The Carleton Ravens women’s hockey team fell further out of the playoff race after losses to the University of Ottawa (U of O) Gee-Gees and the Concordia University Stingers.
The Ravens fell to the Gee-Gees on the road 5-4 in overtime on Jan. 24. Ravens head coach Pierre Alain called it a “tough loss” but was pleased with the team’s effort.
Carleton took a 2-0 lead after a breakaway goal by forward Annie-Pier Tremblay and a shot from the point from defenceman Angelina Callocchia. It was Callocchia’s first career U Sports goal.
The U of O battled back to take a 3-2 lead before Carleton rallied to tie it through a Jenna Mitchell breakaway goal. The Ravens took the lead with eight minutes left in the third period when forward Shannon Pearson finished off a nice passing play.
“It was definitely a team play. We grabbed the puck, we took our time with it, we had patience and it executed into a goal,” Pearson said on the goal. “It was a very nice pass by Megan Wilson.”
Under a minute left, with the Ravens seemingly on their way to moving into a playoff spot, controversy struck. Gee-Gees’ forward Marimée Godbout-Parent poked the puck past Katelyn Steele with contact around the net. The referees huddled up to discuss whether or not the goal was good before confirming a good goal.
“I would say Katelyn was pushed into the net but at the end of the day, I don’t make those decisions,” Alain said on the call. “The referee told me the puck was in before they pushed the goalie—I didn’t agree with her but hey, she’s got the last decision.”
In overtime, the U of O’s Melodie Bouchard scored her second of the game to end it.
“We have to clean up those one-on-ones defensively—we got beat a couple of times one-on-one,” Alain said. “We know they got a speedy player in Bouchard and we can’t let her go, and she can make the difference and that’s what she did today.”
Despite the loss, Pearson was optimistic going forward.
“It definitely doesn’t push us back,” she said. “It just keeps pushing us forward because it shows us that we can play and that we are playing as a team and as a unit, and it keeps us going.”
The fourth-year forward said the team’s resiliency is the reason she feels this year is the year to break the playoff drought.
“I think the biggest one was coming back,” Pearson said. “We got scored on and we came right back. It wasn’t like we got on our heels. It was like they scored and we answered and we answered again. It was a momentum shift forward.”
The Ravens lost to the Stingers 5-2 on Jan. 27 while the U of O beat the University of Montréal Carabins 3-2 the previous night. Ravens rookie goaltender Alexandra Lehmann got her first regular season start, as goals by forwards Taylor Killip and Katia Boulianne weren’t enough for the victory.
The Ravens now sit three points back of their cross-town rivals for the final playoff spot. Carleton takes on the Stingers again at the Ice House on Feb. 1.
“We need to make points,” Alain said. “That’s the message.”
