By: Jackson Starr
LENNOXVILLE | The Carleton Ravens fell 2-1 in overtime at the hands of the Bishop's Gaiters on Friday night, snapping the team's two-game winning streak.
It was a tightly contested, low-scoring game throughout with both goaltenders standing strong. Bishop's was able to fight for the win though, taking a close one on home ice.
The first period saw that back-and-forth action from both teams. Carleton generated some chances leading to Bishop's goaltender Agale Rene De Cotret making some big saves.
For her part, Ravens goaltender Marie-Eve Côté (Quebec City, Que.) also stood strong in keeping the Gaiters off the board in the first. Both teams traded power play opportunities as well, and the Ravens were able to generate some strong chances and push hard but couldn’t find the back of the net.
Goaltending and defence stood strong in what was a very even first period. The shot totals were knotted up at 10-10, with no score through 20 minutes of play.
Early on in the second the Gaiters generated some strong chances, but Côté once again had the Ravens' backs making some large saves, The Gaiters pushed on and after a power play opportunity, but as that went by the wayside neither team was still yet to break the 0-0 deadlock. After the Ravens settled into the long change of the second, Carleton was able to start pushing a bit more offensively, but credit Bishops for keeping pressure on the Ravens throughout the second with Carleton unable to get much going. Nonetheless, the even and low-scoring affair was through 40 minutes with no one yet to find the back of the net.
As the third rolled around, the Ravens were finally able to break through. Carleton’s leading scorer in Cecilia Lopez (Winnipeg. Mb.) picked up a nice pass off of a zone entry from Sandrine Hachez (Salaberry-De-Valleyfield, Que.) and rifled a shot that squeaked through Rene De Cotret. Lopez’s fourth of the season gave Carleton the 1-0 lead in the first minute of the third. As Bishop's started to push for the equalizer, Carleton was forced to try and kill off yet another penalty. The Ravens took a total of seven penalties on the night, with Carleton struggling to stay disciplined. With the clock ticking down, the Gaiters pulled their goalie and were able to get the equalizer on a late goal. Maude Pepin was able to beat Cote on a nice setup to tie the game up at 1-1. The game went to overtime after a hard-fought third.
In overtime, the Gaiters fed off momentum from the late goal and after drawing a penalty were able to net the winner. Justine Turcotte went high glove on Cote to give Bishop’s a 2-1 win. The great road effort just fell short for the Ravens.
This is Carleton's first overtime loss of the season but saw the team continue its point streak to three games after securing two wins last weekend. The Ravens will stay on the road and head to Montreal where it will face the Carabins on Sunday.
