The Carleton Ravens women’s hockey team hosted two pre-season games this week, falling 5-2 to the Cap Jeunesse Cougars high school team on Thursday night, then cruising to a 7-0 win over Bishop’s Gaitors on Saturday.
On Thursday, the Ravens played well through two periods, and went to the dressing room with a 2-1 lead. The Cougars pounced on the Raven early in the third, however, tying the game just 24 seconds into the period.
“I was still pretty pleased at that time, the way we battled and worked,” said Ravens coach Pierre Alain after the game. “But two little mistakes cost us the third and fourth of their goals, so I was a little disappointed about that.”
The Cougars scored their fifth goal on an empty net.
“Overall I was pleased with the way we skated with this team,” Alain said.
Alain also said he was happy with the defensive zone coverage throughout the game, an area his team has worked to improve this pre-season.
Jen Semkowski and Audrey-Ann Boutour led the way offensively for the Ravens while Katelyn Steele and Hailey Perreault split time in goal.
Saturday was a much different story for the Ravens, this time dominating play from start to finish.
Tawnya Guindon opened the scoring for the Ravens less than two minutes into the game, while Hannah Dinoviteer and Boutour also found the back of the net to give the Ravens a 3-0 lead with only four shots on goal, five minutes into the game.
Carleton’s offense continued to thrive in the second. Nicole Miners deflected a puck into the net early in the period, then Sidney Weiss pumped back-to-back goals to earn a commanding 6-0 lead.
Becky Davidson finished off the scoring for the Ravens in the third period while Arden Earhart earned the shutout in goal.
“Our team played together well, and we were able to control the game,” said Ravens defender Robyn Belland. “We took the chance after having the lead to work on team systems and prepare for our regular season games.”
Coach Alain said he was pleased with his teams performance after the game, noting his teams ability to share the puck and generate scoring chances.
“Quite a difference from last year,” he said, while noting the team features 14 first year players on the roster this season. “Looks like the future is promising.”
The Ravens hit the ice for another preseason tune-up on Sept. 26 versus York at the Carleton Ice House.
