It was a tough weekend road trip for the Carleton Ravens women’s hockey team.
Losses to both the Concordia Stingers and the Université de Montréal Carabins have dropped the Ravens to a 3-11 record in their 2014-15 Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) season.
The weekend began with a night game for the Ravens, taking the ice against Concordia on Jan. 23. The Stingers came out firing on all cylinders, and left the rink with a 6-1 win.
Ravens forward Chelsea Levesque said it was her squad’s start that led to their eventual downfall.
“We struggled a lot with keeping our men in the defensive zone,” she said. “After the first period, we did a better job regrouping and figuring it out.”
Danielle Scarlett got the Stingers on the board early, with a power-play goal that would set the tone of the game. The Stingers had three power-play goals on the night.
“We didn’t show up ready to play,” Levesque said. “The bus ride there was definitely different than it usually is. We were a lot less talkative and a lot less focused, and that showed in the game.”
The Ravens were out-shot 33-22. Goaltender Katelyn Steele was pulled after allowing four goals on 12 shots, and was assigned the loss.
After a day off on Saturday, the Ravens took aim at the Carabins, travelling to the island of Montreal on Jan. 25.
The first-place Carabins had their way with the Ravens, taking the game by a score of 9-0.
While the Ravens were pummeled on the scoreboard, Levesque found some positives in her team’s effort.
“We need to focus on doing the little things right, and we did later in the game against Montreal,” she said. “We aren’t a super-talented team, but if we work hard, then we can beat these teams.”
The Ravens allowed four goals in the first 20 minutes of play, but held the Carabins to one goal in the second period. This play gives the Ravens something to build on, Levesque said.
Ravens goaltenders Steele and Hailey Perreault were pelted with 45 shots in the game. Additionally, the Ravens took 16 minutes in penalties, in heavy contrast to the Carabins’ four minutes.
The Ravens will have their work cut out for them in their next match-up, as they travel back to Montreal to face the McGill Martlets.
McGill is currently in a battle with the Montreal Carabins for first place in the RSEQ standings.
Levesque said she sees the battle against McGill as a game they can win.
“We need to get a lot of shots on net,” she said. “As we discovered last game, McGill’s goalie is their biggest weakness.”
The game will take place Jan. 31 at McConnell Arena.
