Oles to the rescue as Martlets rally again, score three in final period to cool off Ravens
OTTAWA -- Leslie Oles of Beaconsfield, Que., scored the game-winner with her ninth goal of the season and added an assist as the No.2-ranked McGill University women's hockey team rallied for the third straight outing and doubled Carleton 4-2 at the CU Icehouse, Saturday afternoon.
The result marked McGill's 17th consecutive victory over Carleton in regular-season matchups, dating back to a 4-3 overtime shootout loss on Jan. 22, 2012. The Martlets improved to 80-1-1 lifetime against Carleton, since the Ravens joined the Quebec conference in 1999.
The Martlets, who erased a 2-1 deficit with three unanswered goals in the final period, have now outscored RSEQ opponents by a 21-6 margin in the third stanza.
Oles is currently second in the RSEQ scoring race and third in the nation with a 9-13-22 record in only 11 games. She is one point behind teammate Gabrielle Davidson (10-13-23) and seven in arrears of Calgary's Iya Gavrilova (15-14-29), who has played in seven more contests.
Carleton freshman Sidney Weiss of Sarnia, Ont., connected for the lone tally of the first period, potting her third of the season at 3:58. McGill evened the score midway through the second stanza when defenceman Elizabeth Hillier, a senior from Edmonton, pounced on a rebound to notch her first of the campaign. But the Ravens replied less than two minutes later when Kaylie Welk, a junior from Killaloe, Ont., got a lucky bounce to put the home team back on top.
Stefanie Pohlod, a senior from Calgary, tied it at 2-2 with her fourth, on the power-play at 9:20, followed by Oles at 12:02 and sophomore Jordan McDonnell at 14:41. It was the first career regular season marker for McDonnell, a native of East York, Ont., who does have seven goals in 36 career games overall.
McGill, which outshot Carleton 52-12, including a mind-numbing 17-3 advantage in the final period, has yet to be outshot in their 11 regular season contests.
Taylor Hough, a 5-foot-10 junior from Toronto, collected 10 saves for the win in the McGill net, improving to 4-1 on the season and 10-2 in 14 career starts in league play..
Carleton's Katelyn Steele, a freshman from Markham, Ont., made a whopping 46 saves in a losing cause as her record tumbled to 1-2.
The Martlets were 1-for-2 on the power-play and erased both of Carleton's manpower situations. The McGill PP unit has finally cracked the 20 per cent plateau with 12 goals in 58 chances (20.7%). The PK squad has now killed off 33 of 39 situations (84.6%) and has tallied a league-leading four shorthanded markers, which ties Calgary for the CIS lead.
The result put the Martlets into a first-place tie with the No.1-ranked Montreal Carabins. Both have identical 9-2-0 records and McGill has prevailed in two of four meetings with their cross-town rivals, including a preseason win in overtime at the Queen's tourney.
In a fortunate scheduling quirk, the McGill women have nine games left before playoffs, all in Montreal. They have six meetings remaining at McConnell arean, with road games against Concordia (twice) and Montreal. Next weekend, the Martlets will play at Concordia (4-5-2) on Friday, Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m. before hosting the Carabins in a much-anticipated showdown, Sunday, Jan. 18 at 3 p.m.
