December 1, 2022 - Ravens Sports Information (Photo: Marc Lafleur)
OTTAWA - The Carleton Ravens will finish 2022 4-7-2 following a 4-0 loss to the Université de Montréal Carabins on Thursday night.
The Ravens found themselves in a relatively even matchup through forty minutes despite being outshot 29-15. The lopsided shot count was not a reflection of the game's early pace, but in fact more an indicator of special teams. In the first two periods, the Ravens found themselves shorthanded four times to the Carabins one.
Despite battling hard to kill penalties and rebuild moment the Ravens quickly found themselves behind the start the third when the puck stuck in wet ice along the goal line leaving Audrey-Anne Veillet wide open in front to open the scoring.
Less than three minutes later, the Carabins would finally capitalize on a powerplay as Veillet would once again fire one past Ravens starter Marie-Êve Côté. Veillet, who entered the contest with a slim one-goal lead on the RSEQ scoring race, wasn't done their either.
After Kaileigh Quennec would score her fourth of the year, Veillet would take advantage of a bouncing puck at the Ravens' blueline to race down the ice and beat Côté above the pad far side to complete the hat trick.
The Ravens are now the first team to enter the RSEQ's holiday break, by the end of the weekend they'll be even in games played with everyone around them in the standings including the Bishop's Gaiters who currently sit five points ahead with two games in hand.
Now at the midway point of the season, coach Colarossi sees growth in the relatively young Ravens. "They're understanding that playing the game as a group, and the small details that go into the game," she acknowledged. "We are getting more consistency, which is nice to see, and now they're starting to recognize the contribution when they play the game as a whole unit, which means they're making the adjustments within themselves."
The new head coach is starting to see positive growth within the team. Already at last season's point total, despite recent losses the Ravens are building momentum. "Like we said from the beginning, we need to celebrate small victories and continue to recognize that Monday to Friday is work and game day they need to just play."
Reflecting on the team thus far, Colarossi acknowledged they are building forward. "They're starting to see the fruits of their labour when they stay within their structure which is then generating more opportunities where our toes are down ice and we're generating more chances."
