Martlets golden again, win back-to-back national titles
By Earl Zukerman (±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą) and Michel Belanger (CIS)
ANTIGONISH, N.S. – The top-seeded ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą Martlets played 60 minutes of near-perfect hockey to repeat as CIS women’s champions with a 3-1 gold-medal win over the No. 2 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 2-0, Sunday, before 1,000 at the Keating Centre on the campus of St. Francis Xavier University.
Youth was evident for the Martlets as All-Canadian sophomore Ann-Sophie Bettez of Sept-Îles, Que., sophomore Alessandra Lind-Kenny of Calgary and CIS rookie of the year Marie-Andrée Leclerc-Auger of Sherbrooke, Que., each scored to put the Quebec champions ahead 3-0 as they cruised to a somewhat easy win.
Championship website:
The national final was a rematch of the 2008 title game in which ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą captured its first-ever CIS banner with a 2-0 shutout over WLU.
The Martlets wrapped up a second consecutive perfect season during which theyĚýwent 36-0 against CIS rivals and became the second team in ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą history to capture back-to-back CIS titles. The only previous team to do so was the men's soccer squad in 1981 and 1982.
The ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą women have now won 14 straight post-season duels since dropping a 4-0 decision to the Alberta Pandas in the 2007 CIS final and has racked up 54 consecutive victories against CIS opponents since a 2-1 non-conference shootout loss to Alberta back on December 30, 2007.
“I’m very proud of the way the girls played all season,” said ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą head coach Peter Smith, who also serves as an assistant coach with the Canadian national team. “I told them in the room before the game to keep doing what we’ve doing all year and we will be successful. Back-to-back championships feel great, I couldn’t be happier.”
“It shows everyone that the Quebec conference is stronger than most people think,” added Smith, who improved his lifetime record behind the ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą bench to 262-104-27 in 393 games over 10 years."Because of this victory, our league will again have two representatives at the Nationals next year and that is good for our league's visibility."
“I can’t even describe how I’m feeling,” said team captain Chantal Gauvin, a fourth-year defender from Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que. “You always watch the interviews on TV after a game like this and wonder why they can’t say anything. It’s surreal right now. We stuck to our game plan tonight and all (through the) tournament. I’m proud of all the girls on the team.”
All-Canadian and 2006 Olympic gold medalist goaltender Charline Labonté of Boisbriand, Que., needed to make only 11 saves to collect her third win of the tournament. Labonté, who last year became the first netminder in history to play every minute of the CIS championship without allowing a single goal, gave up three in the 2009 tourney as she improved her career record at Nationals to 8-1.
“This is a big win for the ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą program,” said LabontĂ©, who finished the season with a 28-game win streak and a 105-9-3 lifetime record, including 53 shutouts, in a ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą jersey. “Last year was exciting because it was our first championship but this year was just as good, if not better. It speaks a lot to the team we had this year.”
“Catherine (Ward) and I have to fly to Finland on Tuesday with the national team so we are going to celebrate tonight and then get ready for that,” added Labonté, who, along with first-team all-Canadian rearguard Catherine Ward from Town of Mt. Royal, Que., were announced last Tuesday as members of the Team Canada roster for the 2009 IIHF world championship in Finland, April 4-12.
Bettez, Labonté and Ward earned CIS all-tournament honours along with second-team all-Canadian defender Cathy Chartrand of Lac Nominingue, Que. Ward was named the championship MVP.
“I’m very excited right now. To win two in a row is a big deal,” said Ward, who finished the weekend with three assists and graduates in just three years, as the all-time leading scorer among ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą blueliners with 33-105-138 in 109 career contests. “The atmosphere was so different this time around and I couldn’t be happier. There were new girls on the team and we had a great season. This tops it all.”
Fourth-year centre Lauren Barch of Burlington, Ont., was the only player to beat Labonté in the final, converting a nice pass from second-team all-Canadian Andrea Ironside of Collingwood, Ont., with eight minutes remaining in the contest.
Barch was the tournament’s leading scorer with a 2-6-8 record, while Ironside (4-3) and Bettez (2-5) finished with seven points apiece. Ironside’s four markers was tops in the tournament.
Ironside and all-Canadian ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą Mariève Provost of Laval, Que., a member of the bronze-medalist Moncton Aigles Bleues, rounded out the all-tourney selections.
