Photo by Marc Lafleur
OTTAWA – The Ravens finished up the first half of their season with a 5-2 loss at the hands of the uOttawa Gee-Gees, heading into the winter break with a 4-8-0 record.
“Overall I don’t think we played 60 minutes,” said Ravens head coach Pierre Alain. “We had some good flashes and good times… but overall we lost battles in front of our net and they scored three of the five goals on rebounds, so we’ve got to win those battles.”
Special teams largely dictated the offense in the opening frame. Angelique Proulx quickly made it 1-0 for uOttawa, but the Ravens would answer right back as Hayden Serniuk (Burlington, Ont.) tied it up on the power play. The Gee-Gees then scored a shorthanded goal via a Jade Todd snipe, despite strong power play pressure for Carleton.
That lead would not last however as just minutes after conceding, Lanie Guimond (Kirkland Lake, Ont.) deflected a shot from the line to get the Ravens back even. “We changed that unit and the setup on their power play,” said Alain. “The other way we did it didn’t work so we changed it and it seems like it’s starting to score some goals.” The score remained 2-2 through one period of play.
The second period was much quieter in regard to high danger chances, but the Gee-Gees took the lead early in the frame as Arianne Gagnon finished off a nice play. uOttawa would continue to apply pressure throughout the period, with the Ravens struggling to generate momentum. The Gee-Gees did a good job at pinning the Ravens in the defensive end with the long second period change causing Carleton some issues. It remained 3-2 through two periods.
A penalty riddled third period gave both teams a couple cracks on the power play. The Gee-Gees were able to add to their lead while on the PP, as Ariane Aubin gave uOttawa the 4-2 lead. A four on three power play opportunity for the Ravens came and went with Carleton unable to capitalize. Aubin added one on late for the Gee-Gees to close it out and take the rivalry matchup by the score of 5-2.
The loss sees the Ravens drop their eighth game of the season. Despite the loss Alain is confident in the group he has. “We have a tight group,” said Alain after Friday’s win against Bishops. “They get along well, they’re happy to be together, they are happy to come to the rink and they are hard workers.” The injury-riddled Ravens squad will finally get a chance to rest up, as they head into their winter break. The next time they hit the ice will be on Sunday, January 9th when they play host to the Montreal Carabins.
