BOX SCORE TORONTO – Team captain Kim Deschênes scored two goals and earned MVP honours in leading the Montreal Carabins to their first CIS title in program history as they edged the defending champion Calgary Dinos, 3-2, to cap off the 2013 CIS women's hockey championship Sunday night at Varsity Arena.

Not only is it their first national women's hockey title, but also the first-ever CIS championship banner since the resurgence of the Montreal Carabins athletics program in 1995.

Playing without Canada West MVP Hayley Wickenheiser, who left the Dinos' semi-final game against Queen's with a lower body injury, Calgary battled hard to the end but ended up on the wrong side of a one-goal game as the Carabins denied the Dinos' bid to repeat as national champions.

“I'm so proud of my team,” said Calgary head coach Danielle Goyette, who led the Dinos to a second straight first-place finish in Canada West and silver medals at the conference and national levels in 2013. “We played without Hayley before this year, and we knew we could be successful. Tonight, we played with character and we came up one goal short. It's not the way you want to finish the season, but the way we played for each other tonight showed the character in our dressing room. We put everything on the ice, and we can leave with our heads up."

DANIELLE GOYETTE'S FULL POST-GAME COMMENTS

The Dinos opened the scoring just 5:14 into the contest. Fourth-year forward Sinead Tracey of St. Albert, Alta., jumped on an Iya Gavrilova (Krasnoyarsk, Russia) rebound and deked around Carabins goalie Elodie Rousseau Sirois (Pohénégamook, Que.) to find the back of the net.

With Montreal on a 4-on-3 advantage, Deschênes evened the score with her first tally of the game when she buried an Élizabeth Mantha (Longueuil, Que.) rebound with 23 seconds remaining in the first period.

The Dinos dominated the first half of the second frame and finally scored when second-year forward Stephanie Zvonkovic of Edmonton banged in a Gavrilova rebound off the back post.

Carabins forward Marion Allemoz of Chambery, France notched the equalizer just three minutes later when she ripped a shot through the legs of Dinos goalie Amanda Tapp (Calgary).

Tapp kept the game equal with a sprawling pad save on a Deschênes breakaway; however, one minute later the Carabins team captain picked up a rebound and made no mistake, firing it into the top corner of the net to notch the eventual game-winner. Montreal carried a 3-2 lead into the second intermission.

Rousseau Sirois was honoured as a tournament all-star after making 23 saves, including eight in the third period, to secure the win - despite some solid Dinos pressure in the late stages of the contest.

“You have to believe that you can come back, and we were unlucky,” commented Goyette of her team's third-period effort. “Two or three times we could have put the puck in the net. Sometimes the bounces just don't go your way, and tonight it felt like the puck was square. The way we finished the season, we played together and played as a team and that's what I'm proud of.”

After the game, Gavrilova and Stephanie Ramsay were named to the tournament all-star team.

The game marks the final appearance in a Dinos uniform for five graduating players, including goaltender Jennifer Mallard, defenceman Melissa Zubick and forwards Elana Lovell and Erin Davidson – along with captain Tanya Morgan.

“You have to believe that you can come back, and we were unlucky. Two or three times we could have put the puck in the net. Sometimes the bounces just don't go your way, and tonight it felt like the puck was square. The way we finished the season, we played together and played as a team and that's what I'm proud of.”

“This was my first recruiting class, and it shows how much this program has improved in the last five years,” said Goyette. “This is our fourth year back in CIS, and the way they have led this program over the last five years I know they're going to be successful in life. Sometimes we focus on the game played on the ice and we forget how much they have improved as human beings, and I'm so proud of them all tonight.”

The CIS women's hockey championship heads to St. Thomas University in Fredericton in 2014, with the Dinos slated to host the 2015 event in Calgary.

2013 CIS WOMEN'S HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP
Tournament MVP: Kim Deschênes, Montréal
R.W. Pugh Fair-Play Award: Sophie Brault, Montréal

Tournament All-Stars:
Goaltender: Élodie Rousseau Sirois, Montréal
Defence: Jenna Downey, StFX
Defence: Stephanie Ramsay, Calgary
Forward: Kim Deschênes, Montréal
Forward: Iya Gavrilova, Calgary
Forward: Ariane Barker, Montréal
 
SCORING SUMMARY
Montréal 3, Calgary 2

FIRST PERIOD
 
SCORING:
1.    CGY: Sinead Tracey (Iya Gavrilova, Elana Lovell) 5:14
2.    MTL: Kim Deschênes (2) (Éliabeth Mantha) 19:35 (PP)
 
PENALTIES:
Megan Grenon (CGY) interference, 7:04;
Iya Gavrilova (CGY) body checking, 17:48;
Kelsie Lang (CGY) body checking, 18:58;
Janique Duval (MTL) tripping, 19:13;
 
SECOND PERIOD
 
SCORING:
 
3.    CGY: Stephanie Zvonkovic (Iya Gavrilova, Calaine Inglis) 9:32
4.    MTL: Marion Allemoz (2) (Edith Aubert-Lehoux) 12:20
5.    MTL: Kim Deschênes (3) (Josianne Legault, Sophie Brault) 19:35
 
PENALTIES:
 
Ariane Barker (MTL) cross checking, 1:12;
Iya Gavrilova (CGY) body checking, 5:15;
 
THIRD PERIOD
 
SCORING:
 
(No scoring)
 
PENALTIES:
 
Edith Aubert-Lehoux (MTL) hooking, 5:01;
Chelsea Peterson (CGY) cross checking, 8:47;
 
GOALS (by period)
MTL: 1-2-0:3
CGY: 1-1-0:2
 
SHOTS ON GOAL (by period)
MTL: 7-7-4:18
CGY: 5-12-8:25
 
POWER PLAY:
MTL: 1-5
CGY: 0-3
 
GOALTENDERS
MTL:  Élodie Rousseau Sirois (W, 3-0, 25 shots, 23 saves, 60:00)
CGY: Amanda Tapp (L, 2-1, 18 shots, 15 saves, 60:00)
 
PLAYERS OF THE GAME:
MTL: Kim Deschênes
CGY: Iya Gavrilova
 
REFEREE: Gabrielle Ariano-Lortie
LINESMEN: Stephanie Gagnon, Justine Todd
 
ATTENDANCE: 532

-UC-