Laurier goalie Liz Knox, a junior from Stouffville, Ont., made 25 saves and took the loss.
The first half of the opening period was evenly played but the top-ranked Martlets dominated the final 10 minutes of the frame.
Bettez opened the scoring on a perfect three-way passing play with linemate Vanessa Davidson, a three-time all-Canadian from Kirkland, Que., and Ward.
Ward hit Davidson at the red line with a long pass and Davidson quickly redirected the puck to Bettez, who entered the Laurier zone at full speed on the right side. The five-foot-four winger cut across to the centre lane, deked rearguard Kate Psota of Burlington, Ont., and beat Knox with a perfect shot high on the glove side.
“Catherine made an amazing play and Vinny (Davidson) made a perfect pass, and luckily it went in,” said Bettez, who was second in the nation in scoring this season with a QSSF record 54 points in only 18 conference games. The Quebec conference player of the year ended up with 36 goals and a school record 50 assists in 37 games overall.
The line of Bettez, Davidson and Leclerc-Auger, who was named game MVP for ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą, gave all kinds of trouble to Laurier in the final moments of the first stanza.
Knox stopped a difficult Davidson shot off a Bettez pass with four minutes remaining, and then Bettez just missed when the puck jumped over her stick at the end of a two-on-one with Davidson.
“We have great chemistry. Each of us brings different things to the line, skills, strength and speed. We enjoy playing together,” Bettez said.
The Martlets had a 7-3 edge in shots on goal after 20 minutes.
±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą kept applying pressure to start the second period but it was Laurier which had the first scoring chance four minutes in, when a sprawling LabontĂ© stoned sophomore ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą Kaley Powers of Kingston, Ont., with her left pad.
Seconds later, it was Knox’s turn to keep a sure goal out as she slid to her left to rob Alyssa Cecere of Brossard, Que., with her glove hand.
Lind-Kenny was credited with her fifth game-winner of the season when she doubled the Martlets’ lead to 2-0 at 6:29, redirecting a perfect cross-ice pass from Rebecca Martindale of Kingston behind Knox. Martindale came out of the corner with the puck after two Laurier players collided behind their net.
Chartrand, last year’s CIS championship MVP, had a chance to send ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą into the second intermission with a three-goal cushion when she was sent on a partial breakaway coming out of the penalty box with just over a minute left, but couldn’t convert.
The Martlets outshot the Hawks 16-3 in the middle frame for a 23-6 advantage after 40 minutes.
Desperate for a goal, Laurier came out with a lot of energy in the third but couldn’t handle ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ąâ€™s speed, took numerous penalties and failed to solve their defensive puzzle.
Instead, it was Leclerc-Auger who struck next, all but sealing the victory with a power play marker at 11:07. The speedy freshman walked out of the corner untouched and beat Knox along the ice to make it 3-0. It was her team-leading 47th goal and 94th point of the season for Leclerc, who set school records in both categories.
The Hawks did respond 53 seconds later when Barch completed a perfect give-and-go with Ironside, but it was all the offence the OUA champions could muster.
±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą finished 1-for-7 on the power play, while Laurier was blanked on four opportunities.
“It’s been quite a ride and is an amazing feeling that’s hard to describe but never gets old,” said graduating team captain Chantal Gauvin, a native of Dollard des Ormeaux, Que., who finishes with a 7-29-36 record in 143 career games. “We started thinking about this last May and it’s been quite a ride.”
MARTLET MURMURS: The Martlets are scheduled to return to Montreal on an Air Canada flight from Halifax, arriving at 12:45 pm… Aside from Ward and Gauvin, the only playerS not expected back next season are goaltenders Charline LabontĂ© and Kalie Townsend. LabontĂ© who will be moving with Ward to a centralized national team camp in Calgary in the hopes of making the Olympic team... LabontĂ© finished the season with 35 victories overall for the third straight year, posting a 35-2-0 mark. She tied her own single-season school record for wins… ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą is expected to lose only three players when they open training camp next fall with thoughts of a three-peat and breaking the CIS record of 67 consecutive wins by Alberta between 2003 and 2005.… After the Pandas tied the next game, they went on to end up with a 110-game undefeated streak, which ended against Laurier in the 2005 CIS gold medal game at ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ąâ€™s McConnell Arena… The OUA champion Golden Hawks have had to settle for three silvers in the CIS championship game since claiming their lone title in 2005 with a 4-1 win over Alberta. In addition to their back-to-back gold-medal defeats at the hands of ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą, the Hawks were downed 2-1 by the Pandas in 2006.
