The Carleton Ravens women’s hockey team continued to struggle, falling to the McGill University Martlets 5-1 at home Jan. 11.
With the victory, the Martlets showed why they are ranked no. 1 in the country as the only undefeated team.
They put up three goals in the first period against the Ravens, building a lead that was never lost.
The Ravens did not help their own case to snap a nine-game regular season losing streak. Head coach Shelley Coolidge said penalties were a problem for the home side.
“Against the top team in the country we cannot afford to spend as much time in the box as we did,” Coolidge said.
Coming out in the second period, it looked as though the Martlets would continue to run over the home team, scoring another early period goal to bring Carleton’s deficit to four goals.
The marker forced Coolidge to change goaltenders, as Ravens starter Tamber Tisdale was relieved by back-up Eri Kiribuchi. The Ravens held the Martlets score-free the remainder of the period following the goaltending change.
But the third period saw more of the same from both teams. The squads continued to battle back and forth with both teams taking multiple penalties.
The Ravens killed off a penalty halfway through the final frame, before pushing the puck up the ice to fifth-year forward Victoria Gouge, who put the puck through the legs of McGill goaltender Andrea Weckman for Carleton’s lone tally of the game.
The Martlets put the game away late in the third with a shorthanded goal that made the score 5-1. Fourth-year McGill forward Leslie Oles scored a hat-trick in the match.
With the loss, the Ravens fell to 1-9-3 and currently sit at the bottom of the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) standings.
The 16-0 Martlets will return to Ottawa to play the Ravens again Jan. 18.
Coolidge said she remained optimistic about the Ravens’ chances despite the 5-1 final.
“One of the things that we can build from off of in this game is the fact that we got better with every period,” she said.
With a rematch looming, Gouge said her goal meant more than what showed on the scoreboard.
“It reminds everyone that we can actually score against these teams,” she said. “We’ve just got to come out hard.”
