The Carleton Ravens women’s hockey beat the visiting McGill Martlets 3-1 on Nov. 10.
It was the Ravens’ first game after a long two-week break as both sides traded chances in a scoreless first period. Carleton forward Hannah Dinovitzer hit the post five minutes in while McGill’s Stephanie Desjardins’ shot missed wide in front of the net shortly afterwards.
Ravens forward Katia Boulianne was stopped by Martlets goalie Tricia Deguire on a two-on-one break as McGill outshot Carleton 9-6 after the first 20 minutes.
The Martlets opened the scoring as defenseman Cassidy Bell’s point shot snuck in past goalie Katelyn Steele through traffic two minutes into the second period. McGill continued peppering Carleton with shots from the blue line but Steele and her teammates were able to hold them off.
Carleton’s Jenna Mitchell notched her second goal of the season as she raced for a loose puck along the boards, continued into the zone, and beat Deguire to tie the game at one.
The Ravens were unable to take advantage of a four-minute power play as McGill’s Sidonie Chard was penalized for a check to the head eight minutes into the second.
With five minutes remaining in the period, Ravens defenseman Jordan Beshara cut into the zone and drove to the net but her shot was stopped by Deguire. However, Shannon Pearson quickly tapped in the rebound on the doorstep to give Carleton its first lead of the game.
The Ravens’ defensive play remained solid, limiting McGill’s scoring chances despite being outshot 36-21. Steele stopped Shana Walker on two separate occasions in front of the net in the third holding the Ravens’ one goal lead.
With Carleton’s Halle Bodnarchuk in the penalty box for holding with 13 minutes left in the game, Steele gloved a wrister by the Martlets’ Olivia Atkinson.
McGill pulled Deguire for an empty net with under two minutes remaining and shortly afterwards, Boulianne lifted a shot in from outside Carleton’s blue line into the empty McGill net.
“Sixty minutes of hard work by everyone and when everyone works hard in their role then we can be successful and we were successful,” Ravens head coach Pierre Alain said after the game.
Alain credited assistant coach Lyne Landry and the players for the successful penalty kill as Carleton killed off all five McGill power plays.
“We worked on [penalty kills]. That was one of our main goals,” he said of the team’s two week break.
He also explained their defensive structure, particularly important in keeping the lead.
“You have to be smart. You have to manage the puck smart,” Alain said. “You always have to own the middle: stay in the middle and force the other team on the wall. That’s one of our primary principles.”
Despite the victory, Alain said there’s still work to be done on improving the power play. The Ravens were 0-4 on the man advantage.
With the victory, the Ravens are now 3-2 and third in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec conference while McGill remains in last with a record of 1-4.
The Ravens’ next game is a rematch with the Martlets as they travel to Montreal on Nov. 18.
Photo by Trevor Swann
