Powerful Martlets feature local connection

BY MICHAEL PIASETZKI

When Peter Smith took over as head coach of the McGill Martlets hockey team from Caroline Blanchet in 1999, the landscape of Quebec women’s university hockey was very different.

The Concordia women’s team was a powerful force, having captured two consecutive Canadian Interuniversity Sport national championships. The Martlets for their part were considered second fiddle, something Smith, a Lachine resident, promised to change through hard work and a hope of selling McGill’s academic reputation.

Seven years later, Smith's hard work has paid off. The Martlets have leapfrogged over the now struggling Stingers to become a provincial and national powerhouse. Their record in the Quebec conference stands at 11-0-1 and 24-2-2 overall, good enough to rank them No. 1 in the nation.Last Friday night, the Marlets, whose current roster features four West Islanders, including Kirkland’s Vanessa Davidson, Pointe Claire’s Brittany Privée, Dorval’s Caroline Hill and Dollard des Ormeaux’s Chantal Gauvin played a non-conference match at Glennfinnan Arena in Ste. Anne de Bellevue against the St. Mary’s Huskies. The commemorative game marked 100 years of sports at McGill’s Macdonald campus, and Davidson did not disappoint the home crowd. The former John Abbott Lady Islander scored twice while Privée added another as the Martlets, who wore vintage Macdonald College uniforms for the occasion, defeated the Huskies 6-3 in front of a packed house.

“The players worked hard against the Huskies — and all weekend long,” said Smith, whose troops went on to beat the St. Francis Xavier X-Women 3-2 in overtime on Saturday night and Dalhousie Tigers 2-1 on Sunday afternoon, both at McConnell Arena on McGill’s Campus. “We beat three very good teams in less than three days. We’re tired, but satisfied.”

Persuading Davidson, who learned her skills in the Lakeshore Hockey Association, to arrive on campus last year has been a boon for Smith. The five-foot-eight forward who is blessed with soft hands and a great shot currently leads the Quebec conference with 13 goals and 10 assists and has potted a total of 29 goals including non-conference play, matching the McGill single-season record set by Sophie Acheson in 34 contests during the 2001-’02 campaign. If Hockey Canada hadn’t put the sophomore on its radar screen as a potential future member of its national program, it surely must have done so by now.

“Besides helping the Martlets win a national championship, getting to the national program is my goal right now,” said Davidson, who has also already netted seven of the Martlet’s 11 short-handed goals, both team records. “I know I have to get in better shape off the ice though, and I will. I’ve also been working with our goaltender Charline Labonté and coach Smith, both of whom have had international experience.”

Following Sunday’s home game against the Tigers, a women’s team representing the West Island Hockey Association entered the Martlets dressing room, asking for autographs and seeking advice. A select few could one day go on to play university hockey.

Gauvin, a five-foot-eight defenceman who spent one year playing in the NCAA for the University of New Hampshire Wildcats before transferring to McGill last year, had some words of wisdom for them, and other elite young West Island players thinking of going to the U.S. after graduating high school or CEGEP.

“It’s everyone’s personal decision,” she said. “But all I can say is they should not only look at the hockey aspect, but the educational aspect of the university they’re thinking of going to. I would say the level of women’s hockey here at McGill is about the same as it is with any team in the NCAA.”