If you happen to examine the fingertips of any particularly anxious Ravens hockey fans after this weekend, expect some raw, bloodied nubs because both games were absolute nail-biters.
Despite coming close, Carleton dropped both their games on the weekend, losing in a 3-2 overtime heartbreaker against the University of Ottawa on Friday before a 2-1 loss at home to the Montreal Carabins on Sunday.
Major praise for the tight contests is owed to Bethan and Megan Wilson, the two sisters scoring every Ravens goal this weekend. However, head coach Pierre Alain, lauded the entire team for procuring a point against uOttawa.
“It was a total team effort, same as last game,” said Alain, referring to last weekend’s first win of the season against McGill.
Sustaining this intensity translated to plentiful penalties from both sides, as 18 infractions occurred in total throughout the game.
The first goal, however, came when Gee-Gees forward Sophie Gareau popped a snapshot past Carleton goaltender Marie-Eve Cote for the 1-0 lead.
Post whistle scuffles, finished checks and four-on-four galore ensued in the second period, culminating in a scary moment for Ravens defenceman Angelina Callocchia. She collided with a Gee-Gee while exiting her zone and crumpled against the boards, injuring her left leg. Callocchia was assisted off the ice and did not dress on Sunday.
In the third, the Ravens avenged their injured teammate with the equalizer. A crucial blocked shot from Ravens forward Katia Boulianne sprung the rush, who dished the puck over to Megan Wilson at the blueline. Wilson then lofted a backhand past Aurelie Dubuc for her first goal of the season, tying the game 1-1.
Carleton appeared to be holding on, until calamity struck. The Ravens pulled goaltender Cote for the extra attacker. In possession of the puck, Carleton played a cross-ice pass, but it ricocheted off a skate in their own end and slid into the empty net.
The fluke pulled uOttawa ahead 2-1, but the Ravens capitalized on their powerplay with a mere 28 seconds left on the clock. Following her own rebound off the glass, Bethan Wilson stuffed the puck high past Dubuc for her first goal of the season and evened the score 2-2.
Despite their resounding third period effort, the Gee-Gees broke ahead in overtime, when uOttawa’s leading goal-scorer Alice Fillion redirected a low shot from the high slot, past Cote for the victory. The Gee-Gees won 3-2, but the Ravens salvaged a single point from the whirlwind affair.
“All those points you can get on the road are precious,” Alain commented.
“We played a really good second and third period, we started to push the pace… but we needed 60 minutes instead of 40.”
Minutes later, a sublime pass from Dubois met Joannie Garand’s blade in the slot, who chipped the puck high past Cote’s blocker to make it 2-0.
“It’s tough… we didn’t come out in the first period and that’s when they scored their two goals,” said Megan Wilson after the game.
In the second period, the Ravens shifted gears to match last game’s intensity levels. Spurred on by an acrobatic glove save by Cote, Carleton poured on the pressure.
Seeming untouchable in possesion, the Wilson sisters occupied the point on the powerplay and fed each other passes until Megan Wilson launched an absolute rocket past Aube Racine’s glove to make it 2-1.
The entire third period was white-knuckled for both sides. Despite a late surge from the Ravens, Montreal protected their lead until the end to reap the 2-1 victory.
“It’s such a rush when you get to go out in those last few minutes,” Wilson added, who led the charge in the dying seconds. “But … why couldn’t we have done that in the first period?”
A complete 60 minutes will be essential when Carleton plays their next game against undefeated Concordia on Nov. 22.
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
