The Martlets Hockey team has been a longstanding source of pride for McGill, and they will continue making history this season.

As one of McGill’s most successful teams, the Martlets have made it to the National Championship game in each of the past three years, bringing home two consecutive golds (2008, 2009) and a silver (2010). The roster boasts members of the Canadian National Women’s team as well as the coach of the Vancouver Olympic gold-medal-winning team. The Martlets have 16  retuning veterans and have seven rookies this year.

The Martlets currently hold a remarkable 82-game win streak against their Quebec University Hockey League opponents that began February 10, 2007. The team had an 86-game win streak against all Canadian university teams, which the University of Alberta broke last year in the final game of the National Championships.

The Martlets looked strong against Concordia Friday, and s have the potential for another great season. Although a number of noteworthy players graduated last year, the arrival of talented recruits has established a competive dynamic for this year’s team.

“All of our first years are bringing a lot to the table this year”, said junior forward Lainie Smith. “They are all very skilled and it’s going to be tough to keep a spot this year. You just have to work as hard as you can because you’ll never know who won’t dress in a game”

The defence experienced only minor turnover and is led by newly elected captain, Cathy Chartrand, and two fifth-year veterans, Lisa Zane and Jasmine Sheehan. Chartrand played for the Canadian National team, and her experience and her ability to make plays will be crucial.

Rookie Gillian Ferrari is another defender who represented Canada on the national team. With an Olympic gold medal (Turin, 2006) amongst her many accomplishments, Ferrari will enrich the defence with her talent and expertise. Overall, the defence core is as deep as ever, with five returning players and two rookies.

The forward line is difficult to predict, because it has five newcombers this year. Senior forward and three-time all-Canadian Anne-Sophie Bettez is back for her fourth season. She is known for her speed and her shooting accuracy and will be a force to be reckoned with. Freshman Leslie Oles stole the spotlight on Friday as she racked up a goal and two assists, clearly showing what she is capable of. It will be interesting to see how the forward lineup takes shape in the early season.

There is a battle for the starting position in net. Taylor Salisbury and Andrea Weckman, the two backup goalies, will fight for starts as two-time Olympic gold medalist Charline Labonté is sidelined with an injury. Salisbury registered 16 saves in Friday’s opener.

The coaching staff will be led by Peter Smith, who has returned to McGill from a year spent coaching the Canadian National Women’s team to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Amey Doyle, who took over for Smith last season, along with Stewart McCarthey and Shauna Denis, will be the assistant coaches.

With a tremendous amount of pressure to perform up to expectations and a reputation to preserve,, the Martlets have a lot on their plate.

“Obviously, our main goal is the national championship but we don’t really discuss it. We go day-by-day. We set that as a goal at the beginning of the season and now we just look for what’s directly ahead of us.” says Smith, “So we just play game by game and [don’t] think of that because we have so much to overcome before we actually get to that game, if we get to that game.”

  The Martlets will resume regular season action against the University of Montreal on October 20.