The Carleton Ravens women’s hockey team lost 4-1 to the Montreal Carabins on Nov. 20 in a game that was decided well before the final buzzer.
Goaltender Hailey Perreault had her first start of the season, and had little time to shake the rust off.
“I wanted to get in there and get a feel for the puck right away because it had been so long,” Perreault said after the game.
The Carabins tested Perreault early and often, sending 16 shots on net in the opening period.
The Ravens, meanwhile, were only capable of directing two shots on goal in 20 minutes.
Although being heavily outplayed, the Ravens were only down by one after the first.
The Ravens continued to struggle in the second period, with Perreault being pelted by plenty of shots but keeping the team in the game.
After the Carabins extended their lead to two, Audrey-Ann Boutour was able to cut the lead in half with the Ravens’ second shot of the period.
The goal electrified the crowd that had little to cheer about until that moment.
“It was a good bounce off the goalie—my two linemates crashed the net and the puck came back on my stick,” Boutour said. “It was a lucky bounce, but I’ll take it.”
The goal also ended the Ravens scoreless streak against the Carabins. They had been shutout in their two previous meetings this season.
In the third, the offence was unable to generate any momentum in search of an equalizer, while the Carabins were able to strike twice more to put the game out of reach for the Ravens.
The Ravens only managed to send seven shots on net while the Carabins registered 60 shots over the course of the game.
After the game, Ravens head coach Pierre Alain spoke highly of Perreault’s performance.
“I do remember last year when she started against Montreal, she was down 4-0 after ten minutes, and today she stood up the whole game. I’m impressed, she played well,” Alain said.
“I thought we played well as a team. If we compared it to last year, we’re really coming along. We are definitely improving and that’s all you can ask for,” Perreault said.
The Ravens will look to bounce back from the loss when they take on the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees on Nov. 27 at the Minto Sports Complex.
