SERIES RECAP: Women’s hockey falls to McGill in resilient effort

The University of Ottawa women's hockey team came within a whistle of pushing one of the country's top programs to the brink.

The Gee-Gees lost game three of their best-of-three semi-final series to the McGill Martlets by a 1-0 score, but the pivotal, must-win contest could have very easily have gone to overtime.

McGill, ranked fourth nationally thanks to a 12-3-0 regular season record, opened the scoring early in the second period. Ottawa looked like they'd responded midway through the second frame, when the puck slid under Martlets goaltender Tricia Deguire and into the goal.

As the Gee-Gees peeled off to celebrate, the officials conferred, and deemed (correctly) that the whistle had been blown before the puck crossed the line. However, the puck was never frozen, and the whistle shouldn't have gone in the first place. 

As they had throughout the weekend, the Garnet and Grey showed resiliency and class when faced with adversity, but their comeback attempt ultimately fell short.  

"The coaching staff is extremely proud of this group," said Gee-Gees head coach Chelsea Grills. "The last two games showed true character and a lot of heart. They left it all out there." 

The Martlets took game one by a 5-1 score, but a shorthanded Ottawa squad rallied to win game two 1-0. 

The Gee-Gees were shorthanded for the final two games, playing with just 15 skaters. Ariane Aubin and Kylie Lalonde were both shaken up in game three, but didn't miss a shift in a courageous effort.

Aurélie Dubuc started game one, but Ottawa turned to rookie Mahika Sarrazin for games two and three. The Gatineau, Que., product was simply outstanding, stopping 67 of 68 shots she faced (0.985 save percentage). Game two was her first shutout in Garnet and Grey, while the lone blemish on her record in game three was a deflected shot from the point.

Ottawa stymied the strong McGill powerplay in games two and three, going 7-for-7 on the penalty kill. The Martlets tagged Ottawa for three goals on the man advantage in game one. The red shirt's top line of Jade Downie-Landry, Marika Labrecque and Chrissy Colizza (regarded as the best trio in the country) were non-factors in games two and three, combining for zero points and 14 penalty minutes.

The Gee-Gees now shift their focus to the RSEQ bronze medal bracket. They will begin a best-of-three series against the Bishop's Gaiters this week, with the winner facing the winner of the Montreal-Carleton series.