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SCORING SUMMARY
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±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą 3, Wilfrid Laurier 1
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FIRST PERIOD
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SCORING:
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1. McG Ann-Sophie Bettez (2) (Vanessa Davidson, Catherine Ward), 11:41
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PENALTIES:
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McG too many men (served by Marie-Andrée Leclerc-Auger), 5:24,
Lauren Barch (WLU) body checking, 19:21.
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SECOND PERIOD
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SCORING:
2. McG Alessandra Lind-Kenny (1) (Rebecca Martindale), 6:29
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PENALTIES:
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Alicia Martin (WLU) interference, 7:37;
Andrea Bevan (WLU) tripping, 15:54;
Cathy Chartrand (McG) tripping, 16:46.
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THIRD PERIOD
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SCORING:
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3. McG Marie-AndrĂ©e Leclerc-Auger (2) (Ann-Sophie Bettez), 11:07Ěý (PP)
4. WLU Lauren Barch (2) (Andrea Ironside, Kaley Powers), 12:00
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PENALTIES:
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Lauren Barch (WLU) tripping, 7:23;
Rebecca Martindale (McG) slashing, 8:32;
Heather Fortuna (WLU) tripping, 10:44;
Stephanie Crarey (WLU) roughing, 14:33;
Andrea Bevan (WLU) body checking, 15:07;
Catherine Ward (McG) roughing, 18:07;
Marie-Andrée Leclerc-Auger (McG) tripping, 19:15.
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GOALS (by period)
WLU: 0-0-1:1
McG: 1-1-1:3
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SHOTS ON GOAL (by period)
WLU: 3-3-6:12
McG: 7-16-5:28
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POWER PLAY:
WLU: 0-4
McG: 1-7
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GOALTENDERS
WLU –
Liz Knox (L, 2-1, 28 shots, 25 saves, 58:07)
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McG –
Charline Labonté (W, 3-0, 12 shots, 11 saves, 60:00)
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PLAYERS OF THE GAME:
WLU: Katherine Shirriff
McG: Marie-Andrée Leclerc-Auger
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REFEREE:Ěý Mary-Anne Gage
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LINESMEN:Ěý Allison Smith, Molly Simon
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ATTENDANCE: 1,000
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CHAMPIONSHIP HONOURS
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Tournament MVP: Catherine Ward, defence, ±«ÓăÖ±˛ĄĚý
Tournament All-Stars:
Goaltender, Charline LabontĂ©, ±«ÓăÖ±˛ĄĚý
Defence, Cathy Chartrand, ±«ÓăÖ±˛ĄĚýĚý
Defence, Catherine Ward, ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą
Forward, Mariève Provost, Moncton
Forward, Ann-Sophie Bettez, ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą
Forward, Andrea Ironside, Wilfrid Laurier
R.W. Pugh Fair-Play Award: Suzanne Fenerty, StFX
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SCHEDULE & RESULTS (All times LOCAL: Atlantic Time)
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Pool A
1. ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą
3. Manitoba
5. StFX
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Pool B
2. Wilfrid Laurier
4. Moncton
6. Ottawa
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Thursday, March 19
Pool B #1: Wilfrid Laurier 6,ĚýOttawa 1
Pool A #1:Ěý±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą 2,Ěý Manitoba 1 (OT)
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Friday, March 20
Pool B #2:ĚýMoncton 2,Ěý Ottawa 1 (OT)
Pool A #2:ĚýManitoba 2,Ěý StFX 1 (SO)
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Saturday, March 21
Pool B #3:ĚýWilfrid Laurier 5,Ěý Moncton 3
Pool A #3:Ěý±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą 5,Ěý StFX 1
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Sunday, March 22
5th Place:ĚýStFX 5,Ěý Ottawa 4 (OT)
Bronze:Ěý Moncton 3,Ěý Manitoba 2 (SO)
Final:Ěý ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą 3,Ěý Wilfrid Laurier 1
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For more information, please contact:
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Earl Zukerman Communications Officer Athletics & Recreation, Room 225 B ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą 475 Pine Avenue W., Montreal, QCĚý H2W 1S4 CANADA 514-398-7012 (Tel.) 514-398-1956 (Fax)