Hockey season opens Friday as Martlets put 81-game streak on line
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MONTREAL - The No.2-ranked Ï㽶ÊÓƵ women's hockey team will officially open their regular season Friday when they play host to the Concordia Stingers at McConnell Arena. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be webcast live on the Streaming Sports Network () and live stats are available online at:
Head coach Peter Smith has returned to coach the Martlets after helping Canada win gold at the Vancouver Olympics last February. He will be coaching his 401st career game behind the McGill bench when the puck drops Friday night. Smith, a native of Lachine, Que., who is in his 11th season, has a 264-108-28 record overall with the Martlets.
The Martlets may have had their 86-game win streak against Canadian university opponents snapped at the CIS championship tournament last March but they still have an active 81-game win streak against their rivals in the five-team Quebec University Hockey League. McGill hasn't lost to a QUHL-based team since Feb.10, 2007, when they suffered a 2-1 road loss to the Ottawa Gee-Gees. At McConnell Arena, the Martlets have a 57-0-1 undefeated streak since losing 3-2 to Ottawa in double overtime in a Quebec conference semifinal opener on Feb. 23, 2005. The Martlets also have a 33-game win streak against Concordia dating back to Feb. 5, 2006 when they lost 2-1 at the Ed Meagher Arena. The last Stingers victory at McConnell Arena was a 3-1 decision, Nov. 21, 2004, a streak of 20 consecutive road losses to McGill.
The team will be led by newly-elected captain Cathy Chartrand, a two-time all-Canadian and 5-foot-10 senior defenceman from Lac Nominingue, Que., who was voted player of the year in the Quebec league last season. The alternate captains are three fifth-year veterans, including Alyssa Cecere of Brossard, Que., plus Lisa Zane and Jasmine Sheehan, both natives of Mississauga, Ont.
The 2010-11 edition of the Martlets is a veteran squad composed of nine seniors, two juniors, five sophomores and seven freshmen. A star-studded lineup features three-time all-Canadian goaltender Charline Labonté, a two-time Olympic gold medalist from Boisbriand, Que., the aforementioned blue-liner Chartrand and freshman rearguard Gillian Ferrari of Thornhill, Ont., each of whom have skated for the Canadian national team. Also back is senior sniper Ann-Sophie Bettez, a three-time all-Canadian from Sept-Iles, Que., who has played the past three years with the national under-22 and U-20 teams.
Aside from Ferrari, some of the other highly-recruited freshmen to watch for are left-winger Leslie Oles of Beaconsfield, Que., who played for John Abbott College and centre Katia Clement-Heydra of St. Bruno de Montarville, Que, who skated for College Edouard-Montpetit.
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SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
McGill Athletics & Recreation
514-398-7012
m.athletics.mcgill.ca (mobile website)
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