Carleton’s women’s ringette team hopes their win at the Gloucester & Area Adult Ringette Association (GAARA) championships last weekend will bump them into a higher division and onto the radar of Carleton athletics.
Currently, Carleton competes in the association’s B1 Division. They defeated the Rockland Shakers in an exciting 5-4 overtime win April 1 to capture the championship.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the team,” said forward Alyssa Hodgson, who put Carleton ahead late in the third period before the Shakers responded to send the game to overtime. “We’ve come such a long way; it’s really exciting.”
With the win, in which Carleton managed to erase an early three-goal deficit, the team hopes they can move up to the A Division, where they would play against stronger teams like the University of Ottawa. Playing in the second division isn’t challenging enough, Hodgson said.
“In the beginning of the season, we were beating teams by seven and that doesn’t help you improve,” she said. “I think if we went up [to the first division], we’d fall in the middle of the pack.”
Playing in the association’s top division would not only help help Carleton’s ringette players improve their skills, but it would also help bring more exposure to the sport itself, Hodgson said.
“Ringette’s always taken a back seat to hockey,” she said. “Carleton lets us wear the Raven on our jerseys but that’s it. We don’t get ice time, we don’t get anything. We just want them to recognize us.”
After a win at another tournament, team member Mary McCooeye said the team wanted to hang their banner in the Ice House. Months later, the banner has yet to be hung.
Playing more advanced opponents would also help them prepare for the University Challenge Cup. At the tournament, the women play teams from McMaster, Laurier, the University of Western Ontario, Brock, and many other Canadian universities. In just its second year of existence, Carleton finished third in the tournament.
Both girls agree more ice time would be most beneficial to the team. In Ottawa, where more and more kids are signing up for sports with skates, ice time is limited and more expensive. Carleton doesn’t give the team any discounts or money.
“One hour of ice time can be upwards of $300,” McCooeye said. “Anything from Carleton would help.”
