A late season turnaround by Carleton’s women’s hockey team has helped the Ravens secure the fourth and final playoff spot in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ).
Riding a three-game winning streak, after snapping their six-game losing streak Feb. 12, the Ravens faced off against the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees Feb. 20 at the Ice House, in both teams’ regular season finales.
A win in regulation time by the Gee-Gees would have sent them to playoffs, leaving the Ravens out of the post-season action. But instead, the Ravens kept the pressure on their crosstown rivals throughout the game and came out on top, winning 2-1 and eliminating the Gee-Gees in the process.
“I just wanted this one so bad,” fourth-year centre Claudia Bergeron said. “It’s been three years in a row that the last game has been against Ottawa U, so it feels really great to win this one.”
Bergeron gave the Ravens a 1-0 lead midway through the first period after converting a pass from captain Sara Seiler. She also assisted on fourth-year defenceman Melanie McKnight’s powerplay marker in the second period.
“[Bergeron] was outstanding,” Ravens head coach Shelley Coolidge said. “She’s been a real leader on this team in terms of how she competes and plays, and I was happy for her today [with] the way she played. She had quality scoring opportunities for us for sure.”
As per usual, rookie goaltender Victoria Powers was strong in net for the Ravens at the other end of the ice.
Powers would only be beaten once in the second period, when the Gee-Gees jammed in a rebound with less than five minutes to go in the middle frame. After the goal, however, Powers turned away the rest of the Gee-Gees’ shots, including 17 in the third period alone.
“[Powers], since she’s got the start here, has come in and each game has gotten a little bit more confident,” Coolidge said. “You see her get out of the paint and challenge the shooters and she’s fighting for any loose pucks around the net and she’s either chipping them away or pulling them in tight.”
Powers’ play in the final period prevented a number of surefire goals from the Gee-Gees. In the final five minutes of play, Powers came up with a handful of glove saves to keep the Ravens ahead until the final buzzer.
“It’s a huge relief and I’m really proud of our athletes,” Coolidge said of the win. “The girls are practicing just as hard as they were before, with a little bit more of an edge and an air of confidence. And it’s great for us to take the next step.”
That next step will be a first-round playoff match-up against the first-place McGill Martlets. The Ravens lost every regular season game to McGill, but Coolidge said she is confident her team has it in them to beat the Martlets.
“Our team’s very confident,” Coolidge said. “They know that the [Martlets] are beatable and it’s about us putting our best game on the ice for sure . . . and I don’t think we’ve done that yet.”
“We can’t give them any chances. We’re going to have to be first on the puck and then never give up,” Bergeron said. “It’s going to take everything to beat McGill, that’s for sure.”