By Leighton Geraghty – Staff Writer

Sitting in second place in the RSEQ, the Bishop’s women’s hockey team has cracked the top ten in USports. This is a historic moment, as the team has never been ranked nationally in school history. The team marched into the final weekend of regular season action with a record of 16-8-0. Over the past month, they have been in a tight race with the Université de Montréal Carabins for second place and home ice advantage in the playoffs. The Gaiters had the chance to clinch home ice advantage two weekends ago as they headed down to Montreal for a two-game weekend against the Concordia Stingers and the Montréal Carabins. 

On Friday, Feb. 9, the team faced off in the Ed Meagher arena against the number one ranked team in the country. Concordia had posted a 24-game winning streak and remained undefeated this season. The Gaiters demonstrated steely resolve as they made their way down as if to finish unresolved business. After a hard week at practice, they took to the ice for warmups, awaiting the 7 p.m. puck drop. Freshman goalie Ericka Gagnon started in between the pipes for the Gaiters. Gagnon entered the game with a USports athlete of the week title on her back and rode a 155-minute shutout streak. This, however, did not last as the Stingers scored four unanswered goals in the first period. The Gaiters found their flow in the second period as both teams went back and forth. The Gaiters utilized their speed and neutral zone regroup. Regan Garreau sprung into a two-on-one situation and beat Concordia goaltender Arianne Leblanc with a low-blocker side shot to get the team on the board. Both teams exchanged goals in the third period, but the final score of the game was 5-2 in favour of Concordia. 

Instead of feeling morally defeated, the Gaiters utilized the loss to their favour as they were back on the ice Sunday afternoon against the Montréal Carabins. A win over the Carabins would clinch home ice for the Gaiters heading into the postseason. Super Bowl Sunday was bound to be a thrilling day.

The 2 p.m. game took place in the Cepsum arena, home to the Carabins. The game started off at a standstill until the Carabins opened the scoring halfway through the first period. 29 seconds later, the leading goalscorer in the RSEQ, Bishop’s Maude Pépin, tied the game up. Pépin’s 19th goal of the season tilted the ice in the Gaiters’ direction, as they would dominate the rest of the game. Éliane Michaud, a freshman defenceman, scored her second of the season, giving the Gaiters a 2-1 lead in the second period. Defenceman Gabrielle Rousseau iced the game for the Gaiters scoring the third unanswered goal of the game, resulting in a 3-1 win for Bishop’s. 

Four players came away with a multi-point game. Maude Pépin, Gabrielle Rousseau, Éliane Michaud and the freshman phenom Gabrielle Santerre all recorded two points. 

The Gaiters closed off their regular season play on Friday, Feb. 16, travelling down to the University of Ottawa for a 7:30 p.m. puck drop. Having already clinched a playoff spot and home ice advantage, they looked to maintain their hot streak. Pépin found the back of the net in the second period, assisted by Gabrielle Santerre and Marie-Camille Théorêt. The Gee-Gees would log three shots in the third. While Vigneau Sargeant answered back, assisted by Santerre and Angelique Pagé, the purple and silver left Ottawa with a 2-3 loss.

The historic season has been led by their offensive production as four players average over a point per game. Gabrielle Santerre now leads the country in points, having tallied 45 points in 25 games of action in her rookie season. Her linemates Pépin and Justine Turcotte have 36 and 22 points, respectively. Junior forward Neleh Vigneau Sargeant has racked up 29 points. Vigneau Sargeant will represent Team Canada in the Ball Hockey World Championship in the near future.

The hockey team will kick off their postseason action on Thursday, Feb. 22 in the semi-finals of the RSEQ. Only a few more games stand in the way of the women’s hockey team as they continue to chase glory in hopes of qualifying for nationals.