The Carleton Ravens women’s hockey team entered the Ice House on Oct. 25 seeking their first win of the season against the Concordia Stingers, and when the final buzzer sounded the following night against the McGill Martlets, that coveted win still eluded them.
Having lost against the Stingers in a disappointing 6-2 effort and then falling 2-0 to the Martlets in a much tighter affair, the Ravens now boast an 0-3 record with lessons to be learned.
“That was not a very good game,” head coach Pierre Alain put bluntly on Friday night after the loss to the Stingers.
In the first game, Concordia, a small and speedy team sitting undefeated atop the division standings, hit the ice flying against the Ravens from the first whistle.
They dominated the first 20-minutes, scarcely leaving the offensive zone and scoring three unanswered goals. Two tallies came from forward Audrey Belzile, the latter being the gorgeous result of her zigzagging through the Carleton defence and zipping a forehand finish past Carleton netminder Marie-Eve Cote.
Revitalized after the intermission, the Ravens burst onto the ice blazing in the second, led by first-year forward Jenna Morais who potted her first career U Sports goal 19 seconds into the frame.
Receiving a bank pass along the side wall, Morais capitalized on the ensuing partial breakaway by lasering the puck high glove-side on Concordia goalie Alice Philbert.
The Ravens stayed competitive for the rest of the period, allowing the 4-1 marker from Rosalie Begin-Cyr, but retaliating less than two minutes later thanks to a goal from veteran Jenna Mitchell. Concordia would add one more goal before the buzzer however, gripping the Ravens in a 5-2 stranglehold heading into the third.
The lead would prove unopposed with Belzile’s hat-trick goal cementing the 6-2 victory. Musing on their loss, Alain reproached the Ravens’ defensive zone play and emphasized skating as a crucial improvement to be made in upcoming games.
“You’ve got to skate the distance if you want to protect the house,” Alain explained. “They went at our goalie… [and] we were outskated in our end.”
Captain Leah Scott reiterated the significance of these “defensive breakdowns” and added that in the future the team needs to loosen up if they want to succeed.
“We’ve played amazing games all preseason and then the second we get to our league everyone clams up and worries more than they should … I think a lot of people are just gripping their sticks a little too hard,” she said.
If a lack of confidence ailed the Ravens Friday night, they were evidently cured by the time the puck dropped against McGill on Saturday.
Despite playing against another deft team with a dynamite goalie in Tricia Deguire, the Ravens confronted the challenges with an electric start.
The first period was tense, each team trading terrific opportunities but failing to notch a goal.
The stalemate then extended deep into the second frame until McGill forward Sidonie Chard finally snapped it with less than two minutes remaining in the period. Pouncing on an uncleared rebound in the slot, Chard squeaked the puck just over Alexandre Lehmann’s pad to close the period with a 1-0 lead.
Hungry to restore the tie, the Ravens absolutely assailed Deguire with offence in the third, outshooting the Martlets 13-5. Despite two promising power play opportunities, they simply could not solve a steady Deguire and ultimately lost the game 2-0 once Emilia Cotter added an empty net goal to seal it.
Alain, however, saw more positives in the loss than he did the previous night.
“We were more aggressive, they didn’t walk in the house easy today,” Alain noted, also commending the team for creating offensive opportunities on the powerplay.
Regarding improvements however, Alain considered their breakout on Saturday to be subpar, specifically criticizing reckless puck-carriers.
“They have to be more aware of what’s going on around them, look quicker, pass quicker … they have to be accountable, reliable and responsible.”
Ultimately, however, Alain attributed their competitiveness to Lehmann, whom he deemed “outstanding” in net. Lehmann, reflecting her composure in the crease, was pleased with her performance despite the loss.
“It was really fun,” Lehmann said after the game. “That’s my main take on it … if you stop the puck it’s doing the job.”
Still seeking that first win but endowed with both positives and negatives to address in practice, the Ravens play again on Nov. 3 against the University of Ottawa at the Ice House.
Feature image by Spencer Colby.
