Two of Carleton’s women’s varsity hockey players participated in the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario’s third annual celebrity pickup hockey game Jan. 31 to mark the official start of Heart Month in Ottawa.
Victoria Gouge and Olivia Sutter represented the Ravens on the Heart Checkers, the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s team, along with two University of Ottawa women’s varsity players and both male and female local media personalities.
The Heart Checkers were the home team, facing off against the Ottawa Police Services’ all-male team, the Blues. The Blues won the game 6-4.
“It’s what we do, it’s what we love to do, so we might as well get some benefit out of it,” Sutter said.
Gouge added she thought it was a good cause and the idea sounded interesting when Carleton’s head coach, Shelley Coolidge, forwarded an email from the game’s organizer asking a few Ravens to attend.
Jessica Scarlato, the game’s organizer, said the foundation wanted to create a fun community to kick off Heart Month and that included inviting university-level hockey players.
“[Hockey] is really a sport that we find affects us a lot as far as heart-related events are concerned. We’ve been working really hard over the past many years to make sure that [automated external defibrillators] are available in all the hockey rinks,” said Jeanna Andre-Murdie, the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s community engagement manager in Ottawa.
“Not only that, hockey is just a great, fun, Canadian winter event,” she added.
The game was fun, Gouge and Sutter said.
Sutter scored the second goal for the Heart Checkers during the first of two 25-minute periods. The puck bounced off the palm of the goalie’s glove and arched above his shoulder.
Sutter, 5’2”, also worked hard to push taller, bulkier policemen off the puck, fighting hard along the boards.
She participated in the half-time show as the third player on the Heart Checker’s relay team in a game designed by Ottawa Paramedic Services.
In the relay, the first player had to skate to a dummy and perform chest compressions on it. The next player had to bring a portable defibrillator to the dummy. The third player had to attach the defibrillator and the fourth had to start it up.
Gouge said she and Sutter had to make adjustments to play with their temporary team, as both played defense during the game, but they felt they played well.
In particular, they enjoyed winning medals for their second-place finish, they said.
“We haven’t gotten a medal since elementary school, so it was fun,” said Gouge.