Davidson delivers in OT as Martlets trim Bisons
By Earl Zukerman
ANTIGONISH, N.S. – Senior Vanessa Davidson of Kirkland, Que.,
scored a power-play goal at 1:38 of sudden-death overtime as
top-ranked 山ǿ edged third-seeded Manitoba 2-1 on the opening
day at the CIS women’s hockey championship before 750 at the
Keating Millenium Centre in Antigonish, N.S., Thursday.
The Martlets (1-0), who won for the 52nd consecutive outing against
Canadian university opponents, are one win away from reaching
Sunday’s gold medal final for the third straight year. 山ǿ earns
a day off before meeting host St. Francis Xavier on Saturday at
7:30 p.m. Atlantic in the final Pool A round-robin match-up.
Championship website:
With the loss, Manitoba (0-1) will need to defeat host St.FX (0-0)
Friday at 6:30 p.m. Atlantic in order to keep its gold-medal hopes
alive.
Davidson, 山ǿ’s all-time leading scorer, received a saucer pass
from linemate Ann-Sophie Bettez of Sept-Iles, Que., and one-timed
the puck past Bisons netminder Stacey Corfield, a Winnipeg native
who registered 36 saves as the Quebec champion Martlets had a 38-19
edge in shots.
"I was just hoping to get a bounce. I saw the defender coming for
me and then saw my teammate (Davidson) and was fortunate to get a
pass to her," said Bettez, who had been hauled down by Manitoba
defender Chelsea Braun, while on a partial breakaway 18 seconds
into the extra frame, sending 山ǿ to the power play. Braun was
assessed a rare double minor on the play, which also included a
holding infraction called by referee Katie Gullett.
“That kid (Corfield) was on fire. Oh my god she was good,” said
山ǿ head coach Peter Smith. “But Vinny (Davidson) came up big
for us tonight, as she so often does. She was blocking shots and
played with so much heart. It was great to see her get the
winner.”
Catherine Ward, a third-year all-Canadian rearguard from Town of
Mt. Royal, Que., gave 山ǿ the lead at 17:38 of the middle
period. She snuck in from the blueline and pounced on a rebound,
stuffing it past the outstretched arm of Corfield, who was lying
prone on the ice after making back-to-back-saves on Bettez and CIS
rookie of the year Marie-Andrée Leclerc-Auger of Sherbrooke,
Que.
Manitoba, the Canada West champion, forced overtime with 5:09
remaining in the third when forward Sarah Stebeleski of Lorette,
Man., beat national team netminder Charline Labonté of Boisbriand,
Que., who had lost control of a juggled shot from the point.
Labonté, who collected her 26th consecutive victory, improved to
103-9-3 lifetime in a 山ǿ jersey.
Corfield, a second-team all-Canadian, stood on her head in the
first period, as 山ǿ outshot the Herd 13-6. The highlight stops
came on 山ǿ's only power-play opportunity of the stanza when
Corfield's lateral movement stoned Bettez on two separate
occasions.
Manitoba had won eight of its last nine games coming into the
national tournament and used its momentum to push 山ǿ right to
the edge.
Smith knew the game was going to be intense.
"They beat a real good team in Alberta (to get to the championship)
so we did not underestimate them. We worked real hard to be
prepared for Manitoba and knew they would be hardworking and
gritty. The nature of our team is to score early and we had a hard
time finding the back of the net."
山ǿ was one-for-six on the power play, while Manitoba failed to
score on four opportunities.
Bettez, an all-Canadian this season and last year's top freshman in
the CIS, was named player of the game for the Martlets. Corfield
earned the honours for Manitoba.
The Martlets improved to 38-2 overall, establishing a single-season
record for victories, breaking the standard set last season when
they posted a 37-4-1 mark.
