Zimmerman Gives Wells Win in Debut

Final	1	2	3	Final
McGill ()	1	1	2	4
St. Lawrence ()	2	2	1	5

Scoring Summary
1st - 04:44	SH - Marianna Locke (St. Lawrence)
1st - 15:45	Carson Duggan (St. Lawrence)
1st - 19:38	PP - Rebecca Martindale (McGill)
2nd - 04:16	Carson Duggan (St. Lawrence)
2nd - 10:49	Kyrsten Venasse (St. Lawrence)
2nd - 15:45	Vanessa Davidson (McGill)
3rd - 05:58	SH - Rebecca Martindale (McGill)
3rd - 06:35	M. Leclerc-Auger (McGill)
3rd - 07:16	Michelle Zimmerman (St. Lawrence)

McGill	St. Lawrence
G: Rebecca Martindale - 2 A: 2 Players (#8, #17 - 2) Sh: M. Leclerc-Auger - 6 Sv: Charline Labonte - 20	G: Carson Duggan - 2 A: 7 Players (#2, #8, #10, #15, #17, #19, #22 - 1) Sh: Tara Akstull - 5 Sv: Brittony Chartier - 25

TEAM STATISTICS	McGill	St. Lawrence
Power Plays	1 for 9	0 for 5
Shorthanded Goals	1	1
Penalties (min)	8 (16)	11 (22)
Shots on Goal	29	25
Face Offs Won	30	32

full stats

Boxscore

CANTON, N.Y. -- Sophomore defenseman Michelle Zimmerman snapped a 4-4 tie at 7:16 of the third period on Friday night at Appleton Arena, lifting No. 7 St. Lawrence past McGill in the team’s lone exhibition contest of the 2008-09 season.

The Saints, who will open the regular season next weekend at Providence and Connecticut, used a solid penalty killing unit to hold off the Martlets, who saw their 23-game win streak come to an end. St. Lawrence successfully killed of 8-of-9 McGill power plays to hold on for the victory.

“We definitely got what we wanted tonight, which was a real test from a very talented hockey team,” said

St. Lawrence head coach Chris Wells, who made his debut behind the bench on Friday. “I thought we had a good team-effort all the way around. We need to work on a few things but we’ll be ready to go next weekend.”

The home team grabbed an early 1-0 lead when senior captain Marianna Locke scored a short-handed goal at 4:44 of the first period. With sophomore Karell Emard in the penalty box, junior Courtney Sawchuk chipped the puck out of the St. Lawrence zone to senior Alison Domenico. The Nepean, ON native skated alongside Locke on a two-on-one chance, and the duo delivered when Domenico slid a perfect pass on Locke’s stick for a tip past McGill goaltender Charline Labonte.

Senior Carson Duggan, who will be chasing the University’s all-time goal scoring record this season, picked up her first goal of the evening at 15:45 of the opening frame when she re-directed a shot by Zimmerman behind Labonte to make it 2-0 in favor of the Scarlet and Brown.

McGill would cut their deficit in half with only 22 seconds remaining in the first period when Rebecca Martindale picked up loose puck to the right of new St. Lawrence junior goaltender Brittony Chartier. Though Chartier tried to close the gap between her leg pad and the post, Martindale was able to stuff it across the goal line, with assists going to Caroline Hill and Cathy Chartrand.

St. Lawrence would respond well in the second period, as back-to-back goals extended their lead to 4-1. Duggan used a great individual effort to make it 3-1, as she knocked a McGill defenseman’s pass out of mid-air on to her own stick, creating a breakaway chance which she converted against Labonte for her second of the night. Sophomore Kyrsten Venasse made it a three goal game at 10:49 of the period when she blasted a one-timer past Labonte after a great centering pass from behind the net by junior Karlee Shields.

The Martlets would tack on a goal at 15:45 of the second period to pull the visitors to within striking distance at 4-2. After a hard shot by Marie-Andrée Leclerc-Auger was turned away by Chartier, the puck remained loose in front of the net. Vanessa Davidson was there to collect the rebound and pound it past the St. Lawrence goaltender to send her team to the locker room down two after two periods.

McGill grabbed the momentum after Davidson’s goal, and used consecutive goals in the third period only 37 seconds apart to pull even at 4-4. Martindale added her second of the game while her team killed off a four-minute St. Lawrence power play to make it 4-3, while Leclerc-Auger tied the game at 4-4 at 6:35 of the period when she beat Chartier after the Saints failed to clear the puck out of their own zone.

Zimmerman would respond for St. Lawrence only 41 seconds later, as she picked up the game-winning tally at 7:16 of the final frame. The Littleton, CO native sent a soft wrist shot towards the McGill goal from just inside the blue line that clearly fooled Labonte. By catching Labonte off guard, the puck sailed into the net and put the Saints ahead for good, 5-4.

The remaining 13 minutes of hockey wouldn’t be easy for the Saints, however, as McGill began to pour shots on goal thanks to four third-period power plays. However, Chartier showed why she is such an asset to her team, as she made 15 of her 25 saves in the third period to ensure her team’s victory.

Labonte was also impressive after a slow start, as she finished with 20 saves including nine in both the second and third periods. The Martlets finished with a slight 29-25 edge in shots on goal and held St. Lawrence without a power play goal (0-for-5).

The puck will drop on the 2008-09 regular season next Friday, October 10th at 7:00pm when No. 7 St. Lawrence squares off with No. 9 Providence in Providence, RI.