in the final period to finish with a 33-24 advantage in shots.
"They got an early goal in the third period and (that was costly)," said Smith. "Having a bad shift or if a goal goes in at a bad time, we need to be able to recover."
Jade Vix opened the scoring for Montreal at 15:31 of the first period but McGill sophomore
Kellyane Lecours from Victoriaville, Que., evened the score with her ninth, on a power-play, at 3:34 of the second.
The Carabins regained the lead when
Estelle Duvin registered her sixth of the season at 13:17.
But sophomore
Christiana Colizza of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., evened the count at 2-2 just 88 seconds later.
Cormier broked the deadlock at 0:52 of the final period, followed by teammates
Alexandra Paradis and
Jessika Boulanger, at 6:16 and 13:15, respectively.
McGill's
Marika Labrecque, a sophomore from Lac Etchemin, Que., added one late in the final stretch on a power-play at 15:31.
Rookie goaltender
Aube Racine registered 21 saves for the victory, improving her record to 10-1.
Tricia Deguire of Sherbrooke, Que., made 28 saves in a losing cause as her record fell to 11-5.
Both teams return to the ice on Sunday (Feb. 3). The Carabins will host fourth-placed Ottawa (5-10) and McGill will host Concordia (9-4-2) while dressed in pink jerseys as part of their annual "Shoot for the Cure" game for breast cancer awareness, at McConnell Arena, in a 3 p.m. start. That will be the first of four consecutive home contests for McGill to close out the regular season. They will also host Ottawa (Feb. 9), Carleton (Feb. 10) and Montreal (Feb. 15).
SCORING SUMMARY
2018-19 RSEQ Women's Hockey Standings
| 1 |
Montreal |
15 |
12 |
3 |
0 |
24 |
0.800 |
46 |
24 |
1-0-0 |
9-1-0 |
120 |
| 2 |
McGill |
16 |
11 |
5 |
0 |
22 |
0.688 |
45 |
27 |
0-2-0 |
6-4-0 |
94 |
| 3 |
Concordia |
16 |
9 |
4 |
3 |
21 |
0.656 |
48 |
32 |
4-0-1 |
6-2-2 |
86 |
| 4 |
Ottawa |
15 |
5 |
10 |
0 |
10 |
0.333 |
24 |
46 |
2-0-0 |
4-6-0 |
134 |
| 5 |
Carleton |
16 |
2 |
11 |
3 |
7 |
0.219 |
26 |
60 |
0-4-2 |
1-6-3 |
170 |