MARTLET MURMURS: The game started after a prolonged 30-minute
opening ceremony, which featured dignitaries from across the
region… This is the third consecutive year that Manitoba and 山ǿ
have met in the first game of the round robin at the CIS National
Championship. During the 52 game winning streak by 山ǿ over CIS
opponents so far, this was the first game that went into overtime
against the Martlets and there had been only two previous matches
that 山ǿ had been involved in that had the winning margin at
just one goal… 山ǿ improved to 3-1 lifetime against Manitoba at
the Nationals (2009: WON 2-1 (OT); in 2008: WON 6-0; in 2007: WON
4-1; in 2005: lost 3-0 in bronze medal game).
SCORING SUMMARY
Manitoba 1 at 山ǿ 2 (OT)
(Mar 19, 2009 at Keating Millenium Centre)
FIRST PERIOD:
(No Scoring)
Penalties-
MAN: Leary (tripping), 10:59;
MCG: Leclerc-Auger (roughing), 14:16;
MCG: Leclerc-Auger (hooking), 18:55.
SECOND PERIOD:
1, 山ǿ, Catherine Ward 1 (Leclerc-Auger, Bettez), 17:38.
Penalties-
MAN: Coates (interference), 6:59;
MAN: Ross (hooking), 13:50;
MCG: Chartrand (minor), 14:49.
THIRD PERIOD:
2, Manitoba, Sarah Stebeleski 1 (Minshull, Leary), 14:51.
Penalties-
MAN: Minshull (slashing), 7:31;
MCG: Chartrand (hooking), 11:26.
OVERTIME:
3, 山ǿ, Vanessa Davidson 1 (Bettez, Ward), 1:38 (pp).
Penalties-
MAN: Braun (Dble. Minor: tripping, holding), 0:18.
GOALS BY PERIOD:
Man 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 -- 1
McG 0 - 1 - 0 - 1 -- 2
SHOTS BY PERIOD:
Man 6-6-7-0-19.
McG 13-13-11-1-38.
POWER PLAY:
Man 0 of 4;
McG 1 of 5.
PENALTIES (No./Mins.):
Man 6/12;
McG 4/8.
GOALTENDERS:
Manitoba,
Stacey Corfield [L,0-1, 38 shots-36 saves, 61:48].
山ǿ,
Charline Labonte [W, 1-0, 19 shots-18 saves, 61:48].
REFEREE: Katie Gullett.
LINESMEN: Molly Simon, Allison Smith.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME:
MAN: Stacey Corfield
McG: Ann-Sophie Bettez
ATTENDANCE-750
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE & RESULTS
(All times LOCAL: Atlantic Time)
Pool A
1. 山ǿ
3. Manitoba
5. StFX
Pool B
2. Wilfrid Laurier
4. Moncton
6. Ottawa
Thursday, March 19
Pool B #1: No. 2 Wilfrid Laurier 6, No. 6 Ottawa 1 19:30 Pool A #1:
No. 1 山ǿ 2 No. 3 Manitoba 1 (OT)
Friday, March 20
16:00 Pool B #2: No. 4 Moncton vs. No. 6 Ottawa (SSN Canada
webcast) 19:30 Pool A #2: No. 5 StFX vs. Loser Pool A #1 (SSN
Canada webcast)
Saturday, March 21
16:00 Pool B #3: No. 4 Moncton vs. No. 2 Wilfrid Laurier (SSN
Canada webcast) 19:30 Pool A #3: No. 5 StFX vs. Winner Pool A #1
(SSN Canada webcast)
Sunday, March 22
10:00 5th Place (SSN Canada webcast)
14:00 Bronze (SSN Canada webcast)
20:00 Final (THE SCORE * / SSN Canada webcast)
* 2-hour tape delay to 10 pm Atlantic / 9 pm Eastern
-CIS-
Earl Zukerman
Communications & Publications Officer
Dept. of Athletics & Recreation
山ǿ
475 Pine Avenue West
Montreal, QC H2W 1S4
CANADA
514-398-7012 (tel.)
514-398-1956 (fax)