Defending champs put 54-game win streak on line in opener
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(PHOTO BY ANDREW DOBROWOLSKYJ)
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MONTREAL -- The defending national champion 香蕉视频 women's hockey team opens the 2009-10 season on Friday (Oct. 9) when they host cross-town rival Concordia at McConnell Arena. The Martlets are riding a 54-game win streak against CIS opponents. They are still the No.1 ranked team in the CIS but their hopes for a third consecutive CIS title will be severely tested in the wake of some key losses.
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Amey Doyle has been elevated to interim head coach from her long-time role as an assistant to Peter Smith, who has taken a one-year sabbatical to serve on the coaching staff of the Canadian Olympic team.
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Two others lost to the Olympic program is All-Canadian rearguard Catherine Ward, the 207 CIS rookie of the year and 2009 CIS championship tourney MVP who graduated in only three years and All-Canadian goaltender Charline Labont茅.
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Other key departures include captain Chantal Gauvin, a defenceman, and high-scoring forward Marie-Andr茅e Leclerc-Auger, the CIS rookie-of-the-year last season, who had a 18-28-46 record in 18 outings and has transferred to the Montreal Carabins, a new expansion team in the Quebec conference.
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It's not all gloom and doom, however, as 18 players have returned, including All-Canadians Ann-Sophie Bettez, Vanessa Davidson and Cathy Chartrand.
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Bettez is a speedy third-year forward from Sept-Iles, Que., who was CIS rookie of the year in 2008 and was voted league MVP last season after winning the QSSF scoring crown with 24 goals and 30 assists for 54 points in just 18 conference games, setting league records in each category. The 5-foot-4 centre finished seven points back of Alberta's Tarin Podloski (23-38-61) for the CIS scoring title, but played five less games.
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Davidson, a fifth-year centre from Kirkland, Que., is the new team captain and already ranks as McGill's all-time leader in goals, assists and points. Last year, she finished sixth in the national scoring race with 17-22-39 in only 14 contests.
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Chartrand, a 5-foot-10 junior rearguard from Lac Nominingue, Que., previously played for the national team and was the 2008 CIS championship MVP. Last year, she was one of four Martlets who helped Canada claim gold at the 2009 World University Games in China, along with forwards Davidson, Alyssa Cecere of Brossard, Que., and Caroline Hill of Dorval, Que.
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The biggest question about the Martlets will be who fills the void left by Labont茅, the nation's top netminder for each of the past three seasons?
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The incumbent is Gabrielle Smith, a fifth-year veteran who hails from Ottawa. She will be challenged by 5-foot-6 freshman Taylor Salisbury of Surrey, B.C., and 5-foot-7 rookie Andrea Weckman of Kitchener, Ont.
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