The Carleton Ravens women’s hockey team finished last in the Réseau du Sport Étudiant de Québec (RSEQ) standings for the fourth straight year, but Ravens head coach Pierre Alain said there are positives to take away and expressed hope for next season.
“We have competed [better] this year,” Alain said. “We have battled and now we are at the point where any given day we can be at any team in our division.We got some points against every single team. The progression and improvement was very good in many aspects was very good.”
This season, the Ravens finished with a record of 4-14-2. The Ravens earned a pair of wins early in the season with a 3-2 win over the defending U SPORTS champion Montreal Carabins in their home opener on Oct. 23, then defeated the eventual U SPORTS silver medalist McGill Martlets a week later.
All of the Ravens’ success came at home, as they were 4-5-1 at the Ice House, but 0-9-1 on the road.
Despite this, Alain said he is not dwelling on the negatives.
“We are losing two third-years and two fifth-years that were great assets on our team but we work hard on recruitment,” Alain said. “We are adding six new players, five forwards and one new defence.”
“Recruiting is going very well . . . At our level recruiting is a big, big factor so now we are looking for 2018 and I have talked with some very interesting and very good players,” he said.
One of the graduating players, Tawnya Guindon, was the captain of the team the past two seasons, but Alain said he expects other leaders to come forward in the dressing room.
“We have some good leaders in the dressing room some will step up for sure,” he said. “We have three assistant captains, Valerie Bouillion, Leah Scott, and Katelyn Steele from this past year, but there are also some other leaders that I am sure will emerge and step up.”
For the second straight season, Ravens goaltender Katelyn Steele was named an RSEQ Second Team all-star, and Alain said she gives the team a chance to win every night.
“With the experience that the first and second years got, we will be a very good team again and be able to compete against every team,” Alain said, “The future looks bright for a young and growing team.”
– Photo is provided.
