Out of luck in deciding game
photo by Matt Staroste
Black and blue: The Gees scored at will in game two, but were halted in game three.
Women’s hockey team falls 2-1 in playoff series to Montreal
WITH THE MONTREAL Carabins (13-6-1) ahead 3-1 in the second period at the Sports Complex Feb. 26, things weren’t looking good for the University of Ottawa women’s hockey team (8-11-1). Already down 1-0 in their Quebec Student Sports Federation (QSSF) semifinal playoff series, the Gees were on the verge of getting eliminated in game two.
That all changed when team captain Christine Allen scored with 12 minutes to go in the second period, part of a fi ve-goal outburst from the Gee-Gees in the frame. Ottawa chased star Montreal goaltender Catherine Herron from the match in the third period, en route to a convincing 7-3 win.
“I think our hard work really paid off tonight,” said Gee-Gees head coach Miguel Filiatrault after the win.
“We didn’t get down on ourselves after [game one]. It would have been easy to do that, but there’s a lot of toughness and character on [this team].”
Filiatrault was referring to Ottawa’s 5-3 loss to Montreal at the CEPSUM Arena in game one of the series on Feb. 24. Th e Gees’ downfall in the opening game was their fi rst period, as they were outshot 19-4 and outscored 2-0. The Carabins never relinquished control of game one, leading 3-0 and 4-1 at various points. Even when the Gees scored to make it 4-3 midway through the third, Montreal scored a minute later on a power-play to seal the win.
“We made things more difficult for ourselves than they had to be,” said Filiatrault.
In game two at the Sports Complex, Ottawa outshot Montreal 14-11 in the opening period but found themselves down 2-0. That’s when Filiatrault decided to intervene.
“He gave a really motivating speech in the dressing room, and I think that’s what really pushed us in the second period,” said rookie forward Dominique Lefebvre.
“I think we had a really good chat in the intermission,” added Filiatrault. “We knew we could respond.”
The result was an onslaught from the Gees in the second frame, led by fourth-year centre Kayla Hottot, who scored for the home team just two minutes in. She then assisted on Ottawa’s tying marker midway through the frame. Less than a minute later, Hottot scored to give the Gees a 4-3 lead with a spectacular individual eff ort: with the puck firmly in her control, she undressed Herron with a side-to-side deke and then roofed it upstairs.
“Our best players needed to be the best players on the ice and they were today,” said Filiatrault. “Hottot, Lefebvre, [and third-year forward Blair] Kitlar outplayed [Montreal’s] best players.”
Lefebvre’s goal early in the third prompted the Carabins to take Herron out of the game. Kitlar scored in the fi nal minute of play to make it 7-3.
With all the momentum on their side, the Garnet and Grey returned to Montreal Feb. 28 to play the deciding game three. Although Hottot scored for the Gees in the fi rst period, the Carabins converted on two of their power-plays to take a 2-1 lead.
“Special teams ended up deciding the game,” said Filiatrault. “[Montreal] made better use of their power-plays.”
After the Carabins scored in the second frame, Kitlar responded for the Gees to cut Montreal’s lead to 3-2. Despite outshooting the home team 9-4 in the third period, Ottawa was unable to beat Herron, and the playoff s ended for the Garnet and Grey.
“It was a back-and-forth game,” said Filiatrault. “A couple of bounces our way, and the score could have been entirely different.”
