The Ravens women’s hockey team beat the University of Ottawa (U of O) Gee-Gees 5-2 in the Alerts Cup on Nov. 16 for their first win of the regular season.
It also marked the first time this season the Ravens scored multiple power play goals in one game.
“It’s awesome,” Ravens captain Leah Scott said. “We haven’t won a game yet so it’s double the excitement.”
The game is named after the Ottawa Alerts, one of the first competitive women’s clubs in Ottawa from 1915-1917.
“The energy was good. The effort was good,” Ravens head coach Pierre Alain said. “We made simple plays and they worked so hard.”
It was played in the morning at the U of O’s Minto Sports Complex and was designated to be a school day game. However, due to the snow, many students were unable to attend.
Carleton took a 1-0 lead halfway through the first period as Ravens defenceman Jennifer Semkowski found fourth-year forward Jamie Wainman on a breakaway.
Wainman skated fast towards the net, before stopping and deking the puck past Gee-Gees goalie Maude Lévesque-Ryan.
“I worked on that move for a long time so I knew when I had a breakaway that was what I was going to do,” Wainman said.
“I’ve never been more excited in my life,” Scott said on the goal. “I shouted so loud—I saw stars. So, it was so good to see her score that.”
It was the second goal of the season for Wainman after not scoring at all in her first three seasons at Carleton. She scored her first ever U Sports goal in the Ravens’ 5-1 loss to the Concordia University Stingers on Nov. 4.
“It just feels like a monkey off your back and good to get it off with,” Wainman said. She had played defence as well as forward before coming to Carleton. She is also in her final season at Carleton.
“It’s been a long time,” she said. “It’s kinda scary [that it’s] coming to an end but hopefully we can have a few more games like this today.”
The Gee-Gees led Carleton 8-5 in shots on goal after one period as Ravens forward Hannah Dinovitzer missed the net in a clear-cut opportunity at the first-period buzzer.
The Gee-Gees continued to get chances in the second period. They were stopped on a two-on-one shorthanded chance by Ravens goalie Katelyn Steele. Carleton went the other way as Katia Boulianne tipped in a shot in front of the net.
The Gee-Gees cut into the lead with a goal from forward Alexe Drouin who directed a pass past Steele. As the Gee-Gees pushed for the equalizer, both teams engaged in numerous scrums around Steele’s net.
Ravens defenceman Nicole Allison added to the lead with a wrist shot past Levesque-Ryan with just over five minutes left in the second period. It was Carleton’s second power-play goal of the game despite being outshot by their opponents 19-11 after two periods.
The game marks three power-play goals for Carleton this season after starting last season zero-for-52 on the man advantage.
The Gee-Gees continued to press for the equalizer in the third period as they drew a power play but were unable to capitalize on it. The scrums in front of the net continued in the third period as the home side continued to press the Ravens’ net.
First-year Ravens forward Amy Doherty said the team’s closeness off the ice has also translated on the ice.
“We’re so close with our goalies that if someone even goes near them, it makes us so upset,” she said. “If someone hits one of our girls, it just makes us so mad because that’s our best friend out there.”
Steele came up with numerous saves to keep the lead, including a couple with her mask. The Gee-Gees pulled Lévesque-Ryan for the empty net with over five minutes remaining in the third period while on the power play.
Scott added a goal to make it 4-1 shortly afterward, firing the puck into the empty net but the Gees-Gees answered immediately with a goal by Andrea Elia.
Carleton added another empty-net goal from forward Shannon Pearson to make it 5-2 and put the game out of reach. The Gee-Gees players thought they had scored another goal to make it 5-3 with just over two minutes remaining but it was waived off by the referees.
They celebrated on the ice with the trophy.
Doherty recalled going to games between the Gee-Gees and Ravens growing up. She called it “a dream” to play in the rivalry game.
Scott added that she didn’t expect they would get a trophy.
“It was crazy,” Scott said. “Even when we win games, it’s exciting but having a trophy and everything is extreme. We were just standing there like: ‘what do we do with it?’”
The Ravens take on the McGill University Martlets at the Ice House on Nov. 17.
Photo By Tim Austen
