OTTAWA – Cathy Chartrand scored what would be the game winner as the no. 1 seeded McGill Martlets defeated the no. 3 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 2-0 at the smart Canada CIS women's ice hockey national championship to claim the gold medal.
The silver medal brings Laurier's women's hockey national medal count to four, with three silvers and the gold which dates back to 2005.
"McGill's girls played as tough and as well as they could tonight," commented head coach Rick Osborne on the performance of the Martlets. "We were possibly suffering from some fatigue from playing our third game in as many days, including playing a tough Alberta team."
After a scoreless first period of back-and-forth action, the Martlets scored their first of two goals on the power play. Chartrand put the puck on net while goalie Liz Knox (Stouffville, Ont.) was screened on one-of-two, two-man advantages that the Hawks faced. McGill's second goal was scored late in the contest on a four-on-three by Ann-Sophie Bettez.
McGill pummeled the Golden Hawk net with shots throughout the contest, showing the purple-and-gold backstop, who was named to the tournament all-star team, a season-high 45 shots compared to Laurier's 23 on Charline Labonté.
"Knox deserved to get goalie of the tournament," commented Labonte post game on the second year goalie at the opposite end of the rink. "She had a fantastic tournament and I was almost jealous because she was seeing all kinds of shots."
Also named to the tournament all-star squad were forwards Andrea Ironside (Collingwood, Ont.) and veteran Lauren Meschino (Toronto, Ont.). The balance of the squad consisted of three McGill athletes.
"The game marked the end of my career as a Golden Hawk and I've got nothing to be ashamed of," commented a tearful Meschino post-game reflecting on her five seasons with the team, including a national gold and now, two silvers. "Having this medal around my neck is nothing to be ashamed of."
The gold medal for McGill was the first for their women's program in any sport and ends their 11-year silence on the national championship front. The school's last banner came in men's soccer in 1997.
"After the game, I told the team that they played hard, competed at the speed, tempo and pace that we expected and that it represents the team, the league and the sport well," concluded Osborne.
BOX SCORE:
Laurier 0 vs McGill 2
Mar 10, 2008 – CIS Championship Gold Medal Game
1st Period
Scoring
No Scoring.
Penalties – A. Ironside WLU (hooking) 0:17, V. Davidson MCG (interference) 3:47, A. Bettez MCG (hooking) 4:59, D. Di Felice WLU (body checking) 6:09, S. Denis MCG (body checking) 9:53, K. Psota WLU (body checking) 13:26, S. Denis MCG (body checking) 14:38, D. Di Felice WLU (interference) 18:02, A. Bevan WLU (body checking) 18:19.
2nd Period
Scoring
1. McGill C. Chartand (2) (G. Merrifield, V. Davidson) 19:09 (PP)
Penalties –A. Lind-Kenny MCG (body checking) 9:05, A. Williams WLU (hooking) 18:04, A. Bevan WLU (elbow) 18:30, H. Fortuna WLU (boarding) 18:36.
3rd Period
Scoring
2. McGill A. Bettez (2) (V. Davidson, C. Chartrand) 19:43 (PP)
Penalties – K. Elzinga MCG (body checking) 2:40, A. Cecere MCG (tripping) 14:27, H. Fortuna WLU (boarding) 18:36.
WLU Shots: 5 10 8 TOTAL: 23
MCG Shots: 19 14 12 TOTAL: 45
Power Play Conversion
Laurier 0-7. McGill 2-8.
Goaltenders
McGill - Labonte 3-0 Min: 60:00 SV: 23 GA: 0 [W]
Laurier - Knox 2-1 Min: 60:00 SV: 43 GA: 2 [L]
