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News

Rookie roars, Martlets soar, overwhelm Gee-Gees

Published: 11 March 2009

By Earl Zukerman

OTTAWA – Freshman Marie-Andrée Leclerc-Auger of Sherbrooke scored twice and added an assist as No. 1-ranked ֱ overwhelmed Ottawa 7-0 in the opener of their Quebec women’s hockey best-of-three league championship series in the nation’s capital, Wednesday.

Catherine Ward, a third-year rearguard from Town of Mt. Royal, Que., added a pair of markers, as the Martlets extended their win streak to 50 consecutive games against Canadian university opponents. It was also Ottawa’s 20th straight loss to ֱ, which owns a 34-2-1 record in their last 37 meetings against the Gee-Gees, who haven't beaten ֱ since a 2-1 decision in Game 2 of the 2006 conference finals.

Rounding out the scoring for ֱ was Ann-Sophie Bettez of Sept-Iles, Que., defenceman Cathy Chartrand of Lac Nominingue, Que., and Jordanna Peroff of Keswick, Ont.

ֱ, which jumped into a 3-0 lead before the game was six minutes old, outshot the Gee-Gees 39-10, including a 12-2 margin in the second period. Charline Labonté, the third-year netminder from Boisbriand, Que., racked up her 14th shutout in 33 games overall. She now owns a 101-9-3 lifetime overall record in a ֱ jersey.

“We weren’t really satisfied with our starts the last three games,” said head coach Peter Smith. “We stressed getting a good start tonight and focused on playing a full 60-minutes and finally had a complete team effort, from start to finish.”

Ottawa netminder Jessika Audet, who registered 20 saves on 27 shots, was beaten four times in the opening period and three more in the middle stanza. She was replaced in the final period by understudy Marie-Helene Malenfant, who kicked aside all 12 shots fired her way.

The Martlets can wrap up the QSSF championship and win the Dr. Ed Enos trophy for the fourth straight year, on Friday at McConnell Arena (7 p.m.). ֱ has only won the Quebec title on their own ice once before -- in 2006 against the Gee-Gees.

MARTLET MURMURS: Vanessa Davidson and Jasmine Sheehan each picked up a pair of assists… Davidson leads all QSSF playoff scorers with a 2-8-10 record in three games… Leclerc-Auger is second with a 6-2-8 record… ֱ, in the final for the 11th time in 12 years, will be looking for their sixth league title overall. They previously won conference championships in 1985, 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2008.



SCORING SUMMARY

ֱ 7 at Ottawa 0

(March 11, 2009 at uOttawa Sports Complex)

FIRST PERIOD
1, ֱ, Cathy Chartrand 3 (Sheehan), 0:52.
2, ֱ, Catherine Ward 1 2:49.
3, ֱ, Catherine Ward 2 5:52.
4, ֱ, Marie-Andrée Leclerc-Auger 5 (Davidson, Sheehan), 14:58.

Penalties:
Pouliot Ott (tripping), 9:32;
Jones Ott (high sticking), 10:33.

SECOND PERIOD
5, ֱ, Marie-Andrée Leclerc-Auger 6 (Davidson), 15:52.
6, ֱ, Jordanna Peroff 2 19:09.
7, ֱ, Ann-Sophie Bettez 4 (Leclerc-Auger), 19:22.

Penalties:
Hill Mcg (tripping), 9:30.

THIRD PERIOD:
(No Scoring).

Penalties:
Brown Ott (tripping), 4:10;
deWit Ott (hooking), 8:07;
Peroff Mcg (slashing), 15:30.

SHOTS BY PERIOD:
ֱ 15 - 12 - 12 -- 39.
Ottawa 4 - 2 - 4 -- 10.

SCORING BY PERIOD:
ֱ 4 - 3 - 0 -- 7
Ottawa 0 - 0 - 0 -- 0

POWER PLAY OPPORTUNITIES:
ֱ 0 of 4;
Ottawa 0 of 2.

PENALTIES No/Mins):
ֱ 2/4;
Ottawa 4/8.

GOALTENDERS:
ֱ,
Charline Labonte [W, 3-0, 10 shots-10 saves, SHO, 60:00].

Ottawa,
Jessika Audet [L, 2-2, 27 shots, 20 saves; 40:00];
Marie-Helene Malenfant [ND,12 shots-12 saves; 20:00].

Attendance: 250

Referee: not available.

THREE STARS:
-----------------------
1. Marie-Andrée Leclerc-Auger, ֱ
2. Catherine Ward, ֱ
3. Jordanna Peroff, ֱ

McGILL LINEUP SCRATCHES:
------------------------------------------
G Kalie Townsend
G Gabrielle Smith (dressed but DNP)
D Shaunn Rabinovich
F Vicky Wells (broken leg)

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