So how does it feel to be at the top? Leslie Oles grins, “It feels great.”
She would certainly know. Oles and the McGill Martlets finished off the regular season this weekend at McConnell Arena, undefeated in conference play for the fifth time in school history. They enter the playoffs next week, riding a 26-game win streak over CIS opponents after routing the Concordia Stingers 7-1 Saturday afternoon in their last game of the regular season.
The Martlets blazed to a quick start, with McGill’s Stefanie Pohlod, and Mélodie Daoust scoring one goal apiece in the first two minutes before the Stingers could even get their skates straight. Concordia was no match for the Martlets defensively, as McGill dominated their opponents with offensive pressure in the first period. The Martlets controlled the puck, zipping crisp passes to create open looks for teammates, as well as hustling to fight for second-chance opportunities. Fourth-year forward Kim Ton-That and rookie forward Gabrielle Davidson scored goals for McGill at 14:38 and 15:50, respectively, to close out the period 4-0.
At this point in the year, this level of dominance is to be expected from the Martlet team, who have routinely blown out their competition throughout the season.
“We’re a hard-working team. We have a lot of different components to our team, and that’s what makes us successful,” Oles said. “We have a lot of skill, and we have a lot of grit.”
McGill did not miss a beat in the second frame. Davidson picked up right where she left off, netting her second goal of the afternoon two minutes into the period. The only bright spot for the Stingers came midway through the stanza as they put together a couple of solid offensive chances, amounting to a good number of shots. However, Martlet goalie Andrea Weckman was more than up to the task as she calmly denied all the Stingers’ attempts. McGill answered back immediately, as Logan Murray tipped home a goal with 10:32 remaining to put the home team up 6-0.
“We got contributions from everybody,” Martlet Head Coach Peter Smith said. “We had 18 skaters dressed … [and] all 18 skaters really contributed to [our] success today. Andrea made some good saves in net. [It was] good, Martlet-style hockey.”
McGill continued to showcase their teamwork and cohesion in the third period. Daoust recorded her second goal of the contest at 4:52. The puck seemed to be around Concordia goalie Carolanne Lavoie-Pilon throughout the period, as demonstrated by McGill’s incredible 32-7 shot advantage. Concordia managed to net its lone goal of the contest a minute later, which ultimately proved to be a non-factor en route to the Martlets’ 7-1 victory.
The Martlets boast a number of conference leaders, most notably second-year Daoust who has scored a league-leading 52 points, followed by Katia Clément-Heydra and Oles, to round out the RSEQ top three scorers. Goalies Weckman and Taylor Salisbury have also been outstanding this season, claiming first and second place in the conference with save percentages above .900.
Beyond the dominating statistics, Coach Smith emphasized the importance of intangibles to the success of his team.
“[Although] we have good skill, we work hard. Our practices are terrific. … I honestly can’t remember a sub-par practice that we’ve had this year; and I think that what you do in practice carries over into games.”
When asked if the coaching staff would change its approach to games in anticipation of the playoffs, Coach Smith assured that the Martlets would stick to the keys of their success.
“The biggest thing for us is that we stick to our plan. We’ve developed a plan over the course of the season, and I think that it’s important that we stick with that,” he said. “We’ve never really played according to the scoreboard. We play to do the right thing at the right time, and that’s what we need to continue [doing].”
Despite all their wins, the Martlets have not given themselves a chance to bask in the success of their record. However, in recognition of their final regular season game, the team allowed itself a moment to take pride in its terrific play and 20-0-0 undefeated record.
“[Our record] is not something [we] really think about every day, but today in the locker room we took a little moment … to really appreciate what we’ve done this year,” Oles said.
The Martlets begin the RSEQ semifinals on Wednesday against Carleton in a best-of-three series.
