The Carleton Ravens women’s hockey team dropped their fifth straight game, falling to the cross-town rival the University of Ottawa (U of O) Gee-Gees 3-2 at home on Dec. 1.
The Ravens held a 2-1 lead heading into the third period, but could not hold on for the win. The team remains in last place in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec standings with a 3-7 record.
The visitors struck first five minutes into the opening period as U of O forward Alyssa MacMillan fired home a shot from the slot that slid past Ravens goalie Katelyn Steele.
Ravens forward Shannon Pearson went one-on-one with a defender, and snapped a shot, which was stopped by U of O goalie Maude Levesque-Ryan. Steele followed this up with a blocked shot from Niki Boardman to keep the score at 1-0.
Ravens forward Hannah Dinovitzer scored her first of the season off a turnover behind the U of O net to tie the game. The Ravens continued their strong period, leading their opponents 12-10 in shots after the first period.
Carleton had an early chance to break the deadlock in the second period as Annie-Pier Tremblay deked in and missed the net with a backhand shot. The U of O’s Roxanne Rioux also missed the net after pouncing on a Ravens’ turnover.
The home side was unable to capitalize on two power plays—the only two power plays of the game. Steele continued her solid play, stopping Alex Drouin on a two-on-one break-away with just under six minutes remaining.
Then came the Ravens’ breakthrough: Katia Boulianne. She skated down the right side and lifted a hard pass towards the centre of the net, where Dinovitzer tipped it in for her second goal. The Ravens ended the period on top in both shots (22-19) and goals.
The lead wouldn’t last long as U of O defenseman Cassidy Herman scored off a rebound in the slot to make it 2-2.
With just over three minutes remaining, the Gee-Gees stuck the dagger in as Shanie Deschatelets put in a rebound. The Ravens called a timeout and pulled Steele for an extra attacker, but were unable to recover.
“It seems like I’ve been repeating those words forever: this team worked very hard. They battled—33-24 the shots on goal for us—and we scored two, and [a] bad bounce and they scored a third goal,” Ravens head coach Pierre Alain said.
Alain also praised Dinovitzer’s two-goal performance.
“She works so hard, she deserves it,” he said. “She’s a hard worker . . . very proud of her. Her improvement and her progression since she’s been here, it’s been amazing.”
Alain said there needs to be emphasis placed on improving the team’s offence.
“We just need one more goal per game and we’re right there,” he said. “That’s the only difference.”
Photo by Dan Robertson
