Oles tallies three more goals as Martlets extend streak to 17-0
Leslie Oles of Beaconsfield, Que., scored a natural hat-trick as the No.1-ranked McGill University women's hockey team rallied for six unanswered goals en route to a 6-1 triumph over the Ottawa Gee-Gees at the uOttawa Sports Complex Arena, Friday.
The result, which extended McGill's unblemished record to 17-0 against CIS opponents, was also their 28th consecutive decision over the Gee-Gees and improved their lifetime record against Ottawa to 73-12-7 in 92 meetings.
Trailing 1-0 on an early first-period goal by Ottawa's Valerie Watson, the Martlets exploded for three markers in the final 10 minutes of the middle frame and added three more in the third stanza.
A pair of defenceman ignited the comeback with Michelle Daigneault of Hay River, N.W.T., scoring at 10:59 of the second period, followed by Adrienne Crampton's winning tally at 17:43.
Oles then grabbed the torch, striking just 42 seconds later. She added two more in a 55-second span at 7:03 and 7:58 of the third, connecting for her CIS-leading 18th of the season.
Sophomore sniper Melodie Daoust of Valleyfield, Que., rounded out the rout just 53 seconds later with her 17th marker. She continues to lead the nation in scoring with 42 points in only 14 contests. Her current total is four points ahead of Guelph's Amanda Parkins, who has had the luxury of playing in eight more games.
The Martlets held a 37-16 margin in shots, including a 13-4 edge in the second and a 12-2 difference in the third.
“Quite frankly, we only played hard for the last 30 minutes,” said McGill head coach Pater Smith, whose troops only had a 12-10 edge in shots after the opening frame. “We started the game with a lack of focus and intensity. We addressed that in the dressing room and came to an agreement that it won't happen again.”
Martlets goaltender Andrea Weckman, a 5-foot-7 senior from Kitchener, Ont., registered 15 saves for the win, improving to 5-0 on the season. Ottawa sophomore Stephanie Mercier of Smooth Rock Falls, Ont., was credited with 31 saves in only her second start of the campaign and saw her record drop to 0-2.
McGill, which leads the RSEQ conference with a 14-0 record, are staying overnight in the nation's capital as they will confront third-place Carleton (5-8-1) on Saturday at 6 p.m. The game is slated to be webcast live on SSN Canada.
MARTLET MURMURS: McGill has the best offensive output in the nation with an average of 5.57 goals scored per game… Defensively, the Martlets are ranked third in the CIS with a 1.46 goals-against average.
