It wasn’t the Alerts Cup performance the Carleton Ravens women’s hockey team wanted.
The Ravens (4-11) fell 4-1 in a tough loss to their cross-town rival uOttawa Gee-Gees (8-6) at the ninth Alerts Cup at TD Place on Saturday.
The Ravens have now lost five straight Alerts Cups — and have only won one — since the event started in 2004.
“I thought we started okay, but we certainly didn’t play the same game we had a couple weeks ago with transition,” Ravens head coach Stacey Colarossi said after the game.
“We can’t sit in the stands for two periods while we get our legs going.”
The Ravens, who were coming off a two-game win streak, got off to a hot start with great scoring chances and six shots in the first four minutes.
But after taking back-to-back penalties, the Gee-Gees capitalized on the power play as Gillian Warren walked into the slot and ripped one into the bottom right corner past Ravens goalie Kaitlyn Langille.
Five minutes later, Gee-Gees defenceman Ella Humphrey made it 2-0 in a two-on-one off a cross crease pass from Gillian Warren.
The Gee-Gees were leading the Ravens in shots 15-11 after the first period, but the Ravens were still getting chances and had a lot of shots that missed the net.
It was a quieter second period with just seven shots on either side. The Ravens had two power plays but were unable to convert — or even get a shot on net during the man advantage.
“If we’re not skating and willing to have good solid puck possession and make plays, you can’t force the power play,” Colarossi said.
“You just have to let the puck do the work, and right now, we’re fighting that.”
With 13 seconds left in the period, Gee-Gees forward Alex Ferguson finished a rebound chance on a wide-open net to give her squad a 3-0 lead going into the final frame.
In the third, TJ Flores beat Langille for another Gee-Gees power play goal.
It looked like the Ravens were going to be shut out for the fifth time this season until Erica Buckley scored her team-leading sixth of the year off a juicy rebound with five minutes left, ending the game 4-1.
The Ravens have lost their past four meetings with the Gee-Gees and haven’t beaten them since February 2024.
“I don’t think our bench was connected, and the whole team lacked connectivity today,” Colarossi said.
Langille was solid in the loss, making 40 of 44 shots.
Gee-Gees head coach Ali Domenico was happy with the much-needed win after dropping three of their last four previous games.
“It would have been honestly nice to get a couple more there, but their goalie played really well. We were really happy with our offensive chances and opportunities that we got.”
Domenico also pointed to Gee-Gees goalie Clara Genier, who stopped 30 of the Ravens’ 31 shots.
“She’s really stepped into her own this year, and we also have obviously Lauren Mooney as well who’s been playing some really good hockey,” Domenico said of her team’s goaltending. “We’re super lucky whoever’s between the pipes for us.”
“At the end of the day, it’s really about winning this game, and it feels so good. I’m so happy right now,” said Genier.
Colarossi said that her young squad might’ve been overwhelmed by the atmosphere of the Alerts Cup at TD Place Arena.
“It’s really loud, they can’t hear you on the bench, they can’t hear themselves. There’s just a lot.”
The Ravens will have over a month-long break to reset before returning to action against the Nipissing Lakers on Jan. 10.
Featured image by Simon McKeown/the Charlatan
