As a fifth-year criminology student, Carleton Ravens women’s hockey goaltender Katelyn Steele is nearing the end of her Carleton career—and she knows it.
She called the idea of entering of her final campaign “sad and scary all at once,” speaking after a 4-1 loss to the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees on Sept. 6.
Steele played half the game and—like countless times before—kept the score close with her numerous saves and her team being outshot.
The goalie from Markham arrived at Carleton the same season as head coach Pierre Alain in 2014. It was a rebuilding year then, as she was one of 14 new arrivals. Now, she’s the only one remaining.
“It’s crazy to look back and think that four years or five years ago, I started my first year and it feels like time just flew by,” she reflected. “There’s so many good times and so many memories that we have and it’s just weird to look back on it and it makes you emotional when you do.”
She pointed out one moment in particular: the first time in her career the Ravens beat the powerhouse McGill Martlets, featuring Canadian Olympian Mélodie Daoust, during her second season.
During that game, Steele stopped 35 shots as Carleton prevailed 1-0.
“It was just a huge thing for this program and a huge game for our team in general,” she said.
Since then, Steele has racked up individual accolades, being named a Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) conference all-star twice. Alain has called her “the heart of the team.”
She played in 17 out of 20 games last season and all three of the Ravens’ wins—including another one over McGill last November.
However, Steele has yet to make the playoffs. If she does this year, she says, “it would just be unbelievable.”
“It would be huge to work five years and finally make the playoffs,” she continues.
“Everything would just pay off, just making the playoffs. Every little moment, every practice, every game that we’ve lost.” she said.
Last season, the Ravens started strong, winning three of the first five games before ending the season winless.
“Every year that we’ve had this team or every year that we’ve been here, it’s been you know you have the skill,” she said.
“We have the talent to do it and something always gets to us and we drop off in the second half.”
With a number of new additions and returning players, Steele is optimistic the team can do so this year—her final year.
“With this team this year, it just feels like we have the power to go through a whole season and not drop off,” she added. “I think if we were able to do that, that would be big in itself and a really big accomplishment for us.”
Steele is undecided about her future. She said she is looking for jobs given her degree in criminology and criminal justice. This year may not only mark the end of her Ravens tenure but her playing career.
“It’s going to be a big difference, a whole new chapter after this year and kind of getting away from hockey is going to be a really big change for me, but I think I’m just going to enjoy every last minute I can,” she said.
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