Redmen skunk Stingers to even playoff series, Olympian double dips as Martlets clobber Carleton
MONTREAL -- Olympic gold medallist Melodie Daoust of Valleyfield, Que., was one of three players to score twice and added a helper in her season debut as No.2-ranked McGill crushed Carleton 10-0 in CIS women's hockey at McConnell Arena, Friday.
It was the Martlets highest offensive outpouring since a 10-2 playoff win over Concordia on Feb. 23, 2014 and their most goals in regular season play since Charline Labonte registered a 20-save shutout in an identical 10-0 pasting of the Ravens on Jan. 28, 2012.
More importantly, the day marked a long-awaited debut for Daoust, who was voted CIS rookie of the year in 2012-13, then spent last season with the Canadian Olympic team. She returned ready to rumble in August but suffered a knee injury during preseason training and has missed all 30 McGill games prior to suiting up against the Ravens.
"It was terrific to have Melo back, she's obviously a great player but she's also a great teammate," said McGill head coach Peter Smith, who improved his record behind the McGill bench to 414-149-31 in 594 games overall. "She brings a lot of positive energy, enthusiasm and leadership, not to mention some much-needed offence."
The Martlets, who led 4-0 after the opening period and 6-0 after two, held a lopsided 49-10 edge in shots, including a 19-2 margin in the middle stanza.
Junior Gabrielle Davidson of Pte. Claire, Que., and freshman Alexandra Serpico of Calgary also tallied twice. Davidson now leads the RSEQ in both goals (17) and points (35) in just 18 games. She is tied for second in the nation in the former and is third in the latter category.
Defenceman Kelsie Moffatt, a senior from Pickering, Ont., added a goal and three assists.She is tied for sixth in the CIS scoring race for blueliners with a 3-13-16 record in 18 contests.
"Kelsie moved the puck so well tonight, was especially good at making that first pass coming out of our end and scored a sweet, top-shelf goal," said Smith, who was missing all-conference rearguard Brittney Fouracres, overseas helping Canada win silver on Thursday at the FISU world university games in Spain. "Kelsie was also good on the power-play, just an all-around good game... kept it simple and real effective."
Rounding out the scoring was rookie Marie-Philip Lavoie (1-2-3) of Pohenegamook, Que., Jordan McDonell, a sophomore from East York, Ont., and senior Olivia Sutter of Red Deer, Alta., who struck for the team's CIS-leading sixth shorthanded goal.
McGill goalie Brittany Smrke kicked aside all 10 shots faced for her third shutout of the season -- and fifth in 29 career games overall. The 5-foot-8 sophomore from Oakville, Ont., improved her record to 8-3 in 11 regular-season starts.
Katelyn Steele started between the pipes for Carleton and conceded four goals on 25 shots for the loss before being replaced by Tamber Tisdale at the 9:55 mark of the middle period. Tisdale was beaten six times on 24 shots fired her way.
McGill was 1-for-6 on the power-play while the Ravens went 0-for-4.
The result marked McGill's 19th 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 82-1-1 lifetime against Carleton, since the Ravens joined the Quebec conference in 1999.
The second-place Martlets improved to 14-4 on the season, two points behind the top-ranked Montreal Carabins (15-3) who will visit McConnell Arena on Sunday at 3 p.m. for a critical showdown between the nation's top two ranked teams. Last-place Carleton dropped to 3-15 and was officially eliminated from playoff contention. They will conclude their season with home games against Concordia (Feb. 20) and Ottawa (Feb. 22).
