The Carleton Ravens women’s hockey team snapped their losing streak on Friday with a win over the uOttawa Gee-Gees before dropping a second game to the Université de Montréal Carabins on Sunday.
Friday: 2-1 win over uOttawa
After the Ravens’ hot start to the season, they lost four straight games, including blowout losses at the hands of McGill and Concordia. On the flip side, the Gee-Gees came into Friday’s game hot off a big win over Concordia.
While uOttawa outshot the Ravens 24-14, Carleton goalie Marie-Ève Côté was sharp all night.
The first period was an end-to-end stalemate. Carleton killed off a penalty partway through the period and turned up the heat with chances afterwards.
The second period was much scrappier as frustration grew on both sides. Carleton won a power play after a hitting penalty to uOttawa and with play pinned in the uOttawa end, Carleton cycled the puck around the net. Eventually, forward Nicole MacNeil’s long shot made it through for the first goal of the game.
Just 14 seconds after the goal, forward Hanna Unis-Thibault was hit low and hard into the boards by uOttawa defender Angélique Proulx, leading to her ejection from the game. Carleton failed to convert and the period ended with no more scoring. The grinding period yielded just three shots for Carleton and two for Ottawa.
The Gee-Gees flew in the final frame outshooting the Ravens 12-4. They tied the game eight minutes into the period as uOttawa forward Katherine Birkby crashed the net and knocked in a rebound. The Gee-Gees’ pressure continued, but Carleton didn’t need many chances to score the game winner.
MacNeil carried the puck over the blue line along the far boards. She ripped a shot that pinged off the crossbar. The goalie didn’t know where it was as it flew up over her head and fell into the crease. The puck bounced off the leg of Carleton forward Jackie Grosso and into the back of the net.
Côté and the Ravens shut it down to close out the game for a Carleton win.
“Let’s win nationals,” head coach Pierre Alain said after the win.
Alain said the team’s spirits were high all week leading up to the win.
“[The] energy was good at practice, so they carried that energy on to the game today,” he said.
Sunday: 2-0 loss to Montreal
With injuries piling up, Carleton played Sunday’s game in Montreal with a short bench. Hayden Serniuk and forward Jenna Morais missed both weekend games and Thibault missed Sunday’s game after the hard hit on Friday.
Carleton looked tired and beat-up from puck drop. They mustered just three shots in the first period and four each in the second and third.
Twelve minutes into the second period, Carleton conceded their first goal off a rough defensive play. The Ravens turned over the puck in the neutral zone and as the Carabins came in on the attack, two Ravens headed to the bench for a change. Defender Samantha Andrews was unable to stop the shot as she got in between the goalie and the puck.
Five minutes later, the Carabins had the puck in the Carleton zone again. The Ravens were clustered at the centre of the ice, leaving two Carabins unguarded. Forward Camille Dumont received a pass at the blue line and with plenty of time took a shot that found its way through the screen and into the goal.
After the two Montreal goals, Carleton looked defeated. Montreal controlled the rest of the game en route to their 2-0 win.
Côté looked strong in net but injuries cost Carleton. The Ravens will look to get healthy by next weekend as they travel to Montreal for games against McGill and Concordia.
Featured image provided by Marc Lafleur/Carleton Ravens.
