Struggles continue for Ravens women’s hockey with losses to TMU, Laurier

The Carleton Ravens women’s hockey team opened the second half of the 2024-25 season with a 4-2 loss against the TMU Bold on Jan. 10 at the Ice House.

Coupled with with a shootout loss to the Laurier Golden Hawks the following night, the loss kept the Ravens stuck in the basement of the OUA East standings. As the season dwindles, Carleton sits five points out of a playoff spot as they head on the road this weekend for a rematch with TMU and the Toronto Varsity Blues.

Although the result on Jan. 10 was disappointing against a struggling Bold roster, Carleton assistant coach Celine Tardif said the team is learning some important lessons about what it takes to win. 

“With our girls, we try to preach the same message to follow the game plan and when we’re able to do that you can see how effective it is and it’s easier to buy in,” Tardif said. “I think our group is learning that, and unfortunately tonight we had to learn it the hard way.”

The Bold came out swinging and locked the Ravens in their own zone right from the beginning of the first period. TMU forward Payton Kerr opened the scoring halfway through the first frame on a breakaway, beating Ravens goaltender Kaitlyn Langille. 

Despite trailing early, the Ravens quickly found their footing in the latter half of the opening frame. Carleton got on the attack and built momentum off a goal from forward Victoria Kay only three minutes after going down. 

Another four minutes later, Kay assisted Carleton’s second goal from forward Olwen Jones for a 2-1 lead. Jones carried the puck through the neutral zone before cutting cross-ice and firing a quick wrister past Bold netminder Alexis Stratos.

“I just kind of picked up the puck and was looking for my teammates but didn’t really see anything, so I thought I might as well carry on with it,” Jones said. “I cut across the net and was lucky to find that spot.”

While the Ravens continued creating scoring opportunities through the third period, Stratos stood her ground and denied everything coming her way.

At the other end, her team capitalized on their own rush chances from blueliner Dayle Chinnick and forward Emily Baxter, giving them a 3-2 lead. Kerr’s second goal of the game on an empty Carleton net sealed the win for TMU.

The Ravens had the opportunity to get back in the win column the following night on Jan. 11 against the Golden Hawks, as a strong performance from Langille in net kept the score to 1-1 through regulation. However, the Ravens fell in the shootout as Laurier defender Brianna Bowman scored on back-to-back shots.

Featured photo by Marc Lafleur / Carleton Ravens