OTTAWA -- Jade Downie-Landry of St. Jean, Que., registered her second career hat-trick as the McGill women's hockey team hung on for a 4-3 road victory over Ottawa at the Minto Sports Complex, Wednesday.

It was the team's second straight win, improved their division-leading record to 11-3 and reduced the magic number to one for a first-place finish.

Ottawa held a 35-21 edge in shots but McGill led 3-1 after the first period and 4-3 after two. The final stanza was scoreless.

Downie-Landry, a physical education senior who earned an arts degree in 2020, upped her nation-leading goal and point totals to 14 and 27, respectively, in just 14 games.

The team captain opened the scoring just 84 seconds after the initial faceoff. Her second marker put McGill ahead 3-1 at 10:57 of the game. After Ottawa pushed back with a pair of second period goals from Kylie Lalonde (0:16) and Gabrielle Plourde (18:53), it took just nine seconds for Downie-Landry to reply with the game-winning tally at 19:02.

Rounding out the scoring in the first period was Ottawa's Lalonde (her first of two) and McGill senior Christiana Colizza of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., who notched her sixth of the season.

Marika Labrecque of Lac Etchemin, Que., collected three helpers for the Martlets and now leads the nation with 17 assists in only 14 contests. The fifth-year senior is also tied for third in the national scoring race with 22 points but has played at least four games fewer than the others she is matched with.

Tricia Deguire of Sherbrooke, Que., collected the victory between the pipes for McGill. The fifth-year veteran stopped 32 of 35 shots and improved her record to 9-3 this season. Taking the loss for Ottawa was Aurelie Dubuc, who conceded four goals on 17 shots.

Both teams were in a feisty mood and the game featured 13 minor penalties. Ottawa was 2-for-8 on the power-play, while the Martlets were 0-for-4.

McGill (11-3-0) can clinch the RSEQ regular season pennant on Friday (Feb. 25) with a victory in their final game, at Bishop's (3-10-0), or if Concordia (9-3-1) loses their road game at Carleton (4-9-0). The best-of-three playoff semifinal round is slated to begin on March 3 at McConnell Arena.

SCORING SUMMARY

RSEQ STANDINGS

NATIONAL SCORING LEADERS


SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
TEL: 514-398-7012
EMAIL: earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca