The Carleton Ravens women’s hockey team was defeated twice in a two-game set played Oct. 31 and Nov. 2 in Montreal.
The Ravens played the Université de Montréal Carabins Oct. 31, losing by a score of 8-0. This came after a loss of 6-0 in the previous week to the same team.
Ravens defenseman Julianne Bruce said the major challenge of the Carabins was their speed, making it difficult to catch up once they had gained the lead.
“When it’s a team like Montreal, like they’re really fast and they’re really strong so they play a pretty quick-paced game so if you get down early it’s hard to get up again,” she said.
Ravens head coach Pierre Alain said even though the loss was discouraging, goaltender Haley Perrault’s performance was solid, especially considering the number of shots she faced.
“We were beat 8-0. I would say for us that the highlight of the night Friday was [Perrault]. She was very good, even though she gave eight goals, she was very good,” Alain said. “They shot 55 times, and she gave eight goals out of 55 shots, and she made a lot of good saves.”
Alain said the team’s loss could be credited in part to distraction.
“I think focus was an issue, especially the game on Friday. It was Halloween, and most people were going out and having fun and we were on a bus to Montreal for the night,” Alain said.
The team lost by a smaller margin of 4-2 to the Concordia Stingers on Nov. 2.
Bruce said the team worked on a lot of things that were proving a challenge to them in previous games.
“We had a lot of shots, which is something I know our team has struggled with in the past,” she said. “We don’t generate enough shots, which doesn’t lead to enough scoring chances, and that’s definitely proved this weekend.”
Alain said the team needs to work on their puck skills in upcoming games.
“We need to work on our basic skills and definitely everything we have to do with the puck. Everything to do with the puck–handling, shooting, passing,” he said.
With a record of 1-3, the Ravens women’s hockey team has already matched its 2013-14 season total for wins, with the lone victory courtesy of Carleton’s first regular season game last year against the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.
The Ravens will face off against the Stingers again on Nov. 8, before taking on the Martlets Nov. 9